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

Former big leaguer Willy Aybar plays in Canada after arrest for wife beating

Willy Aybar recently signed with the Edmonton Capitals of the independent North American League.  He played in 100 games with the Rays last year, and has had a nice career as a utility infielder since breaking into the bigs in 2005.  In 408 major league games he has a .258 lifetime average.

Well, apparently one reason no big league team took a chance on him is because he was arrested for beating his wife in January in the Dominican Republic.  See the original story from the Dominican daily here.  His wife was in intensive care  for several days, before returning to her home.  This after he already had a restraining order that forbid him from seeing his wife because he was arrested for domestic violence in 2008.  And after all this his wife did not want to make comments to damage his reputation.

The Dominican Baseball Guy would not want a wife beater involved in his organization in any way.  Pretty pathetic that the Rays would keep a wife beater on their team, but if his wife did not have anything bad to say about him then who are we to say?  It shows the desperation of the poverty in the Dominican Republic that his wife and family did not want to damage his reputation.  They still need the money his skills bring.

In any case this guy is a dirt bag, and was probably denied a US Visa even if a big league team tried to pick him up.  The Dominican Baseball Guy would put all the women beaters in the world on an island and leave them there forever.  He is from Bani, DR.

Willy Aybar with the Rays, by Keith Allison on Flickr

Dodgers Juan Uribe looks for big year with new contract

Juan Uribe signed an offseason free agent contract with the Dodgers after winning the World Series with the Giants last season.  Rangers fans will remember several daggers that Uribe delivered in the World Series last season.

Uribe comes from a family of baseball players, like a many Dominican players.  Jose Uribe, a star with the Giants the last time they were in the World Series in 1989, was Juan's cousin.  Jose died in a car crash in 2006 near his hometown of Juan Baron, Palenque, Dominican Republic.  Juan called Jose "tio," Spanish for uncle due to their age difference, and credits his uncle with teaching him how to carry himself in the big leagues.

Juan and Jose are both from Juan Baron, though they are often credited as being from Bani (the largest city nearby) or Palenque (the municipality of Juan Baron) or San Cristobal (the province of Juan Baron).  Juan is scheduled to start at second base this year for the Dodgers.

Juan Uribe with the Giants, by Kathy T on Flickr

Miguel Tejada leader in Giants camp, known as nation's ballplayer in Dominican Republic

Miguel Tejada arrived in Giants camp last week and plans to lead Pablo Sandoval in daily workouts throughout the season, this according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.  Miguel recently worked out with Erick Aybar in the Dominican Republic throughout the off season, as both players are from Bani, DR.  He plans to play a similar mentor role with fellow Latin player Sandoval.

Tejada last year with the Orioles, by Keith Allison on Flickr

Tejada is perhaps the most popular Dominican player in his home country.  He is known as the "nation's ballplayer" and the "patriot player" because he has played virtually every off season in the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) and made several Caribbean Series appearances with his longtime team, the Aguilas de Santiago.  He also maintains a home in the country, mentors younger Dominicans, and does lots of charity work in his home country.

He has garnered another nickname through his performance in winter campaigns.  He is known as "la guagua."  So, a guagua is a small bus that is used for public transportation around cities and between smaller cities in the Dominican Republic.  These guaguas are always overflowing with people squeezing on to them.  So, it is said that when Tejada plays, the stadium is like a guagua, overflowing with people.

Dominican "guagua," by Valentintv blog