As a child, he grew up playing baseball with all his friends, and every Christmas they all received a baseball that would last them all year. He also remembers making cardboard gloves with his friends when he was a child, these are memories that will last not only for him but for his friends as well. “He said that although he didn't grow up poor, no one around him was rich either” (Loveday Pg.1). Mariano dropped out of high school in the ninth grade and went to work with his father on a ship at sixteen. He always dreamed of playing football professionally. Although Mariano played baseball for an amateur league team, he never dreamed he would play professionally. Mariano's talents were quickly discovered by major league scouts, and by 1990, Mariano was a free agent with the New York Yankees at the age of 20. (Loveday Pg.1-2) (Kirkus Pg..