Dominican baseball player of the week / Pelotero de la semana: Carlos Gomez

Dominican baseball player Carlos Gomez has had a pretty average career, spending parts of six seasons in the big leagues. He came up with the Mets in 2007 and then was a full-time starter for two years with the Twins. He has been with the Brewers for the last three seasons, and the highlight of his career probably came last season when he was a member of a Brewers team that made the NLCS.

That is until now. Gomez was awarded the NL Player of the Week last, as he hit .346 (9-for-26) with four home runs and scored 10 runs. He was also first among National Leaguers with 10 RBI and three stolen bases. 

The Santiago, Dominican Republic native Gomez already has a career high nine home runs this season. Though the Brewers are more than likely out of the playoff picture, Gomez could possibly see a career high in RBI, walks, and stolen bases as well. Some consolation for a bad year as a team.

Gomez’s Milwaukee teammate, and fellow Dominican, Aramis Ramirez (.417, 10 H, 4 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI) also received some consideration for the player of the week award. Ramirez won the Dominican Player of the Week award earlier this season. He is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Dominican baseball player of the week Carlos Gomez, photo by Steve Paluch on Flickr

Dominican beisbol player of the week: Robinson Cano

Robinson Cano has been hot. He almost won the Dominican Baseball Guy's Dominican Beisbol Player of the Week last week, but was the runner up to Aramis Ramirez.

Last week Cano had a better week than most players have in a career (.286, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R). But this week he hit .414 (12-for-29) with four home runs and 10 RBIs in seven games. It was good enough for his sixth career American League Player of the Week honor, and his first career Dominican beisbol player of the week award.

Amazingly, these two hot weeks by Cano were not enough to win him the American League Player of the Month award, which he has already won 2 times. He was edged out in this award by fellow Dominican beisbol player Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays. Bautista had 14 home runs and 30 RBI in June, compared to Cano's 11 home runs and 21 RBI, though Cano did hit for a much higher average.

Yankees skipper Joe Girardi commented that he basically expects these types of performances by Cano on a consistent basis.

He is one of the best player in MLB and will contend for the MVP, as he has done for the last several years. So, the Dominican Baseball Guy agrees with Girardi. Expect to see more Dominican beisbol player of the week awards for Robinson Cano throughout the rest of the season as well.

Cano is from San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Bautista and Ramirez are both from Santo Domingo, the Capital of the Dominican Republic.

Dominican beisbol player of the week Robinson Cano, by Keith Allison on Flickr

Dominican baseball player of the week: Aramis Ramirez

The Dominican baseball player of the week goes to Aramis Ramirez, who edged out Robinson Cano by a vote of 1-0. Cano had a good week for the Yankees (.286, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R), but Ramirez had a better week for the Brewers.

Aramis Ramirez had eleven hits last week and hit for a .500 average. He also added two home runs and seven RBI.

The Dominican Baseball Guy was surprised to see that Ramirez is in his 14th season. He played for the Pirates? What? And he actually had a couple good years for them? What?

For as maligned a player he has been in Chicago at times, his career numbers are great.  He has hit 20 home runs nine times and had 100 RBI six times.  Ramirez has probably deserved more than the two All-Star games that he has made. May be due to the fact that he has been a late starter many years. More evidence of late starting? He got his first Silver Slugger last year in his 13th season in the big leagues.  

Sure he will put up big numbers this year for the Brewers. But, let's face the facts Brewers fans.  Your team is bad, almost as bad as the last place Houston Astros.  Well, not that bad.

Dominican baseball player Aramis Ramirez es de Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana.

Dominican baseball player of the week Aramis Ramirez plays third base for the Cubs,
photo by terren in Virginia on Flickr

Dominican baseball player Aramis Ramirez remembers his baseball idols growing up in the Dominican Republic

A group of journalism students at Arizona State University has put together the Peanuts and Cracker Jacks blog.  The blog is produced for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and covers the Brewers Spring Training.

A recent post had the Brewers remembering their own idols.  The Dominican Baseball Guy was of course drawn to the comments from one of the Brewers' Dominican baseball players, Aramis Ramirez.  He is entering his 15th year in the majors and 1st with the Brewers.

Dominican player Ramirez counts fellow Dominican George Bell as his biggest influence growing up:

“Actually, that was the year that I started playing baseball because he won the MVP in the American League,” Ramirez said. “Everybody was talking about him in my hometown, he was amazing.”

Aramis Ramirez is from Santo Domingo and George Bell is from San Pedro de Macoris. The whole country was probably crazy of native Dominican baseball player Bell and his MVP run in 1987 though.

Dominican player Aramis Ramirez last year with the Cubs, photo by notmargaret on Flickr

Cubs' Aramis Ramirez: Dominican baseball players do not like to walk, Dominicanos no les gustan pasaportes

This according to Chicago Cub and Dominican Aramis Ramirez, who recently hit his major league leading 12th first pitch home run.  He dropped this classic quote to explain why he swings at a lot of first pitches:

“I don’t know, I’m Dominican -- we go out there swinging, we don’t work a lot on it,” Ramirez said. “[Starlin] Castro’s got like 450 at bats and like 20 walks. What do I got, like 25? We don’t walk, we like swinging the bat. So I don’t have an explanation for you. I’ve always been aggressive. I just happen to hit more homers this year.”

The classic part comes when he says "we don't work a lot."  Something probably lost in the translation there...  Think it should say "we don't work the count a lot," but hey I am just the Dominican Baseball Guy.  What do I know?

Ramirez is the latest free swinging Dominican, of which there have been a number like Vladimir Guerrero and Starlin Castro.  But it is probably a stereotype, because other Dominicans like Moises Alou and Manny Ramirez have had very sharp eyes and taken many walks.

In any case the strategy seems to be working for Aramis Ramirez this year.  He has had a bounce back year and been able to stay healthy.  Right now he is 12th in the NL in home runs and 6th RBI.  The Dominican Baseball Guy thinks this final quote from Aramis pretty much describes the whole shabang of being a hitter:  “If I see a pitch I like I’m going to swing at it,” Ramirez said.  He is from Santo Domingo, DR.

Chicago Cubs' Aramis Ramirez with RBI in 2007, by Guano on Flickr

Cubs hoping Aramis Ramirez stays healthy, returns to old form

Aramis Ramirez has had an unlucky last two seasons with the Cubs, as he has only played in 206 games over the two years combined due to injuries.  From 2005 to 2008 he averaged over 30 HRs and 100 plus RBI and made two all-star teams.

The Cubs and Ramirez hope he remains healthy and returns to that all-star form.  He will be slotted into the cleanup spot and the Cubs want him to remain there all season.

Ramirez exercised a player option this past off season to remain with the Cubs.  He will be making $14.6 million this year and will become a free agent at the end of the year.

The Cubs projected lineup features four Dominicans in the field.  Ramirez will be joined by Starlin Castro, Carlos Pena, and Alfonso Soriano in the Cubs lineup.  Ramirez and Pena are both from Santo Domingo, while Castro is from Monte Cristi, and Soriano is from the famed San Pedro de Macoris.

Ramirez chats with Henry Blanco, by Terren in Virginia on Flickr