Dominican players in MLB playoffs 2015: AL Wildcard Edition

The Astros and the Yankees have set their rosters for tonight's AL Wildcard at Yankee Stadium. Both teams can reset their 25-man rosters for the divisional round after the one game wildcard match up. So, it is only a mild surprise that the Astros decided to bring nine pitchers.

The Astros bring with them two Dominican players to New York. Eight of the nine pitchers are American, with Oliver Perez hailing from Mexico. Drug kingpin Chapo Guzman is probably a big fan of Perez, as he is from Culiacan, Sinaloa. The Tomateros de Culiacan have been very successful in the Mexican Pacific League, winning ten domestic titles and two Caribbean World Series.

There are four Latin players in the Astros infield group, but only one of them is from the Dominican Republic. Jonathan Villar is from La Vega, DR. Back in 2011 he was a top 100 prospect, and he has played with the Astros for the last three seasons and been one of their first outfielders off the bench. Villar has also played and started for the Aguilas in the Dominican Winter Baseball League, and had a home run in the playoffs back in January. Unfortunately for Villar he is behind Puerto Rican sensational rookie Carlos Correa, so he will likely be used only as a pinch hitter.

Carlos Gomez, known as Go-Go, will start in center field
for the Astros. Photo by Arturo Pardavila III on Flickr.

The only other Dominican player that the Astros bring to the AL Wildcard is outfielder Carlos Gomez. When he made his debut in 2007 with the Mets, Gomez was the youngest player in National League at 21 years old. He has since had a successful nine year MLB career and made two All-Star games with the Brewers before being traded to the Astros this year. He has been injured, but will be starting in center field. Carlos is from Santiago, so it is natural that he has played for the Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League for a number of years, even appearing with them after he became an All-Star.

While the Astros only have two Dominicans on the 2015 AL Wildcard roster, they also have three players from Venezuela, one from Mexico, and one from Puerto Rico. Not surprising considering their GM, Jeff Luhnow, speaks Spanish and has strong ties to Latin America as he grew up in Mexico City.

The Yankees on the other hand, bring three Dominican players to the wild card contest. Or four if you count Alex Rodriguez, but considering he was born in Miami, I consider him an American player.

Two pitchers, Ivan Nova and Luis Severino will be in the bullpen for the Yankees. Nova was one of the top prospects in all of baseball when he was coming up, and has had a fairly successful six years in the majors, posting a 4.33 ERA in over 600 innings. He is from Palenque and has played for Escogido in the Dominican Winter League. Severino has had a highly successful debut season this year, after being named to some AAA All-Star teams.

The third Dominican player that the Yankees have on the roster is a rookie that only played in two games. Gary Sanchez is another can't miss prospect and has made All-Star teams at every level including a Futures team this year. This seems to be a move to get a young player some playoff experience. Gary is from the capital of Santo Domingo and has played for one of two great teams in the capitol, Escogido.

The winner of this one game wild card may reshuffle the roster before facing Kansas City in the next round.

Dominican players in Astros system learning English

This is becoming a trend.  As every single team now has a Dominican baseball academy where they send recent signees from the Dominican Republic and other Latin countries, lately it seems that most MLB teams have cultural development programs to educate these players in English and American cultural mores.

The Astros are perhaps one of the most advanced organization when it comes to developing Latin baseball players.  They have been in Latin America for several decades and were one of the first teams to open an academy in Venezuela, before moving their Latin operations to the Dominican Republic.  Two years ago, the team opened a brand new facility in Santo Domingo, the Capital of the Dominican Republic.

Doris Gonzalez was recently hired as Astros’ coordinator of player acculturation and language development. In this position she creates programs to educate Dominican and Latin players in English and in life skills.  According to Gonzalez:

These kids have not experienced a lot of things that we are so used to on a day-to-day basis over here because some of them come from extreme poverty,” she said. “I feel like this program is to not just teach basic English, but to create a complete program that is going to help these players feel part of the culture.

Players are required to attend classes daily and are fined if they do not attend, just like if they miss practice.  While these programs are new and players may have been resistant in the past because they wanted to focus exclusively on baseball, the current generation of player understands the need to develop skills that will help them after their playing career is over. 

According to Edison Frias, a Dominican pitcher in the Astros system, "it helps us not just in baseball, in sports, because baseball isn’t permanent."

Dominican Republic baseball player of the week: Ervin Santana

Ervin Santana of the Angels is this weeks Dominican Republic Baseball Player of the Week.  Interestingly, this is the first time that Santana has appeared on the Dominican Baseball Guy blog.  The Dominican Baseball Guy was thinking that this may be due to the fact that he is new to the big leagues, but he has actually been a pretty successful major leaguer for eight seasons.

He has been in the top ten in the American League in wins three times, and has consistently eaten up innings for the Angels.  He made one All-Star team back in 2008.  Overall, the Dominican Baseball Guy assesses Santana as a very good middle of the rotation to end of the rotation starter.  I liken him to another Dominican pitcher, Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros, as far as overall skill as a starting pitcher.

Santana is having not the best year.  Through Monday, he had a 5.16 ERA and was 4-7.  He is still a middle of the rotation workhorse in any case, having pitched 89 innings in 14 starts.

With this said, he wins the Dominican Republic baseball player of the week this week due to his one-hitter against the Diamondbacks.  He pitched 6 and 2/3 innings of perfect baseball, and got the shutout victory for the ultra-hot Angels.

Santana also threw a no-hitter last season.  He is from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic baseball player of the week Ervin Santana,
photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

Lima time: Deceased Dominican pitcher Jose Lima had 6 kids by 6 different women

Deceased Dominican pitcher Jose Lima was one of the most entertaining and flambouyant pitchers during his time in the majors. His name is back in the news because he had six children with six different women and they want money from his estate.

The Dominican Baseball Guy followed the entirety of Lima's entertaining life and baseball career. His best year came with the Astros in 1999 when he was fourth in the Cy Young voting and won 21 games. That seemed to be his one elite year. He held on as a mid-level starter with several teams until he was released by the Mets in 2006.

But he was not done. The Dominican Baseball Guy saw him pitch in 2009 in the Dominican Winter Baseball League when he was a player/coach for his hometown Aguilas de Santiago.

In addition to his baseball career, Lima was a noted Samba musician. And he had an affect on his teammates, fans, and the media. People just loved the guy. Jim Rome says that the signed ball from Lima's no-hitter is one of two items of memorabilia that he owns.

It seems that the circus of Lima Time has even followed him in death, as his former girlfriend, Dominican model Dalla Leclerc, wants more of his estate to help raise their daughter. She is requesting money from the MLB Players Association, but they have refused since the two were not married.

Apparently Lima had ongoing relationships with some of his exes, and his children by different women secret to his current love interests. He had a child with Melissa Lima whom he was married to from 1996-2005. And the child with Leclerc was born while he was still married to Melissa Lima, although Leclerc claims she did not know he was still married.

At the time of his death he was living with his latest girlfriend, Dorca Astacio. No word if they had any kids, or if any of his other baby's mamas want a part of his estate.

Confused? You know what they say? Life immitates art, and in Lima's case it seems his on-field frantic personality carried off the field to his love life and family.

Lima (right) was one of those people that seemed to really enjoy life on the field and off.  Just as
happy eating Dominican food with friends as he was on the mound, photo by Remolocha.net

American baseball players learning Spanish to communicate with Dominican teammates

It is pretty well known that most MLB teams have expanded their cultural immersion and English classes for Dominican and Latin baseball players, both in the Dominican baseball academies and stateside.  Major League Baseball and the Dominican Republic just signed a deal to further enhance the education of Dominican prospects.  The Astros have a program to teach Latin players English and the Brewers have a cultural immersion program for Latin and Dominican players.

Programs such as these are becoming the norm.  The Dominican Baseball Guy would estimate that at least three-quarters of all MLB teams now have similar programs.

One Cincinnati Reds player is trying to reach out to his Latin and Dominican teammates in the opposite direction.  Joey Votto is learning Spanish and communicating with his Latin teammates in their native language.  Votto thinks this builds camaraderie and brings him closer to his Spanish-speaking teammates.  Before he learned the Spanish basics, Votto did not have much a relationship with some Latin teammates.

The Reds have taken an additional step and offered free language software to anyone in their system.  The Padres have a similar offering for their players and coaches that want to learn Spanish.

"It's nice that they want to learn and understand what we're saying," Votto's Venezuelan teammate Miguel Cairo said. "It creates a better atmosphere and better clubhouse when they know what we're saying."

Off-field chemistry almost always helps with the on-field product, and communicating in Latin players native language shows an effort to build chemistry both on and off the field.

2010 National League MVP Joey Votto is learning Spanish, photo by Geoff Livingston on Flickr

Miguel Tejada ready to play ball

Miguel Tejada is ready to join an MLB team as soon as one comes calling.

The 37 year old Tejada is nearing the end of his MLB career, but should still have a couple good years left.  He played in 91 games last year for the Giants.  While his offensive output is down from his peak, he is still a very good fielder and can play three infield positions.

Adam Brush has been training with Tejada in Florida for several years.  A former college player that is a National Strength and Conditioning Association certified trainer, Brush has worked with a number of big league players including Manny Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Ramon Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Juan Rincon, and Ardolis Chapman.  He is the owner of Five Tool Baseball Performance Training.

According to Brush, Tejada looks great and is ready to go.

"Miguel is a joy to work with.  He absolutely loves the game of baseball, and playing the game is what he wants to do.  He knows what it takes to play in the big leagues, and he knows that he can still produce at that MLB level," Brush said through a phone call.

Continuing, Brush says, "I first worked with Miguel over five years and he looks as good as he ever has.  He is taking over 200 ground balls and hitting four days a week.  And we are doing baseball strength and conditioning work three times per week.  He is working extremely hard, so that when he does get a phone call, he is ready to go."

A native of the Dominican Republic, Tejada is a legend in his home country.  He has played 15 seasons in the major leagues, but has actually played more years than that in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM).  Tejada is known as "the nation's ball player" or "the patriot player" in his home country, due to his prowess on the field in LIDOM action and his ability to represent Dominican baseball through numerous avenues.

Adam Brush witnessed the love that Dominicans have for Tejada during a training trip to the Dominican Republic.  They went to a LIDOM game one night.

Brush explains, "he stood up, got in the aisle to leave, and the entire stadium went crazy.  There were people yelling his name, taking pictures with their cell phones.  It was like a rock star.  It blew me away because I had never seen anything like it in my life."

"The Dominican baseball fans are absolutely unbelievable fans," said Brush.

A career .286 hitter, Tejada has played in Oakland, Baltimore, Houston, San Diego, and San Francisco.  He is a 6 time all-star and former MVP winner, so at the very least he is a great mentor for young players, especially Dominican players.  Miguel is from Bani, Dominican Republic.

Dominican baseball star Miguel Tejada with the Orioles in 2007, photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

Astros have program to teach Latin players English, Astros tiene programa del ingles por peloteros Latinos

Like a number of MLB teams, the Astros have a program in place to help Latin players learn English and adjust to life in a new country.  Doris Gonzalez is the Astros coordinator of player acculturation and language development.  She works with Latin baseball players, but also Asian players.

The Astros are probably doing a better job than most teams at player acculturation and language development. Well, first they have someone tasked at directing this part of the organization.  Like most teams, they are offering language lessons at spring training.  But the Astros take it further, and give their minor league players these development opportunities throughout the season at every level.

New Astros general manger Jeff Luhnow was born in Mexico and is bilingual, so he has made this a major point of emphasis in the new look Astros plan.  He got the team together at spring training and had some veteran players talk about the importance of learning English and the culture of the United States.  Panamanian Carlos Lee talked about business opportunities that may not be available for players that do not speak English.  Cuban Livan Hernandez also spoke.

The Astros have some young Dominicans that will benefit from these cultural development programs.  Jimmy Paredes (Haina, Dominican Republic) and Fernando Abad (La Romana, DR) are two of the young Dominicans projected to be major contributors for the Astros this year.

Dominican closer Jose Valverde on long saves streak, Lanzador Dominicano Jose Valverde jugando bueno

Jose Valverde is known for his crazy antics on the mound.  A converted save opportunity is usually followed by wild legs kicks, squats, and yelling at the sky.  His nickname is "Papa Grande" and Valverde has converted 51 strait save chances over the last two years.  The record is 84 strait saves, set by Eric Gagne.

The Dominican Baseball Guy has been following Valverde since he first broke into the big leagues with the Diamondbacks.  He has saved over 40 games with the Diamondbacks, the Astros, and now the Tigers.

Valverde's crazy personality on the mound is genuine.  His friends say he likes things loud and fast, whether on the field or off the field.  He drives fast cars and listens to the music loud.

Jose says it is a long way to get to the save streak record, but he is going to try.  Jose is from the great baseball city of San Pedro de Macoris, Republica Dominicana.

Dominican baseball player Jose Valverde at Spring Training 2011,
by Tom Hagerty for LakelandLocal.com

Astros claim Dominican baseball player Fernando Martinez off waivers, Astros firma pelotero Dominicano Fernando Martinez

The Astros were horrible last year.  They are the Dominican Baseball Guy's hometown team, and the Dominican Baseball Guy was forced to see the brutally bad team up close all last year.  But silver lining right?

So, the worst record in MLB landed the Astros first on the off-season waiver wire and allowed them to claim highly heralded Fernando Martinez off the waiver wire.

Fernando Martinez was a top-5 prospect in the Mets system from 2006-2010.  Most Mets fans saw him as a cornerstone outfield player, and left-handed bat to boot.  Some Mets bloggers think he still could be that cornerstone left-handed hitter the Mets have sorely needed in recent years.  But there are only a certain number of spots available at Spring Training, and the Mets chose to finally let him go.

He will be competing for an outfield spot with the Astros, and it will be a highly competitive competition to make the Astros opening day roster as an outfielder.  Martinez has played in 82 big league games with the Mets, but never lived up to the potential.  This has been at least partially due to injuries.  He should get the chance to at least test that potential with the Astros, though he does have a minor league option remaining, so the club could send him to the minors to start the season.

In any case, this is at least some hope for an Astros team looking to rebuild.  He adds to the plethora of young talent in on the Astros big league club.

Fernando Martinez is from Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic.

Fernando Martinez with the Mets in  2009, by Keith Allison on Flickr

Astros pick up Dominican player Domingo Santana, Astors de Houston recibe beisbolista Dominicana

The Astros completed their deal with the Phillies for the trade of Hunter Pence this week.  The Astros had four players to choose from to complete the deal, and they chose Dominican baseball player Domingo Santana to complete the deal.

Santana was born in 1992 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  He was signed by the Phillies in 2009, and has spent the last two plus years in Rookie ball and then A-ball.  He has been pretty good in those two years hitting for a .287 average.

The Astros brass apparently all agreed to get him, but who knows.  He is a nineteen year old, with plus skills in several areas, but will have to work into his body.  Only time will tell with a player this young, but the Astros also got 3 other top prospects.  So, it looks like they got a decent deal and some more influx of Dominican baseball talent.

Apparently that is Domingo Santana at second base, by tedkerwin on Flickr

Astros next owner looks to increase team's presence in Dominican Republic

Astros ownership could change hands as soon as next week, and the new owner should continue to increase the team's presence in the Dominican Republic.  General Manager Ed Wade has made inroads in the country and convinced current owner to make some big deals regarding Dominican players.

They currently have five pitchers on the big league roster that come from the country, most notably Wandy Rodriguez.  The Dominican Baseball Guy recently blogged about the rest of the pitchers and some minor leaguers in the Astros system that are Dominican, so you can see that here.

Recently, the Astros gave 16-year-old  Ariel Ovando a $2.6 million signing bonus, which was the second highest signing bonus handed to a Dominican prospect last year.  They expect to see him in the big leagues as soon as 2015.

So, regarding the Astros presence in the Dominican Republic, Ed Wade seems to have done a good job.  Other insiders say he has done a decent job of rebuilding the club in other areas.  Probable owner Jim Crane will have to decide if Wade has done well enough to keep his job.

Jhon Florentino interview, Dominican player from Azua, DR

Jhon Florentino has played with the Astros AA the Corpus Christi Hooks for the last two seasons, and has been in the Astros organization since being signed by them in 2003.  Jhon made the 2009 mid-season all-star team in the Texas League and was named player of the week one time in the Texas League in 2010.  Unfortunetly the Astros released him at the end of last season, but I am sure they will resign him or he will get picked up by another team.  He is a quality player that has produced well at the AA level, and a quality individual.

We first met in Corpus Christi during the 2009 season, and later met several times in San Francisco de Macoris during the 2009 Dominican Winter Baseball League Season when he was playing for the Gigantes.   I interviewed him during our first meeting and he gave me some insight into the drafting process and free agency for the Dominican League, and the players on Gigantes. We also talked about differences between the leagues and fans, and about his travel schedule.

See the full article at the Dominican Baseball Examiner

Jhon Florentino and the Dominican Baseball Guy at a 2010 Corpus Christi Hooks Game

Dominican Winter Baseball League: Gigantes lose, Fernando Abad and Victor Mercedes shine for Toros

10/17/09 Game-
The Gigantes lost their second in a row to start the season tonight. They were never in this contest and looked sloppy throughout, going down by a score of 8-0. The Toros even had an inside the park home run in the eighth inning, after an error (and lack of effort in my opinion or at least ignorance of the situation by pitcher Rhiner Cruz).

There was not much good to say about the Gigantes performance in this game. Estarlin de los Santos had another good game. It is somewhat strange to see a player with only high-A experience be entrenched as a starter at short stop. However, he has played well and went 1-3 last night, and also hit a hard liner right at the center fielder. He made some good plays in the field again too.

Luis Taveras, the brother of Willy Taveras, saw action as a pinch hitter and got a hit. Erick Almonte, a leading hitter for los Gigantes last year, got on track a little going 1-2, with a walk. He was with the Brewers in AAA last year and had a good year (.291, 2HR, 31RBI) in 105 games. He is big, at 6'2" and 180 pounds, with long ball potential.

Astros minor leaguer Fernando Abad pitched 4 innings of no-hit ball for the Toros. Victor Mercedes went 3-3 and had the inside the park home run.

The Gigantes head back home for their home opener tonight against the Aguilas.

Erick Almonte warming up for Gigantes, by Dominican Baseball Guy