2000 - Santo Domingo

By David Marasco

Every year the winners of the Mexican, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican and Dominican Winter Leagues meet in a round robin tournament to crown the champions of the Caribbean. Six days, twelve games, the cream of the crop. In 2000 the series was slotted for Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.

It's about 20 minutes by taxi from the airport to the capital. The road runs along the coast. Between the calm Caribbean waters and the tropical warmth I felt like I was in San Diego again. Before I could even get to the front desk of my hotel a scalper accosted me and tried to sell me baseball tickets. I decided on the spot that this was my kind of country. After checking into the hotel I got down to business. North on Maximo Gomez, West on John F.Kennedy, look for stadium lights.

Estadio Quisqueya was built in the 1950's when Trujillo was in power. It is a single deck structure that features a grandstand on the diamond and bleachers down the lines. It seats 16,000 fans although I suspect that many more souls get packed in for big games. The E in Estadio hangs awkwardly from the facing of the stadium, a sign of the general disrepair of the venue. Such is life.

In the old days these teams had the best players represent their countries. Now the major leagues are protecting their investments, so if a player has more than a certain combination of innings pitched, at bats, or years played, no winterball for him. So no Sammy Sosa, Pedro Martinez or Juan Gonzalez. Instead we get the likes of Luis Polonia, Jose Cruz Jr. and Adrian Beltre. A big step down, but still baseball at a very high level.

The first game featured Puerto Rico's Santurce Cangrejeros (Crabbers) and Venezuela's Zuila Aguilas (Eagles), or by the appearance of their uniforms, the Dodgers and the Mets. Venezuela started Wilson Alvarez while the Cangrejeros sent Ricky Bones to the mound. Alvarez was enjoying a 2-0 lead when he ran into trouble in the 5th. Armando Rios drew a leadoff walk and Luis Lopez followed with an infield single. Eduardo Guzman sacrificed the runners over. Littleball tactics are very much in fashion in the Caribbean. Robinson Cancel bounced one to third and Rios was cut down at the plate. Tony Valentin sent what should have been the third out to third, but Jose Amado butchered it and the Cangrejeros had their first run. Wilson Alvarez's next three pitches were ugly. The one he threw to Jose Cruz Jr ended up in right field for a double and a pair of runs. Jose Vidro's went to to left for a double for a run, and Alonzo Powell's may still be in orbit. By the time the dust cleared six unearned runs were in. From what I hear Wilson decided that he would rather be in Miami, so he took the next flight out of the country.

Watching all of those people run around the bases can make you hungry. I called out for the hot dog guy and got a 25 peso hot dog. 25 pesos is a little more than a buck and a half. This was a strange strange dog. In America you get the bun and the dog, and you know the saying about the law and sausages. What was in the Styrofoam box? Yes, there was a dog and a bun. It also had toppings, lots of toppings. Mayo, ketchup and cheese for starters. What looked like onions was on closer inspection some kind of dried fruit or vegetable. There was also a mystery meat that was either pork or goat. The entire shebang was topped by what appeared to be crushed stale potato chips, but must have again been a dried fruit or veggie. Drinks are also interesting. I'm guessing that labor is cheap enough that it doesn't even enter the equation. As a result each section has one or two ladies who sit and place until you yell at them. A bottle of Coke costs 10 pesos, just like outside. For the daily grind I'd get a big slice of pizza and a coke for 35 pesos. That will fill you up for about $2.25 American. Think about that the next time you eat at a ballpark.

From time to time people around me would shout out "Presidente!" I assumed that the ruler of the Dominican Republic was in the crowd. I'd look around me for some politico with bodyguards, but couldn't find him. I decided that the president must be a real man of the people - after all, he blended in with the crowd and everyone seemed happy when they called out for him. Of course, Presidente is the brand of beer sold in the stadium. Rum was also a popular beverage.

Things went from bad to worse for Venezuela. Although they were able to get back some runs in the 7th, they got steamrollered in the 8th. Single, walk, double, single, single, K, dinger, single, double, ground out, double, single, walk, flyout; in other words, 14-3 Puerto Rico.

Venezuela tried to get something done in the bottom of the 8th, but the lights went out. I mean that literally. The neighborhood lost power for about 5 minutes and we all sat in the dark. It took about another 10 minutes for the lights to warm up. Seems like this was a common occurrence.

Puerto Rico tagged on three more runs in the 9th and left the bases loaded. Venezuela got 3 of their own to regain some pride. At 19-6 you need as much pride as you can get. But pride and 22 hits allowed will still get you an L.

Between the games they brought out national icon Pedro Martinez and dedicated the tournament to him. About a million photographers followed him to the mound for the ceremonial first pitch. Only with that many people there he couldn't see the plate. Finally people realized the problem and it was like the Red Sea parting. Pedro fired the ball in and all Hell broke loose. Loud music started playing and about two-dozen Mardi Gras-looking creatures took the field and started dancing. A bunch of youngsters ran in from the outfield with big cards that spelled out Pedro Martinez. A huge picture of the Cy Young award winner was unfurled in the outfield. The place was plain nuts. It was a long time before order was restored.

Once things got under control the Cibaenas Aguilas of the Dominican Republic faced off against Mexico's Navojoa Mayos (Mayans). The last regular season game I saw had the Dodgers send Robinson Checko get blown out of the first inning by the Astros. The Dominicans started Checko. He lasted 7 batters, got two outs and gave up five runs, all earned. But when you have the likes of Luis Polonia, Neifi Perez, Adrian Beltre, Tony Batista and Miguel Tejada in your lineup, you don't sweat too hard over five runs. The Dominicans put 4 on the board in the 2nd and followed with another pair in the 3rd to push the score to 6-5 Dominican Republic.

Now a slight detour into the crowd. The stadium wasn't too noisy in the first game, nor when Mexico was piling up the runs. It wasn't that the fans of those teams weren't wild, it was just that there weren't enough of them to achieve critical mass. On the other hand, when the Dominicans got rolling the stadium got very loud. When the crowd hit stride I'd say that it could hold its own with the best of the Tokyodome. Think Canadian baseball fans and then take the reverse.

An error opened the door for 4 more Dominican runs in the 7th to ice the game. The island teams took both games to open the series.

As I was leaving the first night a young man in a Venezuela hat asked me if I knew his countryman Andres Galaraga. I replied that I had seen him play many times, but I'd never met him. He said that was a little surprising considering my position. This was odd so I asked some questions. Then it became crystal clear. All night long Dominicans had been pointing to my scorebook and asking what I was doing. When I told them I was scoring the game they looked at me like I was a man from Mars. In any case, people around me saw some gringo wearing a special access pass taking careful notes. Looking at my Colorado Rockies gym bag they concluded that I was some kind of muy importante scout for the Rockies, and of course I should be good friend with their former firstbaseman Andres Galaraga.

In the next day's game Mexico sent Juan Manuel Palafox to the mound against Puerto Rico's Ismael Villegas. After an unearned run for Mexico in the first, both teams locked in for a pitcher's duel. Mexico got another run in the 5th, but Palafox was reaching the end of his tenure. This was not quickly enough for Puerto Rico, who acted as if Pelafox was scuffing the ball. After almost 90 pitches Pelafox was out and Vincent Palcios was in, and two Puerto Ricans crossed the plate to tie the game.

From then on it was just a matter of bullpen depth. Stevenson Agosto and J.C. Romaro shut down Mexico, allowing only 2 baserunners in the last 3 innings. Vincente Palacios, Julio Cesar Valerio and Julio Parra got lit up to the tune of 7 runs over 3 innings. Puerto Rico won it going away.

Quisqueya Stadium is filled with police and soldiers. Tales from the Negro Leagues jumped into my head when I saw the military presence. Yet in between innings it is not uncommon for a fan to run out onto the field, wave his country's flag, circle the bases, slide into home, and then shake hands with the umpire. These fans return to the stand unmolested by the authorities. Ho harm, no foul. In a similar vein, players before and after the game would invite fans down onto the field to pose for pictures with their heros. Unthinkable in major league parks. Everyone is here to have a good time. The fans are vocal and aggressive in support of their teams. If they see somebody with a different hat, they'll go at it. But it's all good natured. A fan who drops a foul ball will hear "yeah, just like your team." For all the yelling and shouting, there is no specter of violence. In the end the fans of the losing team congratulate their counterparts and come back the next day.

The nightcap was another affair with good pitching. The Cibaenas Aguilas faced off against the Zuila Aguilas. All I can say is that it is a good thing that the Mexicali Aguilas got knocked out in the Mexican playoffs, otherwise things would have become very confusing. The Dominicans started Hooligan Tavarez against Edwin Hurtado. In the early part of the game it looked to be another blowout. Leadoff triples in the 1st and 2nd were parleyed into runs by the Dominicans, and a Tony Batista two-run blast in the 3rd set the score to 4-0. Venezuela cut the lead in half with a pair of solo shots, but the Dominicans pulled another leadoff triple out of their hat for a 5th run. Venezuela would pull to 5-3, but the bats of both teams went silent after that.

With two days in the books the island powers were undefeated, and a pecking order had been established:

Team	ERA	Average
Puerto Rico	3.50	.407
Dominican Republic	5.00	.307
Venezuela	7.00	.221
Mexico	9.00	.185

On Friday I watched the waves of the Caribbean break over the Dominican coast. Unfortunately, Santo Domingo has no beaches. Still, knowing that Lake Michigan has big chunks of ice made me feel that much warmer. I walked around the city, seeing the sights. A beautiful country filled with poverty.

After a while I made my way to the ballpark. Today was judgement day. The 0-2 teams were paired up as were the 2-0 teams. This is when things would really shake out.

In the early game Venezuela hosted Mexico. Mexico was able to get hits, but not bunch them. Only in the 7th were they able to string together a rally, it netted them a pair of runs. Venezuela had no such problems. Jose Amado went deep to left in the 2nd for a pair, and after sending nine men to the plate in the 5th Venezuela had 7 runs. Mexico was suffering from a power outage from their 3-4 hitters, Morgan Burkhart and Charles McBride. They were batting a combined .091. Needless to day, Venezuela came out on top.

The late game had Puerto Rico's Julio Valera against the Dominican's Efrain Valdez. Puerto Rico drew first blood in the 2nd when Alonzo Powell put one over the fence in the left. Beltre to lead off the 4th and after stealing 3rd came home with a run for the Dominican Republic on a Tony Batista sacrifice fly. Valera seemed to have the Dominicans under control, but late in the 5th injured himself trying to field a comebacker. He finished the inning, but was done for the day. In the 5th the Puerto Ricans staged a two-out rally for a 4-1 lead. The wheels fell of the Dominican Republic and the Puerto Ricans put up two runs in each of the next two innings. While the Dominicans were able to get some back, that only was good enough to narrow the final to 8-3.

The big problem that Dominicans faced was that they could not stop the bleeding. This seemed to be a common problem. It seemed that the first batter the bullpen pitchers faced always got a hit or a walk. This added up to a lot of runs.

Needless to say, with the top two teams in action the crowd was nuts. And a certain Dominican wearing #66 certainly added to the excitement. Any time there was a man on base the crowd cranked up the volume. It didn't end with the 9th either. All through the night Puerto Rican fans drove around the city waving flags out their windows and honked their horns.

On Saturday Venezuela sent Filipe Lira to the mound and Puerto Rico matched with American Willie Adams. Lira might be a major leaguer, but he didn't fool the Puerto Ricans. He went though 6 innings, tossing 94 pitches. Mixed in were 11 hits, a walk and five runs, all earned. Men were in scoring position in all but the 4th inning. It was a performance that was becoming typical of Puerto Rico. They would get hits at a steady pace, and open the floodgates when given an opportunity. Consistent would be a good word to use when describing the Puerto Rican attack.

Meanwhile Willie Adams was pitching a whale of a game. Averaging only about a dozen pitches an inning he went 8 before turning things over to Saul Rivera. He was almost never in trouble, and when he did land in a mess he could wriggle off the hook. The only black mark against Adams was a Jose Cabrera dinger in the 8th. Adams notched 9 K's on his way to collecting the win by a final of 5-1

In the second game the Mexicans unleashed their secret weapon - a full Mariachi band. While the Mexican team fared poorly on the field, the Mexican fans seemed to be having the most fun of any of the visiting contingents. They weren't content to simply run the bases with a flag between innings, they took part in elaborate routines with the various mascots. The Mexicans also seemed to be better organized. There was a large range of of hats and shirts with the their team logo and Caribbean Series markings. It's good to know that they will host the tournament in 2001. I think I should start saving my pesos now.

Maybe it was the band, but Mexico really hung tough. After a pair of innings the Mayos had surrendered 5 hits and 2 runs. But then Aaron Quiroz clamped down and stopped the Aguilas cold. A Hector Casteneda homer to left cut the lead in half in the 5th, and in the 6th Luis Polonia misplayed a catchable Virgil Chevalier hit, allowing Mauricio Zazueta to cross the plate with the tying run.

The Dominicans went to work. Desi Wilson drew a one-out walk and tried to steal on a pitchout. Canteneda's throw was off the mark and Wilson slid in safely. Miguel Tejada then blasted a homer to deep left. I must have received a half-dozen high fives before the ball landed.

Casteneda went deep to right for his third blast of the series, but the Dominican Republic would manufacture an insurance run to win by a final of 5-3. Mexico has to be given a lot of credit. This game could have become a blowout at several points, but Mexico didn't fold. Yet the island powers took the day again.

My friends would rightfully give me a hard time for going to the Dominican Republic and not doing some historical sightseeing. Santo Domingo is the oldest "European" city in the Western hemisphere. It was from here that Spain ruled its New World conquests. I spent Sunday morning poking around the colonial district. I visited Fortress Ozuma which has guarded the city for five centuries. The problem with forts is that you can't move them to adjust to the situation. Sir Francis Drake landed his troops elsewhere in 1586 and took the city from the backside. From the fortress you do get a great view of the Caribbean. I also paid a visit to the main square of the old city where a statue of Columbus overlooks the proceedings. Behind him is a cathedral which is the oldest in the Americas.

Day five featured the best baseball of the tournament. The opener had Puerto Rico hosting Mexico. The Mexican bats finally came to life as they scored 2 in the first inning. Sadly it looked like Mexico's luck would continue to be poor as their starter lasted only 6 batters and 4 runs. He was replaced by Sabino Loaiza who was able to fool the Puerto Ricans long enough for Mexico to make a comeback.

While Loaiza was dealing with the Santurce batters the Mayos got busy. In the 5th Morgan Burkhart finally showed the power that made him one of the most feared hitters in the Mexican Pacific League. His two-run homer tied up the game. Later in the inning Casteneda would double home Virgil Chevalier for the go-ahead run.

In the 7th the Puerto Ricans touched Loaiza. Tony Valentin stroked a leadoff triple to center and came in on Jose Cruz Jr's single. The Mayos made the call to the bullpen and brought in Julio Parra. Parra was one of my favorite players from my trip to Mexico. The Mexicali fans dubbed him "Free Willy" due to his girth. Jose Vidro smacked a Parra offering to left that was nabbed on a full running dive by Darrell Sherman, saving the run. Parra would make things exciting, but exit the inning with the tie intact.

Neither team could score in regulation, so the game went to extra innings. The Mayos got a man to second in the top of the 10th, but stranded him. Then the Mexicans luck turned south again. Eduardo Perez grounded the first pitch of the bottom of the 10th down the third base line. It bounced over the bag, hit a rock and zinged sharply foul. The thirdbaseman had to move quickly to his right to field the ball, and was unable to get Perez at first. Luis Lopez sent a screamer into the glove of the secondbaseman, but he could not double the runner off.

The luck got even worse for the Mayos. For the second day in a row Hector Castenda couldn't nail a basestealer on a pitchout. This time the ball trickled into center and the runner advanced to third. As only Perez's run had meaning, two intentionals loaded the bases in order to set up both the double play and the force at home. Raul Casanova bounced to first, but again misfortune reared her ugly head; Morgan Burkhart scooped up the ball and threw it wildly past the catcher. The final in 10, Puerto Rico 6, Mexico 5.

The Venezuela - Dominican Republic game as also topnotch. Jose Cabrera led off the match with a double to center, advanced on a sacrifice, and was gunned down at the plate on a grounder to short. That was the closest the Venezuelans would ever get to scoring.

You can say what you want about there being too many lawyers in America, but it does make the place fairly safe. In the Dominican Republic you have to worry about cables dangling from telephone poles and missing manhole covers. Why do I bring this up? People watch the game for free by climbing up the back side of the outfield fence. In the 3rd one such fan lost his balance and fell on to the field of play. He had to be removed, unconscious, on a stretcher.

It was also in the 3rd Luis Polonia dumped a two-out single into center. Neifi Perez brought him home with a double to right. This was the only scoring of the night as the Dominican Republic won 1-0, in the only shutout of the tournament.

The best ball was day five, but the most exciting was day six. Mexico finally got things clicking on the final day. They provided fireworks by batting around in both the 6th and 8th innings. They piled up 14 runs to Venezuela's lone tally. Navojoa would not go home winless. The offensive explosion set the stage for the late game.

These were the two teams that stood on top of the charts. They had won every game, with the obvious exception of their previous encounter. For some reason the Aguilas sent Robinson Checko to the mound. The one-inning wonder lasted five batters before being yanked.

The Puerto Ricans countered with Ricky Bones who was effective in the first few innings. Perhaps a little too good. Dominican management provided the umpires with some suspicious baseballs, and Bones was checked for scuffing tools. Bones pleaded innocent, but he became much more hittable after the umpires had their little chat with him.

In the early stages the Puerto Ricans were scoring mechanically, and it looked as if this would be a blowout. But if you spend enough of your life at ballparks you get a certain instinct for the pulse of the game. Even though Santurce held a commanding lead one could feel in the air that the Dominicans would make a charge and turn it back into a game.

The score stood at 10-4 in the 7th when the Aguilas sent Julian Tavarez in to pitch. The Puerto Rican offence that had been scoring at will was shut down. In the bottom half of the frame the Dominicans lost the chance at a big rally when Adrian Beltre got sloppy. He was on first when David Ortiz sent a roller to third. It was slow enough to rule out the double play, but the Puerto Ricans decided to go after Beltre, the lead runner. Guzman flipped to Valentin covering at second, only to see him drop the ball. Men on first and second, no outs. Beltre stepped off of the bag. Big mistake. Jose Vidro had snuck in behind him and picked up the stray baseball. One out, man on first. The Aguilas did not score.

The score was still 10-4 when the Dominicans started batting in the 8th. They ripped through 4 different pitchers on their way to 5 runs. No big blows, just a steady diet of singles got the job done.

Vidro got the Puerto Ricans started with a double to lead off the 9th. Up 10-9 they were in desperate need of an insurance run. Alonzo Powell was unable to advance the runner. Armando Rios was intentionally walked to set up the double play. Raul Casanova obligingly bounced into it. Onto the bottom of the 9th.

Miguel Tejada started things with a deep out to center. Alberto Castillo drew a walk and the Dominican catcher was replaced by the fleet-footed Dionis Cesar at first. Mario Encarnacion struck out and Cesar streaked for second on strike three, sliding in safely. A moment of controversy arose; Puerto Rico claimed that Encarnacion had interfered with the throw down to second, and the runner should be declared the 3rd out, game over. With a stadium full of fanaticos the umpires let the play stand.

The second life brought the top of the Dominican order into play. Luis Polonia drew a walk and then Neifi Perez singled to left, bringing home the tying run and sending Polonia to third. The crowd became deafening as Beltre strode to the plate. He fell behind early, but Perez altered the situation by swiping second. With a 2-2 count and first base open the Puerto Rican catcher stood up and ordered a pitch high and outside for ball 3. On the next pitch he held out his glove for the intentional walk but as the pitch was being delivered he dove back into his crouch. Beltre cooly fouled off the trick offering. "You guys caught me napping once tonight," his swing said, "but not twice." Santurce struck out Beltre in the normal fashion, and the game entered extra innings.

At this point things looked very good for the Dominican Republic. The bottom of the Santurce lineup was scheduled for the 10th and the Aguilas had the heart of their order due. More than that, the momentum had swung. The Puerto Rican bats had gone silent, while the Dominicans were whacking whatever the Santurce pitchers were serving up. I started weighing how much I would be willing to pay to delay my flight home by one day in order to see the next day's possible tie-breaking match. Santurce was retired one-two-three. The stadium roared as the Dominicans came to bat.

Felix Martinez got the ball rolling with a single to center. He was sacrificed into scoring position by Batista, but then the Puerto Ricans stiffened. They struck out Guillermo Garcia. The dangerous Miguel Tejada was granted an intentional walk. The crowd jumped to its feet at Dionis Cesar turned on a pitch and roped a ball that seemed destined for extra bases. The cheer turned into groan as Eduardo Perez snagged the liner at first.

The balance of the game once again shifted. The Dominicans had made their push and had been denied. Now Puerto Rico would show the top of their lineup. Jose Valentin opened the 11th with a homer to right. As the Puerto Rican fans celebrated the Dominicans in the crowd exchanged nervous but knowing looks. One run was not insurmountable, not the way the Aguilas had been hitting. Jose Cruz Jr grounded out to first, but then the Dominicans faltered. Vidro singled and Powell walked, putting men on 1st and 2nd. Armando Rios fouled out and it looked like the Dominicans would escape down by only one run. But Raul Casanova rifled a ball into left for a double to score two runs. When the curtain fell on the top of the 11th it was 13-10 Puerto Rico.

Mario Encarnacion brought hope to the Dominican heart when he led off the bottom of the frame with a single. Luis Polonia, who had come up big in the 8th and 9th, grounded to 2nd. The Puerto Ricans took their time and cut down the lead runner, not risking a hurried attempt at a double play. Neifi Perez grounded to first, and again Santurce made sure they got the lead runner. This brought Adrian Beltre to the plate. He fell behind 0-2 and then grounded weakly to the pitcher. Saul Rivera fielded the ball and tossed over to first, giving Puerto Rico the bragging rights of the Caribbean.

Jubilant Puerto Rican fans took the field as exhausted Dominicans headed for the exits. The Puerto Ricans would party through the night to finish off their vacation, while the Dominicans had to be at work the next day. It was well past 1 in the morning, over 5 hours after the game had started.

On many of the nights sweet young things would sit down next to me and flirt. This doesn't happen to me much in American ballparks, but back home I'm not rich and prostitution is illegal. On the last night a cutie gave me a wink and playfully asked "Are you tired of baseball yet?" The answer was no.

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