Yoenis Cespedes wants more flair in baseball.

After Ian Kinsler drew controversy with his remarks earlier this week complaining of Latin American players showing too much emotion during games, the game was buzzing with outrage. The veteran said of Puerto Rican and Dominican opponents in the World Baseball Classic, “That just wasn’t the way we were raised. They were raised differently and to show emotion and passion when you play. We do show emotion; we do show passion. But we just do it in a different way.”

Cespedes took the opposite position, saying in an interview with CBS Sports that Latin players mean no disrespect with their celebrations and bat flips, and that it’s just a display of their passion and love for the game. “Baseball would grow,” Cespedes said, if American players adopted the same kind of passion instead of sticking to the uptight, longstanding traditions of stateside baseball.

Cespedes is on the money. The traditionalist vigor that is still so pervasive in baseball turns off casual fans, and only serves to puff up the egos of players like Kinsler. Think of the most memorable moments in baseball the past few seasons. Does Jose Batista’s bat flip come to mind? How about Dee Gordon‘s leadoff home run against the Mets after Jose Fernandez‘s passing? Bartolo Colon‘s home run? These were some of the most emotional moments, and the players showed it on the field.

Baseball was never supposed to be a game defined by its rigidity and structure. While it has always had countless rules and technicalities, it’s always been about much more than that. The game itself has a character and personality of its own. Baseball’s transcendent figures almost never became beloved simply for how fast they could pitch or how hard they could hit a ball. Some of the game’s greatest players have also been the game’s most fascinating people.

Baseball has always been a game of emotions and of the human spirit. It’s as much about the final box score as it is the story that led us there. Sacrificing this passion for some straw man sportsmanship argument makes players feel even more self-important than they already do. At the end of the day, baseball is entertainment. We watch it to make us happy, to escape the struggles of our everyday lives, and to take us on an emotional journey.

Baseball should be wholeheartedly embracing players like those on the Puerto Rican and Dominican teams. The emotion, tension, and passion of the big moments make an otherwise slow and deliberate game so addicting.

As baseball looks to court a younger generation of fans, it must not shy away from its big moments. The Twitter generation (my generation) is not going to be wooed by the intricacies of the game, nor will the international markets.

I complain a lot about the old guard of the sport being unwilling to adapt to the changing landscape of sabermetrics and analytics, but I’m just as tired of their stymying of emotion and fun. It’s just a sport. It’s just a game. Take it seriously, but don’t take our joy. Or, in the words of Bryce Harper, “make baseball fun again.”

The post Baseball Must Embrace Emotion And Flair appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

When you think about freedom, you think about being able to walk down the street and enjoy the sights and the sounds; take a drive to anywhere across this great nation of ours and enjoy every aspect of it; go to a ball game with friends and family and join thousands of others that might be from different walks of life but have the same interest in common; to root for the home team, or maybe even the visiting team, depending on their preference.

But if you really look at the opportunity we all share to live in harmony, one of the greatest men who helped to make this a reality and someone that I am forever grateful to is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, for paving the way for all of us to equally enjoy such freedoms.

Now, we can not take away the many sacrifices that our armed forces and veterans have made to protect us all from the people that want to destroy the way we live, but for the purpose of this post I wanted to honor a man that stood up to adversity and fought for civil rights between whites, blacks and people from all races, ethnicities, and walks of life. That they may be equal, and grow and live together without discrimination in the greatest democracy the world has ever known. Dr. King knew that this great nation of ours was missing something, and when he made that march to Washington, he changed not only a Nation, but a World.

We see that evidence in our own backyard, in other nations, and especially in our National Pastime.  In Baseball, you see that right away, with players coming from all over the world, to join and compete with fellow athletes for a common goal.

No longer are teams segregated like they were prior to the late 1940′s when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to break the color barrier in the major leagues.  Robinson’s courage also paved the way for players like Roberto Clemente, who was the first Latin American superstar in Major League Baseball and lived his life giving back to others and becoming a symbol of Latin American pride. Masanori Murakami, who made his debut in 1964 with the San Francisco Giants, was the first ever Japanese baseball player to make his mark on the game.

The sacrifices that these and many men and women have made, and the willingness of one man to push back the norm, changed the way most if not all of us look at each other.

We have come a long way as a nation and as a sport, and as we continue to move forward, the greatest gift that we can share with the next generation is the life and courage of all the brave men and women that have fought for our freedoms especially Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Happy Birthday to a Great American and a man that forever changed the landscape of our great nation: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The post MMO Honors The Spirit Of Martin Luther King Jr. appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Kingsport Mets had their photo day, which is covered by Allen Greene photography, and was released for the fans to see. It is filled with head shots, team photos, and always gives people an idea of what the full roster for Kingsport will be. You can check out the photos by clicking here.

Here is the full roster for the 2014 Kingsport Mets, just in time for Opening Day:

Pitchers:

RHP Gaby Almonte
RHP Matires Arias
RHP Bryce Beeler
RHP Matt Blackham
RHP Nicco Blank
RHP Connor Buchmann
RHP Andrew Church
RHP Andrew Duff
RHP Ramon Estevez
LHP Yoan Gonzalez
RHP Andrew Massie
RHP Craig Missigman
RHP Christian Montgomery
RHP Yoryi Nuez
RHP Luis Rengel
LHP Ruben Reyes
LHP Dave Roseboom
RHP Ismael Tijerina
RHP Ty Williams

Catchers:

Brandon Brosher
Jose Garcia
Miguel Leal
Luis Ortega

Infielders:

2B Leon Canelon
3B Eudor Garcia
SS Luis Guillorme
2B Branden Kaupe
1B Zach Mathieu
3B Pedro Perez
UTL Jean Carlos Rodriguez

Outfielders

OF Wuilmer Becerra
OF Oswal Caraballo
OF Vincente Lupo
OF Ivan Wilson

Prospect Overview 

Jose Garcia was a 6-figure bonus a few years back, and is a good receiver with a good bat that will give adequate gap power. The Mets are high on Brandon Brosher and since have converted him to catcher. He has a great arm that hits 90, with a lot of power. Eudor Garcia, you already know I gush over due to his ability to flat out hit for average and power. Luis Guillorme was the top defensive shortstop in last year’s draft, and was picked in the 10th round. His bat lags the glove by a lot so far, but he has ability to make some contact. His double-play partner is Brandon Kaupe, another 4th rounder, who is super stocky, but switch hits, and runs well.

The outfield is great, with Ivan Wilson, a raw 5-tool 3rd rounder last year, Wuilmer Becerra, the 3rd player in the R.A. Dickey deal who has a power-speed combination, and Vincente Lupo, who has plus power. They will be something to watch in this lineup.

This also means 2014 3rd round pick Milton Ramos will most definitely be in Gulf Coast League.

Draft:

There are rumors that the Mets have signed Arnaldo Berrios, their 39th rounder. Not confirmed yet, but we’ll see when the Gulf Coast League roster is released. He is an outfielder with good gap power, that came from Carlos Beltran‘s Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico.

31st rounder Kurtis Horne has signed with the Mets. He is a tall, projectable lefty who gets up to 90 miles per hour.

There is nothing (yet) today on Mets 2014 First Rounder Michael Conforto after Jon Heyman tweeted they were close on the 16th.

International Free Agency

UPDATE! Ben Badler made a mistake in his report for Baseball America about Wilkerman Garcia. He is tied to the Yankees, but Kenny Hernandez is still tied to the Mets.

The July 2nd Signing period for young Latin American prospects under 23 is in exactly two weeks, and the Mets are tied to one shortstop from Carlos Guillen‘s training academy in Venezuela named Kenny Hernandez, who Baseball America is unsure can stay at short:

Even though he’s still 15 and one of the youngest players in the class with an Aug. 13 birthday, Hernandez stands out for his sweet left-handed swing and ability to hit in games. He’s 6 feet, 160 pounds with a loose, compact stroke and occasional power. There’s less ease to Hernandez’s game in the field, so scouts expect him to move to second or third base.

He figures to get about a million dollars, which would account for a majority of the Mets’ pool, like every other team, is at 2.6 million dollars. If a team goes over the pool by a significant amount, they cannot participate in top-bonus signings next year.

The post Mets Minors Notes: Kingsport Roster, Draft, IFA appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

I sat down with Former Mets General Manager and current Padres Senior Vice President, Omar Minaya, to conduct an interview pertaining to Dominican and Latin American development and the importance of baseball in developing countries such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

I asked Omar, who I know as an expert, and who was at the forefront of our major assets in Latin America during his tenure, his thoughts on how baseball was affecting those countries. We also discussed the process of how players are signed. 

One Keyword before we start, Buscon: A scout who finds and gathers talented players on the Dominican landscape. They house, feed, and train the players, and act as agents from time to time. @dplbaseball has advised me that many prefer being called “trainers”.

Enjoy my interview with Omar Minaya.

TK: To you, is baseball good for Latin America In terms of growth? What does it do?

Omar: Baseball is not only part of the Social Fabric of Latin America, but it’s also part of the Economical fabric of Latin America. It creates heroes, it creates domestic heroes, and it creates international heroes. It creates an Identity for the different Latin American Countries. It’s a good business for both American and Latin American sides. With the American side, it expands the games and opportunities, but it also makes players heroes to younger generations of those players. So baseball definitely does that, those are the things that Latin American Baseball does.

TK: Do the players who do well for the sport, help their communities afterwards?

Omar: Most players do give back in their communities. It’s not well publicized though the media, we most times hear about when the players do something bad, like testing positive for steroids, but that’s a part of it. The other part is how players contribute to their local communities, their whole towns. A lot of players give back.

TK: Sammy Sosa was said to have given back during hurricane relief, though a lot said they didn’t see anything for it, I guess they were expecting more?

Omar: Well, there’s always going to be people who said they didn’t see a dime, but I do believe that there were a few people who were affected by it. There will always be naysayers about people doing good. But there were a lot of people who were affected, a lot of people that good things happened for them. Not only Sammy Sosa gave back, but Armando Benitez, with a town that he pretty much provided for. He had a community forum and there was hundreds of workers there. Yes, these players do give back. That being said, are there going to be naysayers? Mostly because somebody didn’t get something. But that’s the way it is.

TK: How do baseball signings in general help communities? Does it help them develop?

Omar: Like how?

TK: Players automatically giving back after getting a…

Omar: Bonus? Well what happens is a lot of the players who get their bonuses is that they give back to their own families. Usually they give back to their immediate families, getting their mother a house or a car, his uncles, and a lot of the people who coach him. But the money does not stop being given when they get the bonus, they still give money in the minor leagues. They constantly give to the family no matter what team they are playing for. What I look at it is as a family unity, they work together as a family. Sometimes too many family members are provided for. A lot of ways it could be a bad thing.

TK: How So? 

Omar: Too many people can be hanging around. It’s like the famous story of Mike Tyson, who had too many people to provide for. That’s why you see sometimes professional players have a driver, and a posse of people. Some people have too many in a posse.

TK: What’s usually the process for these players coming into the pros?

Omar: The process, now, is different than what it used to be, players go through trainers, or as we call buscones. Buscones are always there, they’re basically agents, but not certified. You really use buscones to be coaches. Unfortunately in the Dominican, there aren’t many organized leagues, so teams are really dependent on these independent contractors, or trainers, or buscones.

And what happens is that you sign the player through them who are the ones showing them to you.  You then follow up and decide if you are signing the player or agreeing to a contract. Whatever it is – maybe a large deal – the buscon gets a percentage of it. That’s really worked out through the player and the buscon, but we don’t know the real transaction. Major League Baseball is doing their best to regulate that, making sure that the checks go to a central bank and the players are informed of what their responsibilities are through the buscon.

But it’s an individual relationship between the player and the buscon. The signing part of it is – – we see the player, we look for his tools, we agree on the price, and we sign the player.

But the part the team does not get involved with is the buscon, and their share of the money, or any type of exchange between him and the player. In the old days, that used to happen a lot more. You meet with the player, but you negotiate with the buscon, so they can ensure that they get a kickback.

TK: Didn’t that happen with the White Sox where the scouts worked with buscones to convince the player to get a lower bonus so that the buscone and scout get a better fee?

Omar: I don’t know exactly how that happened, it might have been that the scout said to the organization that they were worth higher, as in the player was worth 10,000, but they said they were worth 50,000, and the buscon and scout split the difference. But I don’t know enough about it.

TK: What do you think of Buscones (whether they are good or not), versus regular scouts, agents, and how are they versus MLB Team’s academies?

I think they’re like scouts, there’s good ones and there’s bad ones. I think they’re part of the fabric of baseball right now. They are the ones training the players right now. There’s something about it, positive in doing it. In the ideal world, it should be like here (America) the kids should be going to school. But that’s not realistic. But there is a part of them that’s really good.

TK: Did you ever promote Buscones, and their version of academies? 

You had to, you had to deal with them, they’re part of the process now. It’s like one time people said they didn’t like dealing with agents in America. Well, if you don’t like agents then how do you sign players from Scott Boras. Buscones are like agents. You want to be able to have a relationship with them, but you gotta be careful and keep a distance with the relationship, so they don’t take advantage.

TK: Is there any resentment from the community? How did scouts relate to the community? 

Omar: Each Scout is different. There are going to be good and bad scouts. There are scouts that are going to be crooked, and some that will be providers. There are scouts who are going to partake and give back to the community. Each case is different. You’ve got 30 teams, each with different personalities. Some are more responsible than others, and they represent the organization and the industry. In most cases, most scouts are good, and they do give back.

TK: Are there greater changes to be made to the system such as signing at 18 (to get their diploma) instead of 16 or is an international draft the way to go? Or neither?

Omar: I am open to an international draft it if it’s done right. I really care about these kids getting their diploma. You can’t really wait for the kids to get a diploma because unfortunately the school system doesn’t work for them to get a diploma. A lot of times they can’t even afford school. I am a big believer-one of the ideas I had with the Mets was that any kid that we sign, we would guarantee that kid an education, so if we released them, we would pay for their education.

What I would like to see baseball do is make a player not be able to leave the Island until he gets a diploma. Major League Baseball, or at least the team should be able to give that kid a diploma. That said, if a kid is 20 years old, you don’t want to hold a kid back. But if a kid is signed at 16, before he comes to the states, he should get a diploma. Something I encouraged with the Mets, and something I encourage wherever we are.

TK: Did you ever feel guilty in a position of power over the treatment of some players that were cut and then disappeared?

Omar: Like how?

TK: A lot of players when they are cut are given a ticket to Santo Domingo and Caracas, or wherever else, and were never heard from again, after no reason why and no second chance. 

I felt with a Latino kid and an American kid, I felt that they were kids. My organizational spirit was that while baseball players messed up twice or three times, they were still kids. Don’t get me wrong, there are small mistakes and big mistakes, but I was always under the belief that kids deserved second, third, and fourth chances sometimes. And when we signed these kids, we’d treat them as our kids. I have two boys, and sometimes kids would make mistakes, but I’d want them to be given opportunities and a chance.

Our policy when we let a kid go, it wasn’t because the kid wasn’t given a chance. You cannot let a kid go with my director because he made a few stupid mistakes, like having beers in the room, or breaking curfew, or smoking marijuana, whatever it was. Kids are kids, and I always believed in an organization that gave kids opportunities, and letting kids make mistakes. And that was for every kid, not just a latin kid, but an American kid.

But I thought it was important too to send coaches to Latin America to see their conditions, to see their culture, to see the big step they had to take from Latin America to here. I felt that when American coaches went to Latin America, they went in there thinking “We’re going to teach them a lot.” But I thought, “No no no, I’m not concerned about teaching the kids, I’m concerned about teaching you.”

I could have anybody teaching ground balls and proper stepping, but this was more for the coach’s education than it was for the player’s education. To me the important thing about scouting in Latin America was that one time it was mostly scouting, but now with these academies, it’s really going to be that we can teach kids, and teach our US coaches. If we can do that, teach both of them, and learn from both sides, we’re all better off. Learning from one side isn’t enough, learning from both is more important. And these academies are huge now and they can help out a lot. 

TK: Does the wealth of player’s families ever come into reasoning of whether or not they are signed?

Omar: Like how?

TK: Because some players in poverty didn’t have access to food, equipment, other things that would really assist them.

No, We just looked at players. As far as their background was concerned, we really just looked at their education. If they had some form of education, that came into the equation. Material things as far as how poor they were, never came into the equation at all.

If they came from a very poor environment, some compassion as far as helping them out, you want to sign them to something ideal, but you wanted to be fair with them. But the main thing that came into the Equation was education, understanding of cultures, proper etiquette, those kinds of things. A lot of times poorer players were educated, and were able to speak for themselves. There was something internally in them. You became concerned with wealth when they came from too wealthy of a background, you were really concerned at how much he really wanted it. But as a whole, it was more what kind of education that person had.

TK: Did you feel in your tenures in Montreal and Mets as general manager that you did well in terms of helping in the development of Latin America?

Omar: Yes, no doubt about it. My sense was that though we were getting good players, we were creating an environment for not only the Mets, but other baseball teams, to understand that education is huge. That we’re not only going to teach baseball, such as run, or hit, but we’re going to use it as a social environment to make better players, better citizens. And I think we’re seeing that more and more as a credit to Major League Baseball.

I think academies; especially the Mets Academy, intend to be at the forefront of education. I hope that’s what we did, and I think the current Mets Staff with Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta are committed to doing that as well. With the Mets, and what we’re trying to do with other teams, we can look back and say “we made players better citizens.” And if we can be better citizens as an industry, we can be a better organization.

There can be challenges. One of the new challenges is going to be Cuba. I think Cuba is going to be fantastic, I think Cuba is going to have a great system. If we can create a way for Cuba to be like the Dominican Republic, then baseball is going to be better off. I’m excited about the future of Latin America, and how Major League Baseball leads in this. I believe that as general manager, we were going to lead with the Mets, and now with the Padres we plan on leading. If we lead, other teams will follow.

* * * * * * * * * *

I would like to thank Omar Minaya for allowing me to interview him and post this on Metsmerized Online. I would also like to thank Joe D., David, Roger and other writers for their support, as well as my Father.

(Photos: USA Today, MLB.com)

The post MMO Exclusive: Discussing Latin American Development with Omar Minaya appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

When you think about freedom, you think about being able to walk down the street and enjoy the sights and the sounds; take a drive to anywhere across this great nation of ours and enjoy every aspect of it; go to a ball game with friends and family and join thousands of others that might be from different walks of life but have the same interest in common; to root for the home team, or maybe even the visiting team, depending on their preference.  But if you really look at the opportunity we all share to live in harmony, one of the greatest men who helped to make this a reality and someone that I am forever grateful to is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, for paving the way for all of us to enjoy such freedoms.

Now, we can not take away the many sacrifices that our armed forces and veterans have made to protect us all from the people that want to destroy the way we live, but for the purpose of this post I wanted to honor a man that stood up to adversity and fought for civil rights between whites, blacks and people from all walks of life, that they may be equal, and grow and live together without discrimination. Dr. King knew that this great nation of ours was missing something, and when he made that march to Washington, he changed not only a Nation, but a World.

We see that evidence in our own backyard, in other nations, especially in our National Pastime.  In Baseball, you see that right away, with players coming from all over the world, to join and compete with fellow athletes for a common goal; and yes they may not always have great harmony amongst the teams, but they all have the same opportunities to develop and grow together.

No longer are the teams segregated like they were in the 1940′s when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to break the color barrier in the major leagues.  Robinson’s courage also paved the way for players like Roberto Clemente, who was the first Latin American superstar in Major League Baseball and lived his life giving back to others and a symbol of Latin American pride. Masanori Murakami, who made his debut in 1964 with the San Francisco Giants, was the first ever Japanese baseball player to make his mark on the game.

The sacrifices that these and many men and women have made, and the willingness of one man to push back the norm, changed the way most if not all of us look at each other. We have come a long way as a nation, as a sport, and as we continue to move forward, the greatest gift that we can share with the next generation is the life and courage of all the brave men and women that have fought for our freedoms especially Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Happy Birthday to a Great American and a man that forever changed the landscape of our great nation: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The post MMO Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets minor league system is now among the deepest in the majors. The Pirates have more “blue chip” types at the top for now, which makes a difference for most analysts. The Mets on the other hand, only have two “blue chips” in Noah Syndergaard & Travis d’Arnaud with Rafael Montero not having reached that status with the consensus yet (wrongfully so).

But if one of Dominic Smith, Brandon Nimmo, Dilson Herrera or Amed Rosario takes a major step forward in 2014, Syndergaard remains rookie eligible, and a couple of young arms really step up (say, from group of Steven Matz, Michael Fulmer, Gabriel Ynoa, Chris Flexen, Robert Whalen, etc.), the Mets system may well be Top 5 in the game next winter. For now, it’s probably No.10 +/- range.

Here is a link to John Sickels’ Top 20 Mets Prospects, entering 2009, exactly five years ago. 

The biggest difference between our system then and our system now is that entering 2009 the Mets had only five prospects who Sickels considered as better than C+, while the Mets entering 2014 have 13 (!) prospects who Sickels considers as better than C+.

Seeing is believing…

With the Marlins having graduated their top two prospects Jose Fernandez and Christian Yelich, the Mets now have the best minor league system in the NL East.

Though the Nationals, Marlins and Braves may have better high-end young talent on their major league roster right now, they’ll all have problems trying to retain those players beyond 2015.

The most positive aspect of the Mets system is its depth, especially in terms of power arms. To give you an example, 5 or 10 or 15 years ago, Jack Leathersich and Jeff Walters both would have been in the mid to back end of our Top 10 Mets prospects. Today, they are borderline Top 20s.

This system has come a long way.

The post Featured Post: Current Mets Minor League System Compared To 2009 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

I would like to share to many, details into Cuban baseball history, which is an excerpt of my senior thesis. I hope you enjoy. This will be an ongoing feature with different countries, and will have a surprise interview at the end.

There is no question about where the root of Caribbean Baseball was as it started in Cuba, but the stories of how it got there are very different from person to person. According to Viva Baseball, a documentary created by the Spike Channel about Latin American players, upper class White Cuban students who had been studying in America, learned about the sport from Americans around the time of the Civil War. According to Viva Baseball, they brought it back and taught it to others.

Another story, according to Kurlansky, told of American influence directly onto Cuban Baseball when the embargo ended in 1814 with Spanish controlled Cuba. During that time trade was happening between the United States, and Cuba, so with the trade came Baseball in the 1860’s.

What both sources agree on was why baseball was cemented as the Cuban pastime. The sport was a form of defiance by the Cubans against the Spanish, by using their economic opposition’s pastime, America against the Spanish. It was an easy choice, according to Viva Baseball, considering many Cubans were not fond of soccer, Spgymain’s pastime. Soon after being introduced, many different amateur teams started to sprout up all over the countryside. American influence was a large reason for Baseball spreading, not just to Cuba, but to each Latin American country in general, and it wasn’t just by how the United States asserted itself into countries, but also by the sugar trade.

Sugar started booming in the 1860’s in Cuba. Baseball boomed with it. Cuba was a large host to the sugar trade, and at that time became one of the largest export of sugar in the world The sugar trade summoned foreign sugar cane workers called Cocolos from different islands around Cuba, who played the sport in their scarce, yet valued break time. Entrepreneurs then spread the sport through their own businesses to places such as Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

Cuba’s league started to gain fame to American players. At times in the early 1900’s, American teams like the Cincinnati Reds came down to play in warm-up games. The Cuban teams started to become very good, and were noticed for their talent, especially when pitcher José Méndez kept the Reds from scoring a run for 25 innings in 3 games.

Yankees legend Babe Ruth, after a warm-up match was so impressed, that he believed if they signed some of these Cuban players, the team would likely run away with the division by June. So some American teams started to sign White Cuban players. Armando Marsans and Rafael Almeida debuted together as the first two Latin American players in the Major Leagues in 1911 with the Cincinnati Reds.

While Cuban whites were allowed to play, up, darker players in Cuba had to stay in their leagues until Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey broke the Color Barrier, or go to others such as the Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan, and Negro Leagues in the United States. Had it not been for racism, players such as Martin Dihigo would have had a place among High American Baseball Honors.

Dihigo was a wonderful example of how American Baseball would have progressed earlier if not for racism. He was a dark-skinned Cuban, who had played every single position, and really just dominated. To many, he was well revered as a legend for Cuba, and went and played in many leagues that weren’t the Majors, such as the Mexican, Venezuelan, and American Negro Leagues. He was famous in every league, pitching first no-hit game in the Mexican League, and competing for the Triple Crown, year after year with Josh Gibson, who was said to be the Black Babe Ruth (Or some say, even better). In the Mexican, Venezuelan, Cuban, and Negro Leagues, he entered the Hall of Fame.

The Washington Senators really started the first mass-signings of White Cuban players in the mid 1930’s. Clark Griffith, who was owner of the team, hired scout Joe Cambria, to start bringing in new talent to their team. While the team was an utter disaster, aside from legendary pitcher Walter Johnson, they did provide a new bridge into Latin America. “Papa” Joe Cambria found a way to stroll the Cuban sugar fields, and nearly kidnap Cuban players, by signing them to incredibly cheap bonuses and sending them to Washington to compete.

After Robinson and Rickey broke the color barrier in 1947, blacker players came in to the mix from Latin America. Although Rickey wanted to integrate first into Brooklyn, he could not find a Latin Ballplayer with a demeanor that would endure racism the way Jackie Robinson did. Rickey integrated the Major Leagues with players who weren’t the best in their leagues, but people say he was certain could endure hardship. In Jackie Robinson’s recent biopic 42, Rickey exclaimed he wanted a player “with the guts not to fight back.” The players he chose who were Latino, were more high-strung than the black players.

Minnie Minoso, however, was not. In 1951, Minoso broke the Black-Latino color barrier with the Chicago White Sox, which started the floodgate of many Latin American stars coming in. No one, however believed that this would have been done without help from Robinson and Rickey four years before. However, Minoso endured more than Robinson, not just for color, but because he was Latin as well. But, while Cubans like Minnie Minoso and RHP Luis Tiant pioneered Latin-black integration, Cuban recognition was then suddenly shut out by politics when Fidel Castro came to power and an embargo happened between the United States and Cuba in 1960.

What was worse for the Cuban and United States’ embargo was that the most prominent winter leagues were played in Cuba. So America then moved to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Venezuela to continue to play in the hot sun with some fierce competition. Cuban baseball, however, never exactly diminished on the Island because of being cut off from American leagues, and still boasts the best talents. Many stars from Cuba, seeking better bonuses than what the island had to offer, defected from Cuba to sign large team deals with Major League teams. Jose Abreu is one of the newest examples of Cuban talent, signing with the White Sox for 4 years, and $64 Million Dollars.

The post Lessons In Latin America: A Brief Cuban History appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

DrDooby says:

Omar Minaya wasn’t a great GM.

However, he also wasn’t a terrible GM.

He did what he was asked to do, i.e. build a quick fix winner, while swimming in cash and having two inexpensive young building blocks in Wright & Reyes.

Yes, he did at the cost of future payrolls – but he couldn’t foresee the collapse of Bernie Madoff’s scheme either I suppose, so while the 2nd half of his tenure was filled with dubious contracts, he thought he had the money.

Also, the farm system he inherited was terrible.

He built up a nice Latin American talent pipeline that will benefit the Mets for years to come. He did underestimate how long it´d take for that talent to get here though.

Likewise he ignored high upside prospects in the draft and went for low risk – but often low ceiling signings. Thus your current 2013 Mets roster, filled with lots of solid young players without much upside – save for Matt Harvey, a college pick that looks great and Jon Niese, one of the rare HS pitchers picked under Minaya´s watch.

The role players he added to the major league roster initially worked out well – then he lost his Midas touch and got mostly crap to fill out an aging roster during the 2nd half of his tenure – save for R.A. Dickey, of course.

I hate dividing the world in black & white, good or evil, with us or against us. In Minaya´s case, the truth is somewhere in between. He was neither the architect of longterm Mets greatness nor the village idiot who spent the rest of the Wilpons´ fortunes.

Hotstreak says:

Jeff Wilpon has a big sign in his office;
“Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Refinanced Dad”

Sandy Alderson has a big sign in his office.
“Retirement Days, 270 and Counting as Mission Accomplished”

Fred Wilpon has a sign that says:
“A Billion Dollar Legacy”

Scott Boras has a sign that says;
”I hope this means the Mets are back in the steak aisle”

Short Shots: 

Damaja referred to MetsBlog as the Book of Matthew in one of the comments today. I must admit I nearly choked on my bagel this morning when I read it. I reference MetsBlog all the time, but now I’m strongly considering using the words “According to the Book of Matthew” for all future references. I kid, I kid…

Several readers and writers wanted to know why MMO is never recognized for any annual Mets Police awards (The Mazzys). The only thing I could think of is that he’s pissed off because we still occasionally post images with Mets players wearing black uniforms or the hybrid caps. And that we didn’t believe they had anything to do with the Mets’ decision to bring Banner Day back and the team confirmed it. No, but seriously, our community here is the best award any site can have. 500+ comments a day or a Mazzy? Hmm, that’s a tough one.

The post MMO Fan Shots: I Hope This Means The Mets Are Back In The Steak Aisle appeared first on Metsmerized Online.