AOL News has a new home! The Huffington Post.

Click here to visit the new home of AOL News!

Hot on HuffPost:

See More Stories
Good News

Minor League Baseball Reject Wins Big in Lottery

Apr 11, 2011 – 2:15 PM
Text Size
Joel Torres' dreams of becoming a professional baseball player were dashed last month when he was cut from the Cleveland Indians' farm team. But a dream of a different sort came true when he won $1 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Joel Torres is presented with his prize money by Yolanda Vega at the New York Lottery's Garden City Customer Service Center on Friday.
New York Lottery
Yolanda Vega presents Joel Torres with his prize money at the New York Lottery's Garden City customer service center Friday. Torres collected a lump-sum payment of $660,300.
Torres, 21, purchased the "Sweet Millions" scratch-off ticket at a food store in Elmont, N.Y., when he was staying with his mother at her home in Queens.

"The first thing I plan to do with the money is buy my mom a new house," Torres told Fox Sports.

He collected his lump-sum payment of $660,300 at the state lottery office on Friday along with five other lottery winners.

An outfielder, Torres says the money will also help him continue to pursue his professional baseball career.

"My dream, since I was a kid, is baseball. That's what I'm going to continue doing. I'm going to keep swinging, swinging for the fences," Torres said.
Filed under: Sports, Good News
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.


2011 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Follow AOL Good News