La Prensa del Béisbol Latino

Transcription

1 La Prensa del Béisbol Latino A publication of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Latin American committee Vol. 2 No. 3 Winter2006 The new season begins with a great line-up of Latino baseball by Anthony Salazar The first-ever World Baseball Classic is now underway with a number of teams from Latin America challenging the planet s best baseball teams. Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Mexico vie to see what country can claim Latin America s best. Cuba s got the inside track with every GM s dream, Yulieski Gourriel. And how well will Latino major leagues do playing for national pride and world recognition. While the games wind up in San Diego, another Latino baseball event will unfold in there. Rob Ruck, a sports historian from the University of Pittsburgh will premiere his documentary, The Republic of Baseball: The Dominican Giants of the American Game. The film is based on a number of books, including his award-winning book, The Tropic of Baseball: Ball in the Dominican Republic. Another must-see is For the Love of the INSIDE The Latino baseball line-up 1 A Look at Cuba s Yulieski Gourriel 1 Fidel & Julio Rojo, Jr 2 Trivia Challenge & Member Spotlight 3 A Moment with Memo Luna 3 Latinos to Watch in Fernandomania, parte dos 6 Editor s Note 10 Game, a film that explores the Latin influence on the Negro Leagues. The historically rich tale seeks to bring to life the Latino experience as experienced by the players who lived through this pivotal period of baseball history. Speaking of history, the National Baseball Hall of Fame has recently unveiled plans to take a memorabilia-rich exhibit on the road reflecting the Latino influence in the National Pastime. The exhibition tour schedule has not yet been announced, but look for the Citgo-sponsored tour to hit Latino-rich markets throughout the United States later this year. Yulieski Who? Cuba s Gourriel Could Be Rare Gem of WBC by Peter Bjarkman It is shameful that North American fans never had the chance to watch Omar Linares in action. Time and again this writer was convinced that Linares fully deserved his hefty reputation in the 1980s and 1990s as easily the best ballplayer not performing in the majors and likely also the best third baseman to be found anywhere on the plant. Cuba s career batting average leader was hands down the best all-around ball-playing athlete I had ever seen hidden away in Communist Cuba. That was until Yulieski Gourriel suddenly emerged on the scene at the 2003 World Cup tournament in Havana. Gourriel s international career was launched only two years ago in true storybook fashion. The 19- year-old s clutch triple to launch a ninth inning rally that thwarted upset-minded Brazil at World See Yulieski, page 4

2 La Prensa del Béisbol Latino Winter 2006 An Interview with Julio Rojo, Jr. By Tito Rondon Fidel said, come on, throw it as hard as you can. The same as when you pitched earlier tonight. Behind the catcher, as he had named himself umpire, the truculent Minister of the Interior, General Jose Abrantes, mouthed the words throw it slowly. Hard, said Fidel. Slow, mouthed Abrantes. I was petrified. How fast could I throw? It had started earlier that evening, when I pitched a great game at Estadio Latinoamericano; Fidel Castro listened to parts of it. We were staying at the stadium, and I was in bed when Abrantes came in. Listen, he said. Get dressed. Fidel wants to hit against you, and he wants you to pitch to him just exactly as it were a game, as hard as you pitched tonight. But we cannot risk the Comandante s life, so if you throw too hard and endanger him you will be considered a traitor to the Revolution. I was talking to Julio Rojo Ferran, a pitcher in the Cuban League from 1964 through 1974, who had come to the United States in 1980 in the Mariel boatlift. He told many funny stories, and he exaggerates sometimes. He told he had won 18 games once, but it turned out he had, in 1968 for Habana. I checked I asked what he had done with Fidel. and said take him to dinner. The thought crossed my mind that maybe that was code for execute him, but they took me to the famous Tropicana night club and gave me drinks and a very nice meal. Listen, of course I was afraid. A lot of people knew I wasn t enthusiastic about the Revolution. Once, I decided to take to practice one of my father s uniform shirts that Satchel Paige had given him, and one of Cuba s top Security men told me you are a traitor, you are wearing an imperialist uniform. I said, no, no, I am loyal, this is just a shirt for practice, it doesn t mean anything. He replied, you think I don t know you? We are going to prove you are a traitor. As soon as I could I borrowed a phone and called my wife, and I told her to get rid of everything that was American in the house. She threw away al the shirts and uniforms my father wore, gifts from stars like Paige and Josh Gibson, his mitt, I don t know how he could catch with that, and all the papers and keepsakes my dad had. A veritable museum of the Negro Leagues. He told me his father, Negro Leagues and Cuban star catcher Julio Rojo, was six feet tall, and weighed as a ballplayer 190 lbs. He was born May 22, 1895, in Sagua La Grande, Las Villas. I chickened out. I threw only a little bit hard. Fidel didn t like it. He finally said, I appreciate your being afraid to harm me. And we played a pick up game, Fidel, Abrantes, the soldiers and the ballplayers staying at the stadium, all mixed, about four innings. Fidel was satisfied with that, I never knew that until he died, in I extrapolated, from his age at the time of death. Thank you for telling me that the Santa Clara of team that he played on is the best Latin American team of all time. Did You Know According to recent data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), attendance at professional baseball games in Mexico have fallen flat, with about 2.3 million tickets sold annually between 1998 and It is hoped that the upcoming World Baseball Classic will renew a greater interest in the sport in Mexico, despite the fact that soccer ticket sales have grown 27 percent within the same period, with 4.9 tickets sold annually.

3 Winter 2006 BÉISBOL TRIVIA CHALLENGE Member Spotlight: Adrian Burgos La Prensa del Béisbol 1. Cristobal Torriente played for the Chicago American Giants from and had his best season batting.396 in: a c b d Jose Mendez won 44 games for what Negro League team in 1909? a. KC Monarchs c. Balt Elite Giants b. Cin Cuban Stars d. Homestead Grays 3. Who was the last Spanish-language broadcaster was the first to be elected to the Hall of Fame? a. Felo Ramirez c. Buck Canel b. Jaime Jarrin d. Rene Cardenas 4. Alex Pomez signed what player in 1923 for the New York Cuban Stars? a. Luis Tiant c. Camilo Pascual b. Miguel Gonzalez d. Martin Dihigo Trivia answers: 1) c; 2) b; 3) a 4) d A Moment with Memo Luna By Johnny McReynolds At the age of 23 Memo Luna won the Pacific Coast League ERA title in The slender Mexican lefty with a half dozen pitches and a high kicking delivery like Juan Marichal was then sold to the St. Louis Cardinals for the at-the-time preposterous sum of $100,000. Luna talked with me on the phone in November. He recalled the Mexican League heroes of his boyhood Theolic Smith, Lonnie Summers, Josh Gibson, Fred Martin, Max Lanier. In 1948 in the winter Mexican Pacific League he first saw Whitey Ford. He played for Mazatlan. He pitched Sunday in the morning. In the third inning we knocked him out. In the afternoon it was my turn to pitch and Whitey demanded to pitch. That was the quality of person he was. He beat me 1-0. That little gringo beat me! The next week we played in Mazatlan. I had a chance for revenge. I said to the manager, Hey, let me pitch against him. I won 1-0. I pitched four times against Whitey and I won three. Later we met one more time, when he was a big star. We met in St. Petersburg. He with the Yankees, I was with the Cardinals. We pitched the final three innings. The game was tied 0-0. We won 1-0 with a run in the ninth. You come all the way over here to beat me, Whitey said. Luna alleges Card manager Eddie Stanky sabotaged the NAME: Adrian Burgos, Jr. SABR COMMITTEES: Negro League, Latin America AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Latinos in baseball FAVORITE BASEBALL MOMENT: Clemente s performance in the 1971 World Series FAVORITE LATINO PLAYERS: Roberto Clemente, Minnie Miñoso, Vic Power, and Bernie Williams LATINO BASEBALL EXPERIENCE: A great yet bittersweet day: That is how I will remember February 27, On that day the Voting Committee formed by the Hall of Fame for a special election on the Negro Leagues on which I served voted in the Hall of Fame s largest class. Included in this cohort were three Latinos: two early Cuban greats, José Méndez and Cristobal Torriente, along with Cuban-American owner Alejandro Alex Pompez. Their election ensured Martin Dihigo would no longer be the lone Latino Negro Leaguer in the Hall. The joy of their election was offset by Orestes Minnie Miñoso, the Latino great who bridged baseball s segregated and integrated eras while enduring the double impact of race and ethnicity as a pioneer. The voting results tempered the pride I had in having successfully advocated for Miñoso s inclusion on the Negro League ballot during the screening committee deliberations. The first Black Latino to perform in the Major Leagues had, in a certain sense, again fallen victim to the color line and the fault lines of our racial understandings. My own path to participating in this historic vote on the Negro Leagues reflects the tremendous advances that have been made in our understanding of the Negro Leagues. The vote on Miñoso and the debate about how much weight should we give to considering as a racial pioneer convince me that we remain too fixated on the idea of integration as a moment and too limited a view of the challenges that black Latinos have encountered historically. This remains an important job of education for both SABR s Latin American Committee and the new baseball exhibit on Latinos the Hall rookie s major league debut in 1954 with a batting practice assignment the day prior. He then removed him after only 2/3 of an inning against the Reds because he had given up two runs. I don t Mexicans, Stanky told him on the mound. When Luna replied in equally unprintable fashion, the manager had him demoted the next day never to return to the major leagues. Luna has been inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame and into the San Diego Padres hall. At 75 after a successful career in sales, he still teaches baseball. I wouldn t change anything, Luna insists. Even with the fiasco in St. Louis.

4 La Prensa del Béisbol Latino Winter 2006 Yulieski page 1 Cup 35 was one of the most storied blasts in modern Cuban baseball history. But it was only a prologue for Cuba s latest hero now wearing the famed #10 once donned by Linares. Gourriel grew by leaps and bounds in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, batting.343 and anchoring the infield defense. And again last fall in Rotterdam he was the brightest star on the stage of World Cup 36, where he socked a tournament best eight homers, again batted above.340, and broke open a quarterfinal clash versus Team USA with a towering first-inning three-run blast. At his third base slot Gourriel proved flawless, even making a Brooks Robinson-style game-ending diving stop to preserve narrow victory over the host Dutch. On the World Cup stage, Gourriel dramatically inherited the key hot corner post as well as the mantle of team leader from the recently departed Linares. Gourriel owns not only the measurable skills but also the heart and the blood lines of a famous father. Lourdes Gourriel now Yulieski s manager in Sancti Spíritus was himself once a titan in international play. The elder Gourriel s crowning moment came with a 1989 MVP trophy and four gold medal game RBI at Intercontinental Cup matches ironically also staged in San Juan. But the son already flashes greater talent than the famous father and that is no small feat. Yulieski moves on defense with grace and speed at second, short or third. He owns one of the quickest bats to be found in any league, and he is a truly disciplined hitter for a slashing swinger who blasted 23 homers in last year s 90-game National Series. It will be no surprise to see him adjust to big league pitching, just as Linares did in his two brief chances against the Orioles. Gourriel has not exactly dominated the Cuban League for the last three seasons, since Osmani Urrutia has been a far bigger story with four.400-plus campaigns and five batting titles. Joan Carlos Pedroso, Urrutia s teammate, has been the big home run slugger with four more than Gourriel last winter. But Gourriel s raw numbers have been impressive enough, including averages of.358 and.341 the past two winters. And he has emerged as an even bigger superstar on the international stage. Gourriel is still only 22 years old and again similar to a young Linares shows maturity as a hitter well beyond his years. Like Linares he is also steadfastly loyal to the Cuban system and thus seemingly little threat to abandon his country for promises of big league dollars. But like all Cuban ballplayers he hungers to demonstrate what he can do against the cream of the crop represented by the touted major leaguers. When the games begin in early March in San Juan there will be a number of paragons in Fidel Castro s lineup who will likely have dozens of big league scouts and player agents drooling in envy of those unsigned Cuban talents. Designated-hitter Michel Enríquez, a lifetime.358 hitter after six seasons, will be one. Aging Pedro Lazo, the Lee Smith bullpen clone, will be another. Gourriel s Sancti Spíritus teammate, switch-hitting outfielder Frederich Cepeda, will likely prove a sterling big league prospect, as will veteran catcher Ariel Pestano, the MVP of the Athens Olympic tournament. But it is almost certain to be Gourriel who turns the most heads and drops the most jaws. Yulieski has all the talent and smooth on-field style of the lost icon Omar Linares. He duplicates Linares s bat, arm and glove. But he also now has what Linares never had a chance to go head-to-head with big leaguers in games where a true world championship finally hangs squarely in the balance. Yulieski Gourriel in action. Photo courtesy of author.

5 Winter 2006 The Top Ten Latinos to Watch in 2006 By Tony Menéndez TOP 10 La Prensa del Béisbol Latino 1. Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox Can he repeat a championship magical season? 2. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals Will in 2006 be a National League MVP year again? 3. Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins Will he be able to be an All-Star caliber player with the worst team in the National League? 4. Manny Ramirez (Boston Red Sox) and Miguel Tejada (Baltimore Orioles) Will they be traded for each other by mid-season? 5. Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia Phillies If the Phillies are out of the race by mid-season, will he become an LA Dodger? 6. Alfonso Soriano or José Vidro, Washington Nationals Who will be the next season regular second baseman? Who will be traded? 7. Bartolo Colon, Los Angeles Angels Can he win 20 games again? 8. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees Can he win a World Series for the Dominican-New Yorkers and let them forget his decision to have played for the USA in the World Baseball Classic? 9. Carlos Delgado, New York Mets Will he be able to handle the Big Apple s media and fans? 10. Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox Was 2005 simply an off year or was it the beginning of a declining career? THE NEXT Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez, New York Mets 12. Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers 13. Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels 14. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners 15. Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians 16. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox 17. Edgar Renteria, Atlanta Braves 18. Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins 19. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees 20. Javier Vazquez, Chicago White Sox Juan Marichal to Renews Agreement with ESPN Deportes Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal has signed a multi-year agreement with ESPN Deportes to continue on as lead commentator for the network's season-long, exclusive coverage of the Dominican Republic Winter League Baseball. Additionally, Marichal will have an expanded role in 2006, serving as the lead analyst during the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Marichal will provide commentary for World Baseball Classic games, beginning with the Japan vs. China game, Friday, March 3 at 4:30 a.m., ET. In addition, Marichal, the only Dominican-born player in the Hall of Fame, will also provide commentary for the Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela game from Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, March 7 at 1 p.m., ET.

6 La Prensa del Béisbol Latino Winter 2006 Fernando Valenzuela Still Going Strong by Jay Berman If Reggie Jackson was Mr. October, former Los Angeles Dodger pitching great Fernando Valenzuela may well be Mr. October through December. Jackson, a Hall of Fame slugger who starred in the 1970s and '80s, was given his nickname for his clutch hitting, specifically his ability to drive in late-season runs for the New York Yankees. Valenzuela, now a Dodgers' Spanish language broadcaster, hasn't thrown a pitch in the major leagues since July 14, 1997, but he completed his second season as a starting pitcher for the Mexicali Aguilas of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico with a win on Christmas Day. Since he left the major leagues, Valenzuela has pitched six of the past eight winters in the LMP and plans to return this year, as well. At 45, he is still getting batters out. "He's still bringing it, still breaking their [opponents'] bats," said Kevin Mitchell, hitting coach for the Aguilas, before a mid-december game in Mexicali at which the temperature would drop into the low 40s in the late innings. He's also still a workhorse. Valenzuela was known almost as much for completing games as a Dodger as he was for winning them, and for his screwball that froze hitters. Late in the season at Mexicali - just a week before Christmas - Valenzuela went all the way in a 1-0 loss to Hermosillo. Valenzuela is not a journeyman heading below the border to pick up a few extra dollars. He was one of the National League's elite pitchers throughout the 1980s. He has won more major league games (173) than any other pitcher from Mexico, and he was named the all-time lefthander on Major League Baseball's Latino Legends team chosen by fans and announced during the 2005 World Series. The other starting pitchers? Juan Marichal, a Hall of Famer, and Pedro Martinez, a certain future hall member. Valenzuela had a major-league career that might be described as somewhere between distinguished and Hall-of-Fame-possible, primarily with the Dodgers. Between 1980 and 1997, he won one Cy Young Award and narrowly missed out on another. He had more than 200 strikeouts three times and led the league in that category once. In the year he finished second in Cy Young voting, he won 21 games; winner Mike Scott had 18. He pitched one no-hitter, led the league in shutouts one year, had 31 career shutouts (Pedro Martinez has 17) and is the last man to complete 20 games, in His career earned run average was 3.54, he won 10 or more games 13 times and he was a National League All-Star every year from 1981 through So why, then, is Valenzuela pitching in Obregon, Hermosillo, Navojoa and Los Mochis each winter? "Because it's still a lot of fun," he said, sitting in the home dugout of the newly remodeled and renamed Casas Geo Stadium in Mexicali as the season wound down. It may be fun for Valenzuela, but this was not a fun year for his team. The Aguilas' hitting disappeared in the second half of the season - a 10- game losing streak cost manager Tim Johnson his job - and the team didn't qualify for the playoffs, which began on New Year's Day and wrapped up with Mazatlan defeating Guasave, four games to one, on Jan. 26. Don't even begin to think that the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico is two steps up from a parks and recreation outfit. Mitchell, the hitting coach who had a 47-home run season for the San Francisco Giants in 1989, thinks it's stronger than Mexico's summer league, which is ranked AAA, See Valenzuela, page 7

7 Winter 2006 La Prensa del Béisbol Valenzuela, from page 6 equivalent to the highest minor leagues in the United States. "I just do a little color, a little analysis," he said. "I can handle it. I like it, and Jaime Jarrin has been very patient with me. It's a lot of fun." When he was in the majors, Valenzuela was known for his screwball, a pitch that breaks down and to the side. It is supposed to look like a strike to hitters, but when it does what it should do - leaves them looking for a ball that isn't where they expected it to be. Current and recent LMP players include San Diego third baseman Vinnie Castilla, Pittsburgh pitcher Oliver Perez, Tampa Bay outfielder Jonny Gomes, free agent first baseman Erubiel Durazo, former San Francisco reliever Chad Zerbe, former Angel Benji Gil and former Detroit outfielder Randall Simon. He still throws it, along with a fastball, a cut fastball and a curve. But because he was already a finesse pitcher, especially in the last few years of his career, he hasn't had to rely on anything new to compensate for increasing age. "I added the cutter against right-handed hitters," he said. "I mix the screwball, curve and cutter. I have to throw a lot of different pitches to be successful." In his first five seasons after leaving the majors - from 1997 through 2001 Valenzuela spent the winter season with the Hermosillo Naranjeros. Overall, he won 16 games and lost 11. The winter season is only 68 games long and pitchers seldom reach double figures in wins. Then, at 41, he retired... or thought he had. Valenzuela looking fierce on the mound. Valenzuela isn't Photo courtesy of author. doing it just for the fun. He also wants to make a point. "I want to show the Mexican people - particularly the youngsters - that our country is not just about football [soccer]. We have a history of baseball, too," he said. He looks good. As a Dodger, he was listed as 5foot-11 and 195 pounds. He appears to be lighter than that. He jogs in the outfield before each game and, in Mexicali, works out with teammates down the left-field line in front of wall signs advertising OXXO, a Mexican counterpart to 7-Eleven. This month (March), Valenzuela will report to Vero Beach, Fla., to join Jaime Jarrin and Pepe Yñiguez for his fourth season in the broadcast booth, but he doesn't see himself as an announcer. When the Dodgers approached him in 2003 with an offer to join the radio team, he had never done any broadcasting. "I hadn't thrown a ball in two years," he said. "Then I heard from this team (Mexicali) last year. I told them it would take me time to get ready." With the Dodgers advancing to the playoffs in 2004, Valenzuela wasn't able to join Mexicali until well after the winter season had begun. Still, he managed to start seven games and went 2-2 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs. In 2005, he was even more effective. He won his first three decisions, and Mexicali was halfway through the season. But the Aguilas stopped hitting in the second half and wound up See Valenzuela, page 8

8 La Prensa del Beisbol Latino Winter 2006 Valenzuela, from page 7 hitter." 28-39, one of two clubs in the eight-team league to miss the playoffs. Among Valenzuela's highlights was a Dec. 6 game against Obregon. He pitched six innings, allowed two runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out one for his third win. He was 3-0 after that victory and could have had two more wins if the Mexicali bullpen had held a lead. In the 1-0 loss to Hermosillo on Dec. 18, Valenzuela pitched like the Valenzuela who, in 1981, won the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards. He allowed just five hits and struck out four. In 10 starts, Valenzuela wound up 4-2, giving up 32 runs on 66 hits in 56 1/3 innings and an earned run average of At home, he was 4-1 with an ERA of He tied for second on the team in wins. With several other over-40 pitchers, including Valenzuela contemporaries Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer still active in the major leagues, does Valenzuela ever think about a comeback? After all, left-handed relievers seemingly can stay in the game forever. "Oh, no," Valenzuela says, emphatically. "I'm done up there. They would want me to come in and get one batter out. It's not fun to pitch to one New Latino-related Books out this Season Out of the Shadows: African American Baseball from the Cuban Giants to Jackie Robinson, by Bill Kirwin Johnson, the former Toronto manager who was Valenzuela's manager in Mexicali until the last 10 days of the season, was enthusiastic about his Cy Young winner, and not just for his pitching. "The best thing I can say about Fernando is that he is still a teammate," he told freelance writer Dave Wielenga. "When he is done pitching he stays in the dugout, involved in the game, helping the younger players. He is an exceptional human being but he has never lost his humble respect for the game." Another Fernando Valenzuela may soon be in the majors. Fernando Valenzuela Jr., 23, was a first baseman for Lake Elsinore in the California League, a San Diego farm team, in He hit.296 with 28 doubles, 12 home runs and 83 runs batted in. He'll probably be with Mobile, Ala., the Padres' Southern League team, this year. Valenzuela Sr. will be back in Dodger Stadium in April and in Mexicali in October, 25 years after he came to the major leagues with such an immediate impact that writers even created a word - Fernandomania - to describe his popularity. This article was originally published in Los Angeles Downtown News is reprinted here with the author s permission. Brothers Vs Organized Baseball 1946, by G. Richard McKelvey Early U.S. Blackball Teams in Cuba: Box Scores, Rosters and Statistics for the American Series, (Box Scores, Rosters and Statistics for the American Series), by Severo Nieto Pedro, Carlos, and Omar: The Story of a Season in the Big Apple and the Pursuit of Baseball's Top Latino Stars, by Adam Rubin Mexican Raiders in the Major Leagues: The Pasquel Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero, by David Maraniss The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente & the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, by Bruce Markusen Heat: The Rise of Latino Players in Baseball, Rita Rivera

9 Winter 2006 Who was Who in 2005: Latino Leaders by Team By Tony Menéndez La Prensa del Outside Béisbol the Latino Lines AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore Orioles Miguel Tejada Home Runs (26); RBI s (98) Rodrigo López Games Pitched (15-12) Daniel Cabrera Strikeouts (157) Boston Red Sox David Ortíz Home Runs (47); RBI s (148) Chicago White Sox José Contreras Strikeouts (154) Cleveland Indians Victor Martínez Batting Average (.305) Detroit Tigers Fernando Rodney Saves (9) Kansas City Royals Runelvys Hernández Games Pitched (8-14) Los Angeles Angels Vladimir Guerrero Batting Average (.317); Home Runs (32); RBI s (108) Bartolo Colón Wins (21-8) Francisco Rodríguez Saves (44) Minnesota Twins Johan Santana Wins (16-7); Strikeouts (238) New York Yankees Alex Rodríguez Batting Average (.321); Home Runs (48); RBI s (130) Mariano Rivera Saves (43) Seattle Mariners Joel Piñeiro Strikeouts (107) Tampa Bay Devil Rays Jorge Cantu Home Runs (28); RBI s (117) Danys Baez Saves (41) Texas Rangers Alfonso Soriano Stolen Bases (30) NATIONAL LEAGUE Arizona Diamondbacks Javier Vazquez Strikeouts (192) José Valverde Saves (15) Atlanta Braves Andruw Jones Home Runs (51); RBI s (128) Rafael Furcal Stolen Bases (46) Chicago Cubs Carlos Zambrano Games Pitched (14-6); Strikeouts (202) Florida Marlins Miguel Cabrera Batting Average (.323); RBI s (116) Carlos Delgado & Miguel Cabrera Home Runs (33) Houston Astros Willy Taveras Stolen Bases (34) Los Angeles Dodgers Antonio Pérez Stolen Bases (11) Yhency Brazoban Saves (21) Milwaukee Brewers Carlos Lee Home Runs (32); RBI s (114) Pittsburgh Pirates José Mesa Saves (27) St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols Bating Average (.330); Home Runs (41); RBI s (117); Stolen Bases (16) San Francisco Giants Moises Alou Batting Average (.321) Pedro Feliz Home Runs (20); RBI s (81) Omar Vizquel Stolen Bases (24) Washington Nationals José Guillén Home Runs (24) Liván Hernández Wins (15-10) Toronto Blue Jays Alexis Rios Stolen Bases (14) Gustavo Chacin Strikeouts (121) Miguel Batista Saves (31)

10 Outside La Prensa the del Lines Béisbol Latino Winter 2006 A note from the Editor by Anthony Salazar The 2006 season is just around the corner, though most attention has turned toward the World Baseball Classic. And for good reason. These players are playing for national pride and honor. The final games in San Diego should quite exciting. It s a great way to start a new season. I hope you enjoy this issue. It s another fabulous team effort. From Yulieski Gourriel to Fernando Valenzuela, and a few things you might not have known, it s an action-packed issue. Special thanks are extended to Tito Rondon, Tony Menendez, Jay Berman, Johnny McReynolds and Peter Bjarkman for another super issue. We count on our committee members to provide great content for the publication. So, keep it coming! Don t forget to register for SABR36, held this year in Seattle, Washington. Jim Bouton is the keynote speaker, as the convention will also feature Mike Marshall, and a host of other great names, panels and research presentations. Go to SABR.org for more details, and to register. I hope to see you in the Emerald City in late June. Latin American Baseball Committee Eduardo Valero Chair Edwin Fernandez Co-Vice Chair Anthony Salazar Co-Vice Chair, Editor La Prensa del Béisbol Latino is a newsletter published quarterly by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Inquiries and submissions should be directed to Anthony Salazar at salazar8017@yahoo.com. Copyright 2006 Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). All rights reserved. La Prensa del Béisbol Latino Latin American Baseball Committee, SABR 2400 NW 80th St Ste 141 Seattle, WA latinobaseball-subscribe@yahoogroups.com In This Issue Fernando, the WBC, Latino Top Ten & much more!