Baseball star Elvis Andrus officially becomes an American citizen

The Texas Rangers shortstop is now officially an American citizen.

In an Instagram post Friday, Andrus posed with his citizenship certificate and a US flag, while standing next to a Statue of Liberty replica.

"I will always be very proud of where I came from and I am humbled where my journey has taken me. I've learned so much in this journey to U.S. citizenship. I'm thankful and grateful for the rights and freedoms of Americans and will never take that for granted," Andrus said in the post. "And I will never forget we're (sic) everything started #thanksgod #venezuelanamerican."

Andrus was born in Maracay , Venezuela, according to MLB.com. His family moved to Kissimmee, Florida, in 2005 when he was 16, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The Dallas Morning News also reported that Andrus' wife, Cori, was born in Venezuela and is a naturalized US citizen. The couple's children, born in 2017 and 2018, are US citizens.

Andrus is a two-time American League All-Star and was the league's most valuable player in 2017. He also is the all-time Rangers leader in stolen bases.

CNN has reached out to the Rangers organization, but has not heard back.

CNN's Kevin Dotson contributed to this report.

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