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🇭🇷 Croatia /Sports

American baseball star working to obtain Croatian citizenship

From Večernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Ongoing story
  • Kansas City Royals pitcher Kristofer Bubić says he is working with the Croatian consulate in the United States to obtain Croatian citizenship.
  • He hopes to play for Croatia at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, near his California hometown.
  • Bubić is currently sidelined by an elbow injury after making nine starts for Kansas City this season.

Kansas City Royals pitcher Kristofer Bubić is working to obtain Croatian citizenship, with the hope of one day playing for Croatia at the Olympic Games.

I am working on getting Croatian citizenship. They connected me with the consulate here in the United States and started the process.

· Kristofer BubićThe Royals pitcher described his application for Croatian citizenship.

“I am working on getting Croatian citizenship. They connected me with the consulate here in the United States and started the process,” Bubić told Hina. “It would be a great opportunity to play for Croatia at the Olympics one day. I think it would be a great opportunity to share and experience the culture, and I would be excited to do that.”

The next Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles in 2028, roughly 500 kilometers south of Bubić’s hometown of Cupertino. “It would be nice to play at home. If we could make it happen, it would be incredible,” he said, adding that his family and friends in California and on the West Coast would be excited.

It would be a great opportunity to play for Croatia at the Olympics one day. I think it would be a great opportunity to share and experience the culture, and I would be excited to do that.

· Kristofer BubićBubić explained why he hopes to represent Croatia.

Bubić’s father, Mladen, was born in Zadar, while his mother, Jela, is a Croatian born in the United States. Bubić said he was born and raised in the US and does not speak Croatian fluently, though he knows simple phrases such as “How are you?” and “Fine, thank you.”

It would be nice to play at home. If we could make it happen, it would be incredible.

· Kristofer BubićHe discussed the possibility of playing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics near his hometown.

The left-handed pitcher is currently out with an elbow injury and hopes to return in a week or two. Before the injury, he had made nine starts for Kansas City this season. He played several sports growing up in California but chose baseball, later attending Stanford and joining the Royals as the 40th pick in the 2018 draft. He made his MLB debut in July 2020 and was selected for last year’s All-Star Game.

I was born and raised in the United States, I do not speak Croatian fluently, but I know some simple words, How are you, fine thank you.

· Kristofer BubićBubić described his Croatian family background and limited fluency in the language.
About this summary

Originally published by Večernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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