For Venezuelans, Twins are the far-off hom …
To Venezuelans, Twins are the far-off home team
http://www.startribune.com/stories/509/4999788.html
Heron Marquez Estrada, Star Tribune
September 26, 2004
Venezuela's economy is threatening to spiral out of control. President Hugo
Chavez is fighting for his political life. And unrest is evident everywhere
from the country's prisons to the streets of the capital.
For many Venezuelans, however, the biggest news is a historic story taking
place in Minnesota as los Mellizos -- as baseball's Twins are known in Spanish
-- have captured hearts in the South American nation of 25 million people.
The Twins' roster includes five players who were born and still make their
offseason homes in Venezuela.
"My country is going through some hard times right now," pitcher Juan Rincon
said after the team clinched its third consecutive American League Central
Division title. "This takes the people's minds off things, if only for a little
while."
The country's recent troubles -- including a failed coup, crippling strikes and
a disputed recall referendum against Chavez in August -- have only served to
highlight the success of Twins ace pitcher Johan Santana and dozens of other
Venezuelan players in the major leagues this year.
The Twins' success is magnified by the fact that the team this season had more
Venezuelans on its roster at one time than any other club in major league
baseball history.
In addition to Santana and Rincon, the other Venezuelan Twins are pitcher
Carlos Silva, second baseman Luis Rivas and catcher Henry Blanco. A sixth,
pitcher Carlos Pulido, was on the roster for a brief spell earlier this year.
Santana, Rincon and Silva have all won at least 10 games, the first time in
major league history that three Venezuelans have done that for the same team.
Passion for the game is strong enough that Silva made a point of noting that
milestone when it was reached earlier this summer.
Los Mellizos are front-page news all over Venezuela as the team heads into the
AL playoffs, which begin a week from Tuesday.
"Everybody's writing about the Twins with so many Venezuelans," said Boris
Mizrahi, a radio announcer who commutes frequently between Venezuela and
Florida. "They're ... the biggest story in the country."
The presence of so many Venezuelans has not only helped the Twins on the field
and in the standings, but also in the club's efforts to reach Minnesota's
growing Latino population.
The team has conducted Hispanic heritage nights and has experimented with
broadcasting some of its games in Spanish. And it is working to get the Latino
players more involved in the community.
"We would be remiss not to," said Patrick Klinger, the Twins' vice president in
charge of marketing. "There is a cultural shift going on, and we want to get
our Latino players involved."
Viva Santana
Leading the charge for the Twins, and the Venezuelans, has been Santana, a
hard-throwing lefthander who grew up in a remote area of Venezuela.
Santana, 25, left Venezuela at age 17 to play professional baseball in the
United States and joined the Twins for the 2000 season. He blossomed into a
star pitcher last year, starting two games in the playoffs against the Yankees,
and has put together a season that is viewed as historic by Venezuelan
standards.
"Santana is the maximum right now," said Otie Kramer, an expatriate living in
Florida who recently returned from spending a month visiting her family in
Venezuela. "The pride in the country is immense."
Santana's 20 victories are the most in one season by a Venezuelan pitcher. He
is leading the American League in earned run average and strikeouts and is
among the contenders for the league's Cy Young Award. No Venezuelan has ever
won the award, which goes to the best pitcher in each league and is voted on by
baseball writers.
After earning his 20th victory Friday night, Santana said: "I'm proud of being
Venezuelan. It's always good to show the world, especially the baseball world,
what we are able to do."
He also said he wanted to dedicate the season to Venezuelans, "because they
have supported me throughout the whole season. I want to let them know that I'm
always with my Venezuelan people."
Of late, in the days leading up to Santana's starts, Venezuelan newspapers have
taken note and run articles about the various records he is approaching and how
he compares with the other elite pitchers in the game.
"That way everybody knows and is ready," said Zulibell Silva, a sister of Twins
pitcher Carlos Silva and a member of a Venezuelan church group currently
touring Minnesota.
"Santana is ... a superhero in Venezuela," Mizrahi said. "[He's] going to make
everyone forget about the political problems."
Troubled times
The country's problems have been building since Chavez, a former paratrooper
who led a failed coup in 1994, was elected president in 1998. Almost
immediately he started clashing with the United States and Venezuela's elite.
The strife has left many Venezuelans feeling uncertain about their country's
future. Thousands have fled, taking with them an estimated $30 billion since
1999.
In 2002, a military coup succeeded in toppling Chavez, but he was freed after
two days when Venezuelans protested and other Latin American countries
condemned the coup.
In 2003 there was a series of national strikes, which stopped oil production
and almost ruined the country's economy.
Just last month, in a contentious campaign, Chavez survived efforts to recall
him. The election was preceded by months of demonstrations that turned violent
at times. The turmoil is expected to continue because Chavez already has
announced that he will run for reelection in 2006.
Imported from U.S.
Unlike in other South American countries, where soccer is king, baseball rules
in Venezuela. The game was introduced by U.S. oil company employees during the
early part of the 20th century. Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil
producer.
The first Venezuelan arrived in the big leagues in 1939 when Alex Carrasquel
pitched for the old Washington Senators, who moved to Minnesota and became the
Twins in 1961.
Since Carrasquel, there has been a steady trickle of Venezuelan ballplayers.
Among Latin American countries, Venezuela is second only to the Dominican
Republic in turning out baseball major leaguers.
The Venezuelan players range from Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparicio to the
Twins' Les Straker, whose main claim to fame is that he spent 10 years in the
minor leagues before becoming the first Venezuelan to pitch in the World Series
in 1987.
"This is a golden age for Venezuelan baseball," said Pastor Siquera, who
follows the players by watching games on TV via his satellite dish in
Barquisimeto, a city of 625,000 in northwestern Venezuela.
He is especially interested in Santana.
"He has become a true national hero," said Siquera, who at 78 still can rattle
off the batting averages, strikeout totals and winning percentages of
Venezuela's major leaguers.
Targets of crime
Despite the adulation, major league players are not immune from Venezuela's
strife.
The flip side to the fame, wealth and attention the players receive is that
they become targets of fans, criminals or deadbeats. Earlier this month the
mother of Detroit Tigers pitcher Ugueth Urbina was kidnapped, and a $15 million
ransom is reportedly being sought.
Other Venezuelan players, almost all of whom return to their homeland in the
offseason to play winter baseball, have been shot, attacked or harassed.
Magglio Ordonez of the Chicago White Sox, the victim of an armed robbery, now
employs bodyguards for himself and his family whenever he is in Venezuela.
Rincon, 25, hasn't reached the millionaire status of more established major
leaguers, but his $330,000 annual salary is still a fortune by Venezuela
standards.
In an interview last week, Rincon told about being robbed last year by several
men who forced his car to the side of the road and then recognized him.
They demanded cash, which he did not have.
He said he eventually talked them into accepting a check, which the robbers
cashed the next morning at 8 a.m.
"The bank even called me to approve the transfer of the funds," Rincon said.
"I said yes. What could I do? They knew who I was and where I lived."
Zulay Silva, the mother of the Twins pitcher, said neighbors in their hometown
of Bolivar have told the family that -- for its own protection -- it should
consider moving.
She said her oldest daughter already was attacked by a group of strangers who
tried to grab her when they discovered she was Carlos Silva's sister. The girl
was unharmed but the incident left her and the family badly shaken.
Speaking in Spanish, Zulay Silva said the family is aware that after her son's
success this year, his $300,000 annual salary will increase and that he and the
family could become bigger targets.
"I know we should move, but I'm the one who doesn't want to," Zulay Silva said.
"It's my home. It's where I raised my children, where I'm comfortable."
Along with security considerations, the very success the Venezuelan players are
enjoying could work against their fans getting a chance to see them play again
in their home country.
"I don't think we'll see Santana pitch down here again," Pastor Siquera said.
"He's too valuable to Minnesota. Plus, I don't think we can afford him now."
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