Recently I was given the opportunity to interview via email a couple announcers from ESPN Deportes who cover Latin American baseball and the winter leagues. Oscar Soria is an ESPN Deportes analyst who covers the Mexican Pacific League, and Kevin Cabral is a play-by-play announcer covering the Dominican Winter Baseball League. I tried to give them some general questions about the winter leagues and then some specific questions about Braves players. The PR firm which arranged this also arranged to have my questions translated into Spanish and their answers translated back into English, so there may be some funny phrasing. Because of the translation delay these questions are also a bit old. I originally sent the questions to them just before Thanksgiving, so there's a question about Hampton and Brandon Jones who are no longer playing in the winter leagues, but this should still give you some good insight into winter baseball south of the border.
Q: What differences, if any, are there between baseball in the winter leagues of Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, and baseball in the United States? What's the equivalent level of competition - triple-A level, double-A level, or another?
Oscar Soria: Baseball is the same wherever you go. However, in Latin countries, including Mexico, going to a game is not only about watching the team's strategy; it's about enjoying yourself too. That's why when you go to a game in the US and there are Mexican fans, they always want to create a party/celebration from the stands and most of the time, they are asked to quiet down by security at the park. They definitely enjoy watching the game, but the party always takes over. The Dominican league is three times as exciting and intense. During their playoffs, you could compare the excitement to the MLB World Series; people really get into it! In Mexican Baseball, you'll see this mostly during the playoffs because that's when the major-leaguers come to play.
Kevin Cabral: In the case of Dominican Republic, it is at least AAA level. In my opinion, when the semifinals start and many of the Dominican Major Leaguers are playing, it might be better than AAA.
Q: How difficult is it for non-Spanish speaking players to play in the Latin winter leagues?
Oscar Soria: Being that there are so many baseball players who play in the minors and majors who don't speak either English or Spanish, when you're on the field, all that matters is your talent. Curt Schilling from the Boston Red Sox has a funny story about his experiences playing baseball in Mexico. He was out to a restaurant and saw the name Tres Quesadillas-Three Quesadillas- and thought it was the name of the dish. He goes on to order three of the dish thinking he was going to get three quesadillas, but in turn was served nine quesadillas. Off the field, you may need to practice a little more, but on the field, it's all about your game.
Kevin Cabral: It is not difficult at all, at least in Dominican Republic. Teammates, team executives, attendants at hotels, etc. speak English.
Q: For a player like Mike Hampton who is rehabbing in Mexico, what kind of training facilities do teams like Navojoa have?
Oscar Soria: The facilities are far from what he could have available to him if he was in the US. There are few teams in Mexico that have training centers, but what Hampton is receiving right now is personal training as well as the opportunity to play against ball players in the AAA level which will prepare him for his comeback to the Major Leagues.
Q: How is Willy Aybar doing in his comeback from substance dependency issues?
Oscar Soria: Aybar has had an OK season so far with the team, Aguilas del Licey in the Dominican Baseball league. He's been walked more than struck out so far.
Q: Brayan Pena is listed as a catcher, but the Braves seem to think more of Clint Sammons as a backup catcher next year. Is Pena playing other positions in the Dominican, or does he still have value as purely a catcher?
Oscar Soria: Peña is playing mostly catcher with the team, Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Republic and with that said, he's only had five walks so far.
Q: Brandon Jones is also having a great season. Does he have a shot at winning an everyday job next year for the Braves? We hear that Jones is playing some centerfield for Navojoa, do you think he has what it takes to play center in the major leagues next year?
Oscar Soria: At the beginning of the Mexican Baseball season, Jones was playing all the games as a left fielder, however, soon after that they switched him to center field. He's playing much better now which gives him the opportunity to shine and maybe become the Centerfielder for the Atlanta Braves next year. He's still struggling to get on base though and that may hinder his chances.
Many thanks to Ben Mann of Formula PR for arranging this interview opportunity and furnishing the pictures posted above.