Candelaria was born on November 6, 1953 to Puerto Rican parents. He is the second of four children born to John and Felicia Candelaria. He grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. He frequently attended New York Yankees\' games at Yankee Stadium.\n', '

At the age of 15, Candelaria attended a baseball tryout where a Los Angeles Dodgers scout called him the best[clarification needed] he had ever seen. The tryout catcher had to be replaced with a major league catcher for fear of injuring the stand-in.\n', '

Candelaria played as a center in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), the top tier basketball league in the Puerto Rico, for 2 seasons with the Piratas de Quebradillas in 1971 and 1972. When he announced he was leaving the Quebradillas basketball "Pirates" for the Pittsburgh Pirates, many were skeptical. The local newspaper featured him pitching a basketball on the front page of the sports section. He had attended La Salle Academy in lower Manhattan and gained fame as a basketball center, including leading his team to a championship in 1971.\n', '

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