Author: lleonardbw

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

All the 30 Major League teams are in full work-out mode during this 2015 Spring Training and within days of the first exhibition games will take place in Arizona and Florida. We remember the glorious history of Spring Training baseball. In 1942 the Brooklyn Dodgers held their training in Havana, Cuba, and with frequency the Cincinnati Reds during the 1940’s and 1950’s legendary players like Jackie Robinson visited Cuba during this time of the year.

The Detroit Tigers played a series of games against a Cuban national team; with the Detroit Tigers there was the great Ty Cobb. Babe Ruth played a series of games in Cuba as he was added to a New York Giants team under manager John McGraw, during the exhibition. Great Cuban black players like Cristóbal Torriente and Jesús Méndez played against McGraw’s stars and after one game John McGraw said: “I wish I could paint Méndez and Torriente white, I would take them with me to the Major Leagues”, while Babe Ruth said while in Cuba: “with Torriente and Méndez on my team, we will win the pennant in September”.

Cuba had teams in the US professional leagues, like the New York Cubans and the Cuban Stars, teams of the US Negro Leagues. Later regular teams in the International League like the Havana Cubans, and Cuban Sugar Kings. In 1959 the Cuban Sugar Kings(an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds)won the title in the International League.

Today, the possibility is there for Major League teams to return to Cuba and have their Spring Training there, according to Tony Clark, President of the Major League Players Association the US and Cuba are in negotiations to allow MLB teams to travel to Cuba in the future for Spring Training, once diplomatic relations are re-established between the two nations.

These two countries have traditions in baseball unlike any other. Three years after the first baseball game was played in Cuba(December 27,1874)between the Habana and Matanzas teams at Palmar del Junco Stadium, an international event was organized with a US team, who visited the Port of Matanzas on a ship, and on the 29th of December Cuba’s professional league was inaugurated in a game between Habana and Almendares.

These two teams had the greatest rivalry in Cuba and where instrumental in the developing of baseball in the country. Later on the Cuban Winter League had two more teams, Cienfuegos and Marianao, they would play every weekend. This reporter as a kid saw players in Cuba(play in that league)like Orestes(Minnie Miñoso), Brooks Robinson, Jim Bunning, Camilo Pascual,Bob Shaw, Cookie Rojas,and many others that also played here in the US big leagues.

Prior to the eradication of professionalism by the Cuban government in 1961, there was a great connection and brotherhood between Cuban and American players. Not only Cuban players wore the uniforms of many Major League teams, but also many American players would travel to Cuba to play in the Cuban Professional Winter League, considered then, as the best baseball professional league outside the Major Leagues.

Oakland-born Bill Werle(1920-2010)who was a pitcher for the Pirates,Cardinals and Red Sox, once told me: “I used to play in Cuba in the winter league, it was the best league after the majors, and everybody wanted to go and play there, because they also played the best”.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s and is the Spanish TV voice for the L.A. Angels on Time/Warner Communications and does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

The news of former Chicago White Sox great Minnie Minoso’s death is deeply felt by the White Sox organization, the Sox plan to have a dedication for Minoso 92, before their first pre season game which is scheduled this Wednesday March 4th against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cuban born Minoso in his first at bat with the White Sox hit a two run homer and became the first black man to play for the White Sox in that at bat in 1951.

The Cook County Coroner said that Minoso had passed away on Sunday morning at 1 AM at a filling station he reportedly was found in his car in the driver’s seat and had died of a heart attack due to clogged arteries this was determined after Minoso had a autopsy that found he died from a torn pulmonary artery. Minoso earlier Saturday evening had celebrated a friends birthday and had stopped off afterwards at the gas station. Minoso broke into the majors with the Cleveland Indians in 1949 but was later traded in a three man deal to the White Sox before the 1951 season. In 17 seasons he played 12 of them were with the Sox.

Minoso also hit for average with a .307 average, 135 homers, and 808 RBIs, in 1983 the White Sox retired Minoso’s number 9. The Sox placed a statue of Minoso outside of U.S. Cellular Field. There is one photo of Minoso talking to his statue during the dedication, Minoso was decked out in a fancy suit for the occasion. He was quite honored at the dedication of his statue.

Minoso was a right handed hitter and while it’s very rare for a player to get a first at bat home run when they make their first appearance for a club Minoso did it in his first at bat with the Sox in 1951 when he hit one for a two run dinger off New York Yankees righty pitcher Vic Raschi. Minoso was mostly a leftfielder and was known as the “Cuban Comet.”

Minoso played in five different decades and was one of two major leaguers who played in five decades. Minoso in 1976 at the age of 53 got his final big league hit. In 1980 at the age of 57 Minoso he came to bat twice going 0-2 in 1980 in his final big league appearance. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said of Minoso, “when I watch Minnie Minoso play, I thought I was looking at a Hall of Fame player. I never understood why Minnie was never elected.”

Minoso won three gold gloves and was elected to the MLB All-Star game nine times, he finished fourth four times as the top A.L. vote getter for an MVP award. Minoso also is ninth on baseball’s all time hit by pitch list he was hit 192 times. Former Cincinnati Reds first baseman and Cuban born player Tony Perez said that ever since he was a kid he wanted to be like Minoso, “Every young player in Cuba wanted to be like Minnie Minoso and I was one of them. The way he played the game, hard all the time, hard. He was very consistent playing the game. He tried to win every game. And if I want to be like somebody and I picked Minnie you have to be consistent.” said Perez

Listen to Amaury’s podcast below regarding Minnie Minoso right here on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

The Oakland A’s have a ambidextrous pitcher with Pat Venditte and the Giants are trying to stay a winner for this 2015 season. It’s going to be a great spring training, Barry Zito is back as a non-rostered invitee with the A’s Zito a former Cy Young Award winner over a decade ago. Everything looks good. Like I said in spring training 30 teams are in first place.

Every team is talking about “we have a shot” whether your the Astros, Phillies, A’s or one of the worst teams in the Majors spring is the best time of the year for baseball. Even if someone struck out multiple times everyone is happy to be at spring training, spring training is a great time to go down to Arizona.

I have been going to Arizona when there were only four or five teams it was the A’s, Cleveland, Brewers, Cubs, Giants, and Padres before the 1977 expansion. Now you have 15 teams in the Cactus League. You have half the teams in MLB that train in the Valley of the Sun as the former A’s announcer Bill King used to call it.

Things have changed a lot in Arizona for example in downtown Phoenix I remember going to the Pink Pony, it was a water hole for the media and guys like Billy Martin who did some interviews there. You could drive into Phoenix and I would fly out of a Bay Area into Phoenix and during those early days you could come into town and get a hotel room.

You can’t do that any more, if you want a decent place you had to make reservations several months in advance because everything is sold out. Right now there are thousands of people there planning their vacations around spring training, then you have the Giants who have won in recent years. There was a time when people could careless about the Giants, now the Giants sell out every game in Scottsdale.

I remember with the A’s the same thing, there was a good size amount of media and fans who would make the trip to Arizona, but now you have thousands and thousands of fans. This is good news for the Arizona economy as the Phoenix economy is thriving now and this is one of the best times of the year for baseball. Remember they had the Super Bowl in Phoenix at the first part of the year and has been a very good one with fans coming to Arizona spending their money.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for Oakland A’s baseball and does News and Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to Amaury’s podcast below

by Michael Duca

SCOTTSDALE AZ–In the last year Arizona made accessing to Surprise more accessible I guess when you win the American League title (Kansas City Royals) your ball park gets treated better. For the Chicago Cubs it’s whole different kettle of wax out there that’s an absolutely gorgeous stadium. The place looks like Wrigley Field and I got to go out there once last year and I was really impressed and I loved the exposed iron work.

They made the gates baseball green, it’s a really lovely location, it’s a lovely stadium, they did have the brickwall not of ivy but of vines, I don’t remember what kind of vines they are, but they don’t grow very well in 175 degree heat when you get down here in August. You can water all you want but there’s a limit.

Giant relievers to the rescue: Hunter Strickland comes off that unforgettable World Series where he almost started a brawl after yelling at Royals baserunner catcher Salvador Perez who actually took steps towards the mound and was intercepted by the plate umpire. Strickland comes cheap and he throws hard and was a strike thrower in the minor leagues.

If he’s able to tuck his postseason mishap away smile about it everytime he looks down at his World Championship ring and forget about it otherwise, he’ll be just fine. That’s what you look for in a relief pitcher is the ability to forget about the bad outing. They all happen every single one of them has an outing like those he just had the misfortune of having his on the biggest stage.

Former A’s third baseman Eric Chavez joins the A’s broadcast booth: Winner of six Gold Gloves former A’s third baseman Eric Chavez will be joining the Oakland A’s broadcast booth. The media will certainly enjoy having Chavez around the pressbox where he can share some of his insight and expertise into the game.

We will have the opportunity to sit down and chat with him and he’ll talk about third base play and how it’s done. One thing that I pride myself as an official scorer that I get to go to some of the outstanding fielders and ask them to give me tips on how the position should be played. Things to look for so I can do a better job at judging players who might misplay a ball.

Former Giant J.T. Snow taught me a whole lot about foot work around the bag at first base and who better to learn about playing shortstop than from former Giant shortstop Omar Vizquel. I picked his brains for all I could. I will do the same with Chavey. This is a guy who played that position at the highest possible level for a better part of a decade.

Michael Duca is covering the Giants and A’s in spring training listen to his podcast below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com