Record nine Dominicans to play in MLB All-Star Game

Dominican player David Ortiz is appearing in his
9th All-Star Game. Photo by Aaron Donovan.

The 2013 MLB All-Star Game features a a record nine Dominican baseball players. The total number of Latin and Dominican players has been on the upswing over the last decade-plus, and those higher numbers of total players undoubtedly leads to more Latins and Dominicans participating in the mid-summer classic. Last year in the 2012 All-Star Game eight Dominican players were featured in the game.

The American League All-Star roster features starters and perennial All-Stars Robinson Cano, Jose Bautista, and David Ortiz. It also features Dominicans Bortolo Colon, Jhonny Peralta, Nelson Cruz, and Edwin Encarnacion. No shortage of drama here, as you can see that Colon, Peralta, and Cruz are all mired in steroid accusations and could be suspended before the end of the year. But alas, they have been named to the team.

Featured on the National League roster are just two Dominican players. Jean Segura is appearing in his first All-Star game, after just a little over a years in the majors. He had a respectable season for part of last year with the Brewers, and then he tore up the Dominican Winter League in the off-season with the Gigantes del Cibao. The other Dominican player on the National League roster is Segura's teammate in Milwaukee Carlos Gomez.

This is the Dominican players that plan to play as of now. The Dominican Baseball Guy is somewhat perplexed at the All-Star carosuel. I beleive Colon is out due to injury or he is a replacement player, but is not playing. I thought Cruz was out injured as well. Big Papi will probably come up once, swing for the fences, and sit down. Who really knows?

In the end, nine Dominican players have been named to the 2013 MLB All-Star game. We will all tune in tonight to see which ones play.

Dominican baseball card #27: Alexi Casilla

It has been a while since the Dominican Baseball Guy has had a Dominican baseball cards update. I had to stock up on some more cards, and got some good ones. So, for the latest Dominican baseball card, I have an Alexi Casilla 2011 Topps card (#339). It is a pretty standard card, no crazy graphics or anything. Topps has always had pretty boring cards.

Dominican player Alexi Casilla has had a solid MLB career since he first appeared in a game with the Twins back in 2006. He has never quite made it to 'everyday player' status, but has appeared in 69 games or more in five of his six full big league seasons. A well above average defender, he is a tick below average as a hitter, so he has been unable to hold on to a full time major league gig.

With that said, he has had some big clutch hits and been a part of some post-season success for the Twins. In 2009, during the 2009 AL Central tie-breaker game against the Tigers, Casilla hit a game-winning walk-off single to send the Twins to the playoffs. Just last week, he scored two runs and drove in four in a Twins win, so he has had some big games. The problem is he has not been able to do it consistently at the plate.

The Dominican Baseball Guy first noticed Casilla during the 2009 Dominican Winter Baseball League season. I saw him play live 15-20 times that year. He was the starting second baseman for the Gigantes for most of the year, and he really showed his class that year with a good showing at the plate and tons of good plays in the field. Even a marginal MLB player like Casilla can be a star in the winter leagues.

He is still making a major contribution for the Twins this year, though they are not in the playoff hunt. Dominican baseball player Casilla is from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.

Dominican Player of the Week: Juan Francisco of the Atlanta Braves

The Dominican Baseball Guy has awarded Juan Francisco of the Braves as his Dominican Player of the Week. Juan hit .375 with three home runs last week, and got some votes for player of the week in the National League.

It is no secret Juan Francisco is one of the favorite players of the Dominican Baseball Guy.  He was playing with the Gigantes del Cibao in 2009, the year I followed the Gigantes for the entire Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) season.  That year he won the MVP of the Dominican Winter League, and he also won it in 2009.  He was either at the top or close to the top of the LIDOM in home runs, RBI, and average in both of those years.

He had a slower year this past off-season in the LIDOM.  As he has gotten closer and closer to securing a regular big league gig, his playing time in LIDOM has gone down.  He had played in 81 big league games going into this season for the Reds, but they decided to trade him this off-season.

His power is his calling card.  Juan is one of the best guys to see in batting practice.  Kids line the outside of the stadium waiting for him to hit them balls, which they will use to play at their own games and practices.  During games, the stadium always stopped for Juan Francisco, aka "El Diamante."  Not sure where the nickname came from, but during that year the announcers started calling him "The Diamond of Bonao."  Francisco is from Bonao, Republica Dominicana.  I saw him hit one shot in San Francisco de Macoris at the Julian Javier stadium that I swore went over the lights.  We all lost it in the lights, and people were saying "he hit it to the moon."

Lots of people say that he is a below average fielder and that he strikes out a lot.  And he does.  But the Dominican Baseball Guy still thinks he is going to be a star, as I predicted two years ago when I first saw him play in Dominican Winter League action.  I think his power and his clutch play will be enough to outweigh deficiencies elsewhere.  He won a lot of games for the Gigantes that season with late inning heroics.  And, after all, I cannot go back on my prediction now.

The only other Dominican player to receive votes in the player of the week race in either league was Rafael Furcal of Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic.

Dominican player of the week Juan Francisco bats in the Midwest League in 2007, photo by Joel Dinda on Flickr

Dominican Republic baseball player Joel Peralta re-signs with Tampa Bay Rays

Joel Peralta has played in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) for 12 strait years, so it meant a lot when he skipped his home country winter league this off-season.  He re-signed with the Rays for one year and $2.75 million.

Rays' manager Joe Maddon expected good last year, but what he got from Peralta was great.  He did not allow a run in 17 of his final 18 appearances, and lefties batted only .157 against him.  He also had six saves when closer Karl Farnsworth went out due to injury.

Fellow Rays' reliever JP Howell says he is happy to have Peralta back.  Howell says that his energy is contagious, and every time he looks at him he feels energized.

The Dominican Baseball Guy saw Peralta play several times in LIDOM action in 2009 for the Gigantes del Cibao.  Sitting in the right field stands, the Gigantes bullpen is inches from the fans.  And the Dominican Baseball Guy attests that Peralta has contagious energy.

Seeing him in person, one can see an always upbeat attitude and love for the game from Peralta.  He would often throw balls with the right fielder in between innings to warm him up (as seen below).  Peralta always threw fouls balls to the stands, and often laughed and joked with fans.  He also kept his bullpen mates alive.  And when he was ready to pitch, he zoned in and became totally serious.  Exactly the kind of attitude needed on a baseball diamond.

The Dominican Baseball Guy thought he had several pictures of Peralta playing with the Gigantes del Cibao in 2009, but this is the only one he found at the moment.  Hey, I know it is not the best picture, but at least it is proof that the Dominican Baseball Guy saw Peralta play with the Gigantes.  Joel is from Bonao, Dominican Republic.

Joel Peralta warms up the right fielder from the Gigantes del Cibao bullpen at the Julian Javier
Stadium in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic, photo by Dominican Baseball Guy

Dominican baseball player Alexi Casilla and Twins agree to deal, Alexi Casilla frima con Twins por un ano

The Dominican Baseball Guy has been following Alexi Casilla since he first cracked the big leagues.  Casilla was playing for the Gigantes del Cibao on the Dominican Baseball Guy's first trip to the Dominican Republic to see the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) in 2009.  The Dominican Baseball Guy got some video of him during a delay at one of the Gigantes home games in San Francisco de Macoris:


He has played with the Gigantes in the LIDOM every year since.  This year he hit .336 for the Gigantes in 31 games, and .396 in 17 playoff games.

Casilla has been a solid contributor for the Twins, since breaking into the big league club in 2006.  He has averaged around .250 and 90 games over the last five years, filling in at short stop or second based, or DHing some.

His value is as a fielder.  One of the best the Dominican Baseball Guy has ever seen live.  Super soft hands, decent arm, fast.  It really shows how good a player is when you see him playing with or against guys that are not as talented, which sometimes happens in the LIDOM.

The Twins avoided arbitration and signed Alexi Casilla to a one year deal.  Alexi Casilla is from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.

Dominican Baseball Dancers, Bailarinas de Gigantes

The Dominican Baseball Guy missed the monthly post on Dominican Baseball team dancers, which usually comes on the 1st of the month.  However, the Caribbean Series was going on, so the Dominican Baseball Guy was posting on all the goings on in the championship of winter baseball.  See all the Caribbean Series posts.

So far, the Dominican Baseball Guy has posted on cheerleaders from Escogido, Licey, and Aguilas (see the tags below).  So, this week here is a photo of the Gigantes dancers.  Even the youngest team in the league from the smallest city with a team (San Francisco de Macoris) has dancers.

Thanks to El Dia for the photo and story.

Dominican Winter Baseball League Round Robin Results 2011

The Round Robin portion of the Dominican Winter Baseball League ended yesterday, and there was a tie for second.  After the 4 team, 18 game round robin in which the top four teams in the LIDOM play each other 6 times, the Toros came out on top with a record of 12-6, so they are on to the finals.  The Toros and their fans are preparing to host the championship series.

The Gigantes and the Estrellas ended up tied for second, both with a record of 9-9.  It was a very exciting race, as both teams won on the final day of the round robin to set up a one game sudden death playoff, which takes place tonight in San Pedro de Macoris.  The Gigantes feature Alexi Casilla (who just signed a new deal with the Twins), Wilson Betemit (Royals), and Wilson Valdez (Phillies, who is on fire and hit .400 in the round robin).  The Estrellas feature pitcher Radhames Liz (former Oriole) and Nationals farmhand Alex Valdez.  These are of course among many other players with MLB experience and minor leaguers.

The winner of the Gigantes versus Estrellas will take on the Toros in a 9 game final series.  The winner of the LIDOM championship will go on to face the champion of the winter leagues in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela in the Caribbean Series.  The Caribbean Series takes place in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico this year, from February 2-7, 2011.

Dominican Winter Baseball League Playoffs 2010-11

The Dominican Winter Baseball League Playoffs (LIDOM) are underway.  They have a really cool playoff system.  The Dominican Baseball Guy put up a post about the LIDOM playoff system last year. Briefly, the top 4 of 6 teams make the playoffs and play a 15 game round robin, then the top two teams play a 9 game final series and the winner of that goes to the Caribbean Series.

This year Escogido, Toros, Estrellas, and Gigantes made the round robin.  The two traditional power houses of the league, Licey and Aguilas, missed the playoffs.  This is a major story as Licey and Aguilas are like the Red Sox and Yankees of the LIDOM.  It is a very rare year that both miss the playoffs.

The teams are 5 games into the round robin and all within 1 game of each other (see the standings).  This is a great time to see a game in the Dominican Republic.  The crowds are very big during these playoff series and the atmosphere is great.  Here is the schedule: if you will be in the country try and catch a game.

The economy in the country is not the best right now, so the crowds are not as big as they have been in years past, and the Aguilas and Licey games draw the biggest crowds, but here is an old picture from a Licey vs. Aguilas game, so you get the jest.  The games this year should have a great atmosphere too.

Dominican Winter Baseball League MVP and Post Season Awards 2010

The Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) has finished the regular season and the playoffs are being played right now.  Here is the press release announcing the post season awards.

As the Dominican Baseball Guy predicted, Juan Francisco won the MVP.  The Dominican Baseball Guy also predicted that he would play in the MLB this past season and he did.  Juan won the Rookie of the Year in LIDOM in 2008, the MVP last year, and the MVP this year.  He has had quite a run in his first three years.  This article from the Gigantes del Cibao website sums up his dominance in the LIDOM over the past three years.

This year he was in the top 5 in HR, RBI, Runs, and average.  In just 3 years he has 30 HR, which puts him only 2 behind the Gigantes club leader Nelson Cruz, who took seven years to get to that number.  He is only the third player in LIDOM history to have two 10 HR seasons, and is half way to the career record.  He is also only the 10th player to hit two 400 feet HR in Quisqueya Stadium.  He nearly made the Reds playoff roster this season, and should see more playing time next year after playing in 36 games last season.  Juan is from Bonao, and he is known as "the Diamond of Bonao."

Juan Francisco

The Rookie of the Year went to Eury Perez.  He is in the Nationals system and played last year at single A.  Eury is a speedy center fielder, who had 60 stolen bases during his single A season last year.  He hit .345 and had 21 stolen bases in 37 LIDOM games.  It will be some time before he makes it to a big league club, but he has the potential to be a productive lead off hitter and center fielder.  Eury is from San Luis, DR.

Eury Perez

Another National, Yunesky Maya won the Pitcher of the Year.  He is an established major leaguer who came over to the Nationals last season after pitching for many years in the Cuban National Series, the top Cuban league.  He won the Cuban equivalent of the Cy Young on 2009.  In eight LIDOM starts he was 4-2 with a 1.32 ERA.  He also had 42 K's in 41 innings and just 8 walks.  Maya should fit into the Nationals starting rotation somewhere this year, the only question is where.  Maya is from Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

Yunesky Maya

Here is an article from Federal Baseball Nationals blog that sums up these two and their potential going forward.  Both played for Escogido in the LIDOM this year.

Lastly, Dean Treanor won the Manager of the Year Award.  Treanor managed the Toros to first place in the LIDOM.  He has managed and coached in various minor league teams and organizations since 1988.  He has managed the Toros for the last two years.  Treanor will be managing the Indianapolis Indians of the International League next year (according to this article).  Treanor played baseball at Cal Poly-San Luis Obisbo in the 1970s.

Dean Treanor

Alexi Casilla and Edward Valdez Players of the Week

For the last week of the regular season (December 13-19) in the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM), Alexi Casilla and Edward Valdez won the player of the weeks honors.

Alexi plays for the Gigantes and has been an established Major Leauger with the Twins for the last four seasons. At times he plays everyday with the Twins, but injuries and other factors have pushed him into a bench player at times.  He is a quality talent in the LIDOM though.  He played in 40 of 49 games this year, and hit .303 while playing excellent defense at 2B and SS.  Alexi is from San Cristobal, DR.

Edward Valdez has been with Escogido in the LIDOM.  He has made it as far as AAA in the last two seasons and he is currently under contract with the Rockies.  He has been used as a starter and long reliever.  Maybe we will see him with the Rockies in the next few years.  Edward is from Nizao, DR.

History of the Estadio Quisqueya

The Dominican Baseball Guy is going to continue a series of blog posts that he started at the beginning of the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) season last year.  They will be on the history of Dominican Baseball, with a focus on the teams and stadiums.  The first two posts on Dominican Baseball History were the History of the Gigantes del Cibao and the History of the LIDOM.  The Dominican Baseball Guy also included a post with several important books that have a histories of Dominican Baseball.

The Quisqueya Stadium is the most important sporting place in the Dominican Republic.  It is in Santo Domingo and is home to the Licey Tigers and the Ecogido Lions, the two most prominent and longest standing teams in the country.  The stadium was the dream of longtime dictator Rafael Trujillo and inaugurated on October 23, 1955.  Trujillo is not usually seen as a favorable ruler as his regime was characterized by an iron fist, but he did maintain order and brought progress in infrastructural development.  And he loved baseball.

Quisqueya has been the Cathedral of baseball in the Dominican Republic and has hosted 50 plus games nearly every year since the first game in 1955.  Everyone in the country knows this stadium and it is the dream of most young players to play here, even more so than in the big leagues because their friends and family can see them play in the Quisqueya.

Last May, the federal government set forth to redevelop the stadium and surrounding area.  They will be adding 10,000 seats to make the capacity nearly 25,000, and they will be updating locker rooms and all the guest facilities.  Additionally, they plan to develop the area around the stadium and build apartments, a luxury hotel, and retail outlets.  The new area will be named after Juan Marichal, the only Dominican in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.  He is from Laguna Verde, DR.

You can see a complete history at the Licey website here.  Great place to see a game, and it will be even better when this renovation is complete!

Irvin Joel Guzman and Fabio Castro Players of the Week

So, apparently the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) names a player of the week and sometimes a  pitcher of the week each week.  The Dominican Baseball Guy did not realize this, but from now on will post a link and some info about both the player and the pitcher of the week for each week of the Dominican Winter Baseball League season.  That is when the LIDOM releases both names, because often times they only name a player of the week.

For the week of November 22-29 and the sixth award of the season, here is the press release for the player and pitcher of the week.  Irvin Joel Guzman was chosen as the player of the week.  Guzman was 4-8 with 2 HRs and 7 RBI for Escogido.    Guzman has played a few games in the big leagues with Tampa Bay and the Dodgers, but has spent the rest of his baseball career at the AA and AAA level.  Last year he hit 33 HRs playing  for the Bowie Baysox in the Eastern League.  He is from Quisqueya, DR, which is a suburb of the baseball Mecca San Pedro de Macoris.

The pitcher of the week was Fabio Castro.  Castro pitched seven innings and allowed zero earned runs for the Gigantes.  He is currently leading LIDOM with a 1.29 ERA and is second in wins.  Castro has seen a few major league games with the Rangers and Phillies, but spent last year with Pawtucket in the AAA International League, the Red Sox affiliate.  He has already signed with the Mariners for next year.  He is from Monte Crisit, DR.  Here he is in some Dominican League action:

Juan Francisco Player of the Week

Juan Francisco won his second consecutive player of the week award in the Dominican Winter Baseball League.  The Minor League Baseball site, milb.com, has great player biographies and lists their current stats in the Winter leagues, so I linked to Juan's page above.  This was the award for November 15-21, and here is the official press release from the Dominican Winter Baseball League, also known as the Liga de Beisbol Professional Dominicana or LIDOM for short.

Last week Juan hit only the 10th 400 foot home run in the history of the historical Quisqueya Stadium in Santo Domingo.  So, this shows how much power he really has.  Not too many guys hit 400 foot home runs in any stadium.  Thus far, Juan is leading the Gigantes and the Dominican Winter League in home runs, RBI, and runs scored.  He is on his way to the Dominican Winter League MVP, as the Dominican Baseball Guy predicted in the last post.

He played in 36 games with the Reds last year, hitting .273.  Hopefully the Reds can get him some more playing time next year.

Dominican Baseball Card #11 and #12: Felix Fermin

The #11 and #12 Dominican Baseball Guy Dominican Baseball Cards are two Felix Fermin cards.  The first is a 1990 Donruss #191.  The second is a 1990 Topps #722.

Felix had a long career in the big leagues.  The Dominican Baseball Guy was suprised to find out that he never made an All-Star team or had any major award.  He played for ten years in the big leagues, debuting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1987.  He then spent 5 years with the Indians, and was traded to the Mariners for Omar Vizquel before the 1995 season.  He had probably his best year with the Mariners, as a Ken Griffey Jr. team won the AL West in 1995.  Fermin was an everyday player on that team.  Felix retired in 1996 after 11 games with the White Sox.

Felix is a popular player in Santiago, Dominican Republic, where he spent his Winter League seasons with the Aguilas.  He went on to manage the Aguilas after he retired.  He managed the Aguilas from 2000-2008, winning the Dominican Winter Baseball League 5 times in this period.  In 2009 he went on to manage the Gigantes del Cibao, and he led them to the Championship Series of the Dominican Winter Baseball League last season, before losing to Escogido in 9 games.  He is again coaching the Gigantes this season, and he remains very popular in Santiago, even though he manages their main rival.  Felix is from Mao, DR.

Dominican Baseball Card #10: Nelson Cruz

First off, the Dominican Baseball Guy now has his own domain, so be sure and bookmark dominicanbaseballguy.com.  And now on to the #10 Dominican Baseball Guy Dominican Baseball Card.

The Dominican Baseball Guy does not usually do this, but he has to borrow a card from The Hamiltonian blog.  So, thanks to this post from the Hamiltonian, the Dominican Baseball Guy's 10th Dominican Baseball Card is a Nelson Cruz custom:

It's just a great card and it has Cruz playing for the Dominican Republic.  Nelson is just starting his career, so not much to say or update here.  The Dominican Baseball Guy recently tweeted and facebooked an article on Cruz's rise to the big leagues (see the article on Cruz's Road to the Bigs here).  He actually started as a basketball player and did not start baseball until he was 16.  The Mets signed him at the age of 17 in 1998, and 11 years later he was an all-star with the Rangers.

Nelson was an all-star and hit in the home run derby in 2009.  This year he fought threw injuries, but when he plays, he is considered one of the best corner outfielders in the game.  He is considered a true 5 tool players, and has shown all these skills, hitting for power and average, running, fielding and throwing.  If he can stay healthy, the Dominican Baseball Guy guarantees he will be an all-star for many years to come.

Nelson has played with the Gigantes in Dominican Winter Baseball League, for several years.  He led the league in home runs and RBI in 2008.  He is a huge crowd favorite with the Gigantes fans and even played a few games last year after making an MLB all-star team.  Gigantes fans say "llega papa," or "here comes the papa" when Cruz is playing.  He is a huge draw in the Dominican Winter League.

Nelson is from Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic.  Tony Pena, the 9th Dominican Baseball Card, is also from Monte Cristi.  This is actually a province, not a city.  It is in the far north-west corner of the Dominican Republic on the border with Haiti.  Good players come from all over the Dominican is the point.

Rain delay, then lights delay, then Gigantes loss

11/18/09 Game
Yes thats right. Wednesday night was an interesting game. The Gigantes lost 8-1 at home to Aguilas. There was a rain delay, then the lights went out. Another thing you don't see in stateside baseball. Electricity is shotty throughout this city, but the electricity company usually makes sure the stadium has lights. Last night they went out and took 45 minutes or so to come back on.

A number of import players (ie Americans and Japanese) have come and gone. So many that I can not keep up with it, much less explain it in a blog post. Vince Sinisi has arrived with los Gigantes though, and I remember him from his time with Rice. He played AAA ball last season in the Pacific Coast League and I got a nice clip of him making a diving catch last night-

During the light delay, a few players gathered in the bullpen and played a game, which I think is unique to Dominican baseball. I know the Dominicans are the ones always playing it. Obviously Americans play it now, but not sure where it originated. It is basically a version of hacky sack mixed with hot potato, using gloves and a ball. Here is a clip of Alexi Casilla and some others playing-

I posted some other videos of this little side game on the Dominican Baseball Guy Facebook page, as well as some photos.  Here are some of the photos, all by the Dominican Baseball Guy:

The Dominican Baseball Guy in the right field bleachers of Julian Javier Stadium

The Dominican Baseball Guy with Gigantes fans

The Dominican Baseball Guy with a vendor/friend

Juan Francisco, Conor Jackson Continue to Mash, Luis Durango will be in Majors

11/13/09 Game
Juan Fracisco had two towering home runs last night. These shots were close to 400 footers. This guy has a ton of power and will definitely be in the big leagues next year. Also for Gigantes, Luis Durango is a really really fast center fielder that has been playing well. He also showed off his arm last night, gunning a guy down at the plate when I thought he had no chance on the play. The Dominican Baseball Guy GUARANTEES they will be in the big leagues within 2 years.

For Escogido, Conor Jackson is leading the league in average, runs scored, and stolen bases, and is 3rd in RBI. Diamondbacks fans should be happy he is rounding back into big league form.

Here are some photos of the game from the Julian Javier Stadium in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic, all courtesy of the Dominican Baseball Guy: