Luke Albrecht

Here's a link to my latest article I wrote while living in the DR. Trying to give people a sense of what it's like to be down here and what the baseball situation is like as well. Thanks for reading- leave comments if you have any! https://cbscout.net/2018/06/27/locked-out-the-reality-of-baseball-in-santiago/

Thanks for reading! I think this Cano's case is particularly interesting because it's not like he needs any more money and it seemed as if he was well set in terms of legacy and image. I understand when a young player on the verge of dropping out of professional baseball gets caught, but a star like Cano? Really a head scratcher, although if Mark Teixeira's comments have any validity maybe he's been doing it all along and has just been caught now. I think this is Polanco's first suspension, but I am disappointed as well. I think one interesting thing to think about that I didn't explore in the article is whether Dominican or Latin players get caught more than US based players. Just seeing that a lot of things here in the DR are done with fewer resources and time than we usually work with in the US, it would make sense to me that the actual doping itself may be done in a more haphazard manner here.

Take a look at an article I wrote on the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network! I think a all of what I wrote could also be applied to the Polanco situation as well, except for the Hall of Fame stuff I suppose... https://cbscout.net/2018/05/23/robinson-cano-excuses-dominican-republic/

Getting Buxton back in center will certainly help. Kinley has to go. I'd love to see Romero come up in a relief role till we need another starter. I've never been a big Grossman guy, especially now that he's playing in the field on a regular basis. It's too bad Granite's hurt, he would be a perfect guy to replace Robbie. I'm surprised I haven't heard Jake Cave mentioned at all, but that's probably a combination of the from office liking Grossman a lot more than I do and Cave's .175 AVG.

I feel like it's a legitimate nit, I also think it can bring up some interesting and important conversation. It makes us think of a couple things, first of all how Puerto Rico became "not another country". The annexation of Puerto Rico came after the Spanish-American War and is considered to be the start of American Imperialism. The US had interest in Puerto Rico for it's strategic location, but also for it's sugar and other agricultural industries. Big US companies pushed many traditional farmers off their land. The second important point is the role of self-determination and self-governance. From the beginning, Puerto Ricans had no right of self-determination, either in regards to Spanish or American rule. At the same time national and ethnic groups were being promoted as a primary way to form European states post-WWII, Puerto Rico was being subjected to American laws and governance (for a time military governance) without popular consent, or way to vote. This set-up continues, with some modifications, to this day. Puerto Ricans do not have representatives in congress nor do they vote for President or other national offices, but they most follow laws set by these institutions. In essence, Puerto Rico is one of the last vestiges of Imperialism and Colonization. While the majority of Puerto Ricans would prefer a change in the status, there is some controversy as to what the majority want as a solution. Many prefer statehood, which gives them rights like voting and guaranteed access to some forms of federal aid which they so desperately need after Maria. Others continue to see Puerto Rico as it's own nation and want a state to match. Let's just say, while I've been here, I've seen many more Puerto Rican flags than Stars and Stripes. There were many more people standing and singing along with the Puerto RIcan anthem then the Star Spangled Banner. It seems to me while Puerto Rico certainly is not "another country", it is it's own nation and, in my opinion, should have the option to decide it's own fate, rather than be condemned to the state of international purgatory in which it currently sits.

They say you should write your dreams down right when you wake up in order to remember them clearly. After returning from a dreamlike day and a half in San Juan, I’m feeling like the exercise will be helpful for me as well. Luckily, I don’t have the deadline many local writers had after the 16-inning marathon of Game Two. The seed for the idea was planted months ago, when I mentioned to my Dad that it would be fun to meet up for the Puerto Rico series. Fast forward a few months, and with tickets booked from both Minnesota and the Dominican Republic, an AirBnb reserved, and seats for the games themselves, we were ready.We landed, dropped off our stuff, and headed straight for Hiram Bithorn Stadium. After raining all morning, it had gotten hot and muggy (even more than I’m used to in the Dominican Republic). The atmosphere outside the stadium was great, with music, games and beer (but no bottles of water to be found). After standing in line for 20 minuets in the heat without water, the water came in the form of a sudden downpour. As water was coming off the stadium roof like waterfalls, we experienced the first of many examples of locals showing kindness and hospitality. The family behind us quickly opened up an umbrella and invited us under it with them. We walked together toward the gate as I translated for my father and the family. Inside the stadium concourse the scene was similar to many stadiums around the world: concessions, games and giveaways. One thing that was different was the appearance of a some players on the concourse pregame. Both Jose Berrios and Eddie Rosario came out of the clubhouse and caused a bit of a mob scene taking pictures and greeting fans. It was really cool to see the reaction of the fans, who were ecstatic to see their heroes in person, and also the players, who were obviously excited to interact with their compatriots. The other celebrity sighting was on the other side of the concourse, where we were asked to move out of the way by security, only to see Terry Fancona getting driven through the crowd toward his clubhouse. He looked noticeably less excited to be out on the concourse with the crowds. Once we got to our seats we realized that the Twins BP was cut short by the rain, but we did get to see Cleveland hit before the game. Once they hit, the starting lineups were introduced. There certainly seemed to be more Cleveland fans than Minnesota, and the biggest ovations throughout the series came for Fransisco Lindor. The great majority of jerseys in the stands were Lindor jerseys, especially from the locals. There were a great many locals with the shirt or jersey of one team and the hat from another, which I think is a great example of the attitudes of most of these fans. They cheered hard for their own, Lindor being the most notable. During the second game, I sat next to an older gentleman who had to ask if Rosario and Berrios were from Puerto Rico, but was adamant that Lindor was the best shortstop in the majors. This isn’t to say that the locals are misinformed or “bad fans,” on the contrary, they seemed to be more informed about the game than fans in the Dominican Republic or even the US. They hung on every pitch and at bat, and cheered for good baseball, whoever happened to be at the center of the play. I talked to a few different fans in depth about particular non-Puerto Rican players, and the conversations were as good, or better informed than ones I’ve had with fans in the US. Many people were in awe of Sano’s size and power, predicting home runs on every one of his at-bats. I was also told that Joe Mauer is under appreciated, and one of the best players of the last 10 years (I bet you won’t hear that in the stands at Target Field anytime soon, or maybe you will if he keeps hitting .370). The locals also didn’t hold back their opinions and trash talk. I was told multiple times that I was cheering for the wrong team, but always with a friendly smile or laugh. It was great to see a baseball game where seemingly everyone was there to watch and experience baseball, not necessarily just to hang out outside and chat with friends over overpriced beer and food. By the end of the first game, the stadium was fully on Cleveland's side. Seeing Lindor’s home run was a really special once in a lifetime experience, for the fans and the player. After seeing man winter league games in the DR, I was surprised at hearing him apologize for how he acted during and after his home run. This is how players play here, and what fans expect. To me, anyone who asking him to contain himself might as well ask him not to speak Spanish, or change how he plays the game entirely. Good for him for coming through during one of the most important games of his career (although I was completely unimpressed with his performance through the rest of the series). Although the Twins didn’t look very good in Game One, it was still a great time. A big part of that for me had to do with the Twins Daily community. Before going to Puerto Rico, I talked with another community member about meeting up there, and sure enough I met and sat with Ben for the whole first game. It was great getting to know and share such a cool experience with another Twins Daily fan! Speaking of gringo fans like ourselves, there were plenty at the game, but it’s hard to say which team had more there. If I had to say, I’d lean towards Cleveland edging out the Twins in that department. Just like my experience with the local fans, everyone was really nice and didn’t hesitate to stop and chat whenever there was a chance. During the day before the second game, my Dad and I took the chance to check out San Juan. During our day of sight seeing in the historic Old San Juan, we learned that the power had gone down island wide. This coincided with the sound of gasoline generators powering up, with the noise filling the 400-year-old streets throughout the day. This is when I truly felt the meaning of this series for the Puerto Rican people. Many that we talked to during that second day seemed to take the outage in stride, continuing to go about their business as best they could. I was still able to get a cold beer and people around me were still served their lunches at the local bar. The bartender said that these outages happened every once in awhile, and never lasted as long as predicted (he was right, this one lasted six hours and not the 24-48 predicted). There were still plenty of signs of damage from Maria around town; many buildings with tarps on their roofs and trees uprooted in parks. Traffic lights were intermittent at best, with cars jockeying for position to sneak across. With daily life still in disarray, people seemed genuinely proud to be able to go to a game and cheer for Lindor and Berrios. Not only were they the pride of the island, the game was something that the locals could do to forget about the power outages and other continuing issues for three (or six) hours. After stopping at the beach and a local beer garden to sample some local craft brews, we headed to game two. This one turned out to be one of the more amazing games I’ve ever seen live. I myself was nervous for Berrios as he stepped to the mound, and after the somewhat rocky first (for his standards anyway), I was worried he might have let his nerves get the better of him. Boy, was I wrong. Watching Berrios duel another great pitcher in Corrasco for seven great innings was a sight to behold. I was actually somewhat disappointed the crowd wasn’t behind Berrios even more than they were, as he was really dealing. I was also disappointed Molitor didn’t at least send him out to get one out in the eighth and get the ovation he deserved from his home crowd. After taking out Berrios, it seemed that the futility of both teams at the plate was the theme for the rest of the game. Seeing both teams squander chances inning after inning became frustrating, especially because I had an early flight the next morning to get back to work in the DR. But I certainly didn’t complain when Sano blasted the ball to left to tie it up in the 14th, and I didn’t complain when the Twins got out of a jam in the 15th. The walk-off in the 16th provided the perfect who’s who in a wild night of baseball. First, of course, Rosario deserved to be the winning run after being the perfect ambassador for our team in his home country and for his country in our hometown. Second, we got to see Logan Morrison, who didn’t get on base in the six previous attempts and who was hitting sub .070 get on base on a fluky play. Finally, we got to see a guy in Ryan LaMarre who has been overlooked year after year and who didn’t even start the game get his first walk-off hit. By the end of the game, I think most fans were just hoping one of the teams could score and get it over with. I was impressed with how many people stayed for the whole thing, it being past midnight by the time the game was over, but the stadium may have been a third full by the end. Regardless, seeing Eddie get to jump around the field after the walk-off made it all worth it. And even if the Twins would have lost that game, it would have been worth it. Worth it to add another stadium and city to my passport, to try a few new beers, and to hang out with my Dad for a couple days. But most of all to see that baseball can still be a force for good and positivity for people going through tough times, wherever they are. Click here to view the article

Also check out the album I posted for more pictures. http://twinsdaily.com/gallery/album/201-puerto-rico/

They say you should write your dreams down right when you wake up in order to remember them clearly. After returning from a dreamlike day and a half in San Juan, I’m feeling like the exercise will be helpful for me as well. Luckily, I don’t have the deadline many local writers had after the 16 inning marathon of game two. The seed for the idea was planted months ago, when I mentioned to my Dad that it would be fun to meet up for the Puerto Rico series. Fast forward a few months, and with tickets booked from both Minnesota and the Dominican Republic, an AirBnb reserved, and seats for the games themselves, we were ready. We landed, dropped off our stuff, and headed straight for Hiram Bithorn Stadium. After raining all morning, it had gotten hot and muggy (even more than I’m used to in the Dominican Republic). The atmosphere outside the stadium was great, with music, games and beer (but no bottles of water to be found). After standing in line for 20 minuets in the heat without water, the water came in the form of a sudden downpour. As water was coming off the stadium roof like waterfalls, we experienced the first of many examples of locals showing kindness and hospitality. The family behind us quickly opened up an umbrella and invited us under it with them. We walked together toward the gate as I translated for my father and the family. Inside the stadium concourse the scene was similar to many stadiums around the world: concessions, games and giveaways. One thing that was different was the appearance of a some players on the concourse pregame. Both Jose Berrios and Eddie Rosario came out of the clubhouse and caused a bit of a mob scene taking pictures and greeting fans. It was really cool to see the reaction of the fans, who were ecstatic to see their heroes in person, and also the players, who were obviously excited to interact with their compatriots. The other celebrity sighting was on the other side of the concourse, where we were asked to move out of the way by security, only to see Terry Fancona getting driven through the crowd toward his clubhouse. He looked noticeably less excited to be out on the concourse with the crowds. Once we got to our seats we realized that the Twins BP was cut short by the rain, but we did get to see Cleveland hit before the game. Once they hit, the starting lineups were introduced. There certainly seemed to be more Cleveland fans than Minnesota, and the biggest ovations throughout the series came for Fransisco Lindor. The great majority of jerseys in the stands were Lindor jerseys, especially from the locals. There were a great many locals with the shirt or jersey of one team and the hat from another, which I think is a great example of the attitudes of most of these fans. They cheered hard for their own, Lindor being the most notable. During the second game, I sat next to an older gentleman who had to ask if Rosario and Berrios were from Puerto Rico, but was adamant that Lindor was the best shortstop in the majors. This isn’t to say that the locals are misinformed or “bad fans,” on the contrary, they seemed to be more informed about the game than fans in the Dominican Republic or even the US. They hung on every pitch and at bat, and cheered for good baseball, whoever happened to be at the center of the play. I talked to a few different fans in depth about particular non-Puerto Rican players, and the conversations were as good, or better informed than ones I’ve had with fans in the US. Many people were in awe of Sano’s size and power, predicting home runs on every one of his at-bats. I was also told that Joe Mauer is under appreciated, and one of the best players of the last 10 years (I bet you won’t hear that in the stands at Target Field anytime soon, or maybe you will if he keeps hitting .370). The locals also didn’t hold back their opinions and trash talk. I was told multiple times that I was cheering for the wrong team, but always with a friendly smile or laugh. It was great to see a baseball game where seemingly everyone was there to watch and experience baseball, not necessarily just to hang out outside and chat with friends over overpriced beer and food. By the end of the first game, the stadium was fully on Cleveland's side. Seeing Lindor’s home run was a really special once in a lifetime experience, for the fans and the player. After seeing man winter league games in the DR, I was surprised at hearing him apologize for how he acted during and after his home run. This is how players play here, and what fans expect. To me, anyone who asking him to contain himself might as well ask him not to speak Spanish, or change how he plays the game entirely. Good for him for coming through during one of the most important games of his career (although I was completely unimpressed with his performance through the rest of the series). Although the Twins didn’t look very good in game 1, it was still a great time. A big part of that for me had to do with the twinsdaily community. Before going to Puerto Rico, I talked with another community member about meeting up there, and sure enough I met and sat with Ben for the whole 1st game. It was great getting to know and share such a cool experience with another twinsdaily fan! Speaking of gringo fans like ourselves, there were plenty at the game, but it’s hard to say which team had more there. If I had to say, I’d lean towards Cleveland edging out the Twins in that department. Just like my experience with the local fans, everyone was really nice and didn’t hesitate to stop and chat whenever there was a chance. During the day before the 2nd game, my Dad and I took the chance to check out San Juan. During our day of sight seeing in the historic Old San Juan, we learned that the power had gone down island wide. This coincided with the sound of gasoline generators powering up, with the noise filling the 400 year old streets throughout the day. This is when I truly felt the meaning of this series for the Puerto Rican people. Many that we talked to during that second day seemed to take the outage in stride, continuing to go about their business as best they could. I was still able to get a cold beer and people around me were still served their lunches at the local bar. The bartender said that these outages happened every once in awhile, and never lasted as long as predicted (he was right, this one lasted 6 hours and not the 24-48 predicted). There were still plenty of signs of damage from Maria around town; many buildings with tarps on their roofs and trees uprooted in parks. Traffic lights were intermittent at best, with cars jockeying for position to sneak across. With daily life still in disarray, people seemed genuinely proud to be able to go to a game and cheer for Lindor and Berrios. Not only were they the pride of the island, the game was something that the locals could do to forget about the power outages and other continuing issues for three (or six) hours. After stopping at the beach and a local beer garden to sample some local craft brews, we headed to game two. This one turned out to be one of the more amazing games I’ve ever seen live. I myself was nervous for Berrios as he stepped to the mound, and after the somewhat rocky first (for his standards anyway), I was worried he might have let his nerves get the better of him. Boy, was I wrong. Watching Berrios duel another great pitcher in Corrasco for seven great innings was a sight to behold. I was actually somewhat disappointed the crowd wasn’t behind Berrios even more than they were, as he was really dealing. I was also disappointed Molitor didn’t at least send him out to get one out in the 8th and get the ovation he deserved from his home crowd. After taking out Berrios, it seemed that the futility of both teams at the plate was the theme for the rest of the game. Seeing both teams squander chances inning after inning became frustrating, especially because I had an early flight the next morning to get back to work in the DR. But I certainly didn’t complain when Sano blasted the ball to left to tie it up in the 14th, and I didn’t complain when the Twins got out of a jam in the 15th. The walk-off in the 16th provided the perfect who’s who in a wild night of baseball. First, of course, Rosario deserved to be the winning run after being the perfect ambassador for our team in his home country and for his country in our hometown. Second, we got to see Logan Morrison, who didn’t get on base in the 6 previous attempts and who was hitting sub .070 get on base on a fluky play. Finally, we got to see a guy in Ryan LaMarre who has been overlooked year after year and who didn’t even start the game get his first walkoff hit. By the end of the game, I think most fans were just hoping one of the teams could score and get it over with. I was impressed with how many people stayed for the whole thing, it being past midnight by the time the game was over, but the stadium may have been a third full by the end. Regardless, seeing Eddie get to jump around the field after the walkoff made it all worth it. And even if the Twins would have lost that game, it would have been worth it. Worth it to add another stadium and city to my passport, to try a few new beers, and to hang out with my Dad for a couple days. But most of all to see that baseball can still be a force for good and positivity for people going through tough times, wherever they are.

First Posted: 01 January 2018 - 07:16 PM (Note: I thought I'd re-post this older forum post on my new blog in case anyone hadn't seen it) First of all, I'm a long time reader, first time poster, which is pretty exciting. I was reading Bonnes' article about Twins Daily and writing and figured I might have a little something to add. So here goes, I'm 25 and a big Twins fan. Grew up in South Minneapolis, been to at least 20 games a year since middle school. Got a TC tattooed on my arm. Got a baby picture of myself behind home plate at the dome. A top 3 moment in my life so far was game 163. I'm also a big baseball fan in general. I've been to a dozen major league stadiums and almost a dozen minor league and independent parks as well. Not much I'd rather be doing than sitting at a ball game with a beer and some seeds. I'm also big into traveling and having new experiences. Took a year off between high school and college and solo traveled through 6 countries in Europe and South America (incidentally became a Soccer fan in the process). In college I studied International Relations and Spanish. I've been to 13 countries and 30+ states. This is all to say, before I graduated college I decided I wanted to live somewhere else in the world as soon as I could. I spent a few years living at my parents house and a cheap apartment paying off my loans, all the while dreaming of where I'd go. I knew I wanted to go somewhere where Spanish was the primary language. While I've studied the language my whole life, I know fluency doesn't come without significant exposure. I knew I wanted to go somewhere affordable (read: cheap living). I also knew through my previous experience abroad, there are some things that bridge cultural gaps and help people meet: Sports, Music, and Drinking. I'm not much of a musician and can't dance, so that was out the window. I also know that drinking is universal; anywhere I'd want to go has beer or liquor or something. That left sports. I've traveled to places that love soccer before, it's an amazing sport but I don't have the depth of knowledge or passion for the sport like I do baseball. Looking at the countries that play baseball, I counted out Korea and Japan right away. Too expensive, and I didn't feel like picking up an entirely new language. That left Mexico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, Panama, Cuba and maybe Columbia. Panama, Mexico and Columbia were out; not enough of a baseball presence to really make the most of it. Seeing baseball in Cuba is a dream of mine, but the legal situation made living and working there too much of an uncertainty. I've been enamored with Venezuela since I heard Hugo Chavez telling off George W., but the political situation there is too messy for a white guy like me to expect safety and be able to make any money. That left the Dominican Republic. Through the years I knew many of my favorite players had come from the Island. I also knew that there was both an affiliated Summer league and a high level winter league. So the Dominican Republic was it. Over the years living in Minneapolis after college, my girlfriend (now fiancee) expressed interest in going on this adventure with me. I also went to Hamline University and got my certificate for Teaching English asa Foreign Language. Everything was set to head down and see what it was all about. And here I am, over two months in. We've both got jobs and an apartment in the second city, Santiago de los Caballeros. We've made some friends and are starting to get the hang of things down here. On one of my first nights here I got to watch the last game of the world series while sharing drinks with the local guys at the corner shop. Most importantly, I've been to over 15 games at 2 of the 6 stadiums. I've seen all of the teams and a really interesting array of prospects, big league regulars, and has beens. Plenty of future, current, and former twins as well. I've also gotten to know a lot more about Dominican culture and it's people at the games. There are a lot of similarities between games here and games at home, but probably more differences. 1. Tickets I've paid between 1 and 25 USD for tickets. I've bought them both through the box office and from scalpers. Weekday regular season games between the less popular teams are a really easy ticket. Games between the two big teams, Águilas Cibaeñas (my hometown team) and Tigres del Licey (from the capital) are a tough ticket. Last game the lowest price I could find was 20 USD per ticket, so a friend snuck me in through a gate where he knew the security guard. I'd like to see that happen at Target Field. 2. Stadium The stadiums are much smaller than we're used to in the US, with the biggest here in Santiago seating just over 18 thousand. It's one of the few with outfield bleachers. There really isn't a bad seat in the house, and moving from seat to seat is really easy. The stadiums are fairly clean, but definitely in worse shape than any minor league stadium I've been to in the US. The first game I went to there were workers trying to weld a gate next to my seat well into the first inning. 3. Food and Drink Cheap and good. Hot dogs, slices of pizza, bags of popcorn are a buck. Get a burger for a $1.50. Can of the local beer Presidente for a buck. .5 L of rum for four bucks. And all served to you in your seat by a waitress that takes care of the whole section. It's quite a different experience going to a game, sitting in nice seats, having a few drinks and a full dinner for less than 10 bucks instead of over 100. 4. Entertainment The game is certainly the main attraction here. People really get into it. There are songs people sing in between at bats, and chants for specific hometown players, opponents, and umpires. It really seems like there are no half-way fans when you're at a game. The mascots are also hilarious. At one game I watched one go on the field in between innings with a toy sniper rifle, get down on his stomach, and take out the opposing team. Another favorite half-time entertainment are the Super Gato (motorcycle company) girls. These scantily clad women get on top of the dugout at least twice a game and dance suggestively in front of the crowd. Men, women, children, grandmas and players stop what they're doing and watch. So yea, pretty different from the match game at Target Field. 5. The Game It's baseball. The quality of play certainly isn't up to Major League standards, but it can't be much lower than AAA. It may just be small sample size, but it seems that I haven't seen a lot of home runs, maybe 3 or 4 in all the games I've been to. Also, there seem to be more errors committed than I'm used to in the majors, which makes some sense. The pace of play is also dreadfully slow. Not only is there time called often, the rosters are huge and the bullpens are very full. The managers have tons of options out there and like to use them. I've sat through innings that seemed to last forever because there were 4 pitching changes. But overall, good baseball to watch. Danny Santana- I've only been impressed with his play. He's hitting .308 on the year and I've seen him start one extra-inning game winning rally and hit one other walk-off hit. He's played every game I've seen for the local Aguilas, and started in Center. Not too impressed with his play out there, but I also haven't seen any terrible plays. I know he was waived by Atlanta, but it seems to me that if he could play an average center field he could still be an asset to a major league team as a utility guy. Then again, he's struck out 13 times and walked 5 while slugging .397, so it is still the Danny Santana we got to know so well in Minnesota. Kennys Vargas- Kennys came to the Aguilas as a mid-season reinforcement. I was very excited to see someone who I believe(ed) still has some upside in the Majors. Well, it hasn't really gone his way. He quickly made a fool of me singing his praises to my friends here in Santiago by hitting .222 with 20 strikeouts and 2 home runs in 54 regular season at bats. It has been fun to get up close to his antics while he's on the bench for a game. Last game I was at, I saw him playing receiver to a guy in the stands who was throwing him candy. It's really cool to be able to get such a close up view of players in an atmosphere where they're relaxed and having fun (maybe too relaxed in the case of Kennys). Samuel Deduno- This one came out of left-field for me, literally (from the bullpen). He's got the same electric curve-ball and very little command, and now he's pitching out of the pen for the Aguilas. In a small sample of 12 regular season innings, hes got a one and a half ERA and a .81 WHIP. Jung Ho Kang- Wow, another guy I wasn't expecting to see playing down here. It's been really interesting to watch him play, mostly because of the off the field stuff took him out of the game last year, and it's really interesting to me to see how a guy who hasn't played in so long would fare against some pretty solid competition. In this case, let me tell you, it was not good. Through the middle of the regular season, he was starting most games for the Aguilas and got 84 at bats before he decided to head home for the seasons. In those 84 at bats, he struck out 31 times with and OBP of .219 with 2 doubles. Looks like it's going to take a little more time to shake the rust off if he's going to have any shot of playing in the majors any time soon, regardless of his legal status. Alexi Casilla- Gotten to see him play a couple times for the Toros del Este. To be honest, he hasn't done anything that's really impressed me (maybe personal bias), but he's on the league leaderboard with a .315 average. Jair Jurrjens- Yet another blast from the past, he's been the most dependable starter for Licey with a 3.6 ERA in 50 innings. I've seen him throw once, and while his stuff didn't wow me at all, he seems to be able to get through the lineups down here without too much trouble. Another guy I had on fantasy teams back in the day trying to get some exposure down here, apparently he tested positive for steroids this last season in AAA for the Dodgers. Let me tell you, if the winter league is run like everything else here in the DR, I highly doubt there's a strict drug testing policy. Starling Marte- Speaking of drug testing, Marte is another guy who's gotten a lot of playing time for Escondigo because of his lack of playing time in the Majors last year due to suspension. I was impressed the handful of times I saw him play here, he certainly looked like a guy who only had a little rust to work off, unlike the issues Kang was having. Overall, Marte hit .277/.333/.438 this regular season. I would expect him to be back in the Majors doing well this season. Justin Haley- I saw him start for Escondigo against Estrellas, and he looked really good. Solid stuff, and even though he gave up 7 hits over 5 innings, he didn't let any of those baserunners score. That game he had 4 strikeouts to no walks. Over his 5 starts, he's pitched 26 innings with a 2.06 ERA and 17 strikeouts to 4 walks. I left the game thinking the Twins would have done well to keep him, but I suppose that's how rule 5 works. Adalberto Mejia- Here's one guy who I hadn't seen play, but has pretty good stats for the Gigantes del Cibao. It may sound familiar, but Mejia didn't make it out of the 5th inning in any of his five starts, but that may have more to do with the abundance of bullpen options and possible innings limits than anything else. Overall, he had a 3.43 ERA with 15 strikeouts to 8 walks. He's a guy I'll certainly have my eye on this year to take a step forward for the Twins. While there are some other interesting guys that I've seen play down here, these are the ones who stuck out to me particularly. Right now, the first round of the playoffs is happening, which is a round robin tournament with the top 4 of 6 regular season teams. Then comes the Dominican Championship series and after that the Caribbean Championships. Then, I have to wait a few months before the affiliated Dominican Summer League and MLB starts. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what y'all think, so please leave impressions/ suggestions/ questions in the comments.

So I'm taking a lot of commenters advice and making a blog. I'm planning on moving my original forum post over to the blog and writing a few more entries as I've been to a bunch more games and it's playoff time here. But first, I figured I'd post this as it's relevant this week and it was such a cool thing to run into. So my parents came down to visit a week and a half ago. We spent a week where I'm living in Santiago and a weekend on the beach. We went to a ball game and have done a bunch of different touristy things. This weekend, we're hanging out in the capital, Santo Dominigo before they have to go home and I have to head back to work. Today we were walking around the Colonial Zone and seeing the classic sites: Columbus' house, the oldest road, church and settlement in the Americas, and some other stuff. On our way back to our AirBnb, we ran into a bunch of boys dressed up in their baseball uniforms standing on a corner. They all had hand fans and posters congratulating Vladimir Guerrero on being the third Dominican born player to get into the hall of fame. I asked one of the boys why they were standing there and he said there was going to be a parade soon. Luckily, my parents are baseball fans and are always down for spontaneous activities, so we decided to hang around and see what a Dominican Hall of Fame parade was all about. We stood on the corner with the boys for a ten or so minuets, but there was no sign of a parade of Vlad. I asked one of the boys when the parade was coming by. His reply of "ahora" represents one of the many quarks of Dominican culture. Ahora translates literally to "now" but after living in the Dominican Republic for three months, I've found that they use it much more liberally. In other Spanish speaking countries I've been to, ahora can be taken literally, and people use other words for soon, such as "pronto" and "un minuto". In the Dominican Republic, ahora can mean any amount of time from right now to weeks from now. It's especially scary when they add the ending -ita, as that literally indicates a short moment (ahorita). Here, that -ita usually means your now is even more extended. Anyways, that is all to say that I was worried we'd end up waiting on the street corner with these boys till late into the night for Vlad to show up, if he was going to at all. Once again, I found myself lucky that I have such an amazing family. We spotted a corner store (colmado), with the tell tale Presidente beer sign in front and decided to sit and have a cold one. Colmados are the best place to buy beer because it comes from a refrigerator/freezer hybrid. This is necessary because the beer here is nothing like the wonderfully bitter craft choices from home and much more like the Keystone Light you'd find in my frat basement. It's much better to freeze your mouth while drinking it than actually taste the beer itself. The other advantage of buying beer at a colmado is that they have plastic chairs they'll let you bring outside and sit on while you enjoy your beverage. While the DR doesn't have a lot of bars as we know them in the US, almost every block has the local colmado and it's common to see people sitting out till late, every night of the week. So, after buying a Jumbo Presidente and borrowing some chairs, we had a front row seat to a parade. As we waited, more and more people from the neighborhood came down to the street, so we felt better that there would actually be something to see. After about an hour, we saw the first lights on top of a police truck and heard music from down the street. As the parade got closer, we got an idea of just what a Dominican parade actually is. First came motorcycles, both police and civilian followed by and surrounding a half dozen police vehicles. Following those was a rag tag mix of nice cars, trucks, SUVs and any other kind of transportation you can think of. The third truck in line was the man of the hour, Vladimir Guerrero, sitting in the back of a huge pickup truck. Vlad looked like he was having a blast, smiling and waving to everyone. I figured that the parade would end soon after Vlad's car went by. Boy, was I wrong. Following him was a mix of vehicles in a huge line that took another 15 minutes to pass. Some of the highlights of this rag tag group: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., in a similar truck to his father's, with three friends wearing custom Blue Jays jerseys, multiple flat bed trucks hauling only huge stacks of speaks blasting merengue, bachata, and reggaetone and a mix of both some of the nicest cars I've seen here in the Dominican and some of the most beat up. What it takes to get your car into a parade like this, I don't know. It's possible you just have to turn onto the right street at the right time. One thing's for sure, everyone involved was having a great time. Almost every vehicle in the parade had someone hanging out of a sunroof or on top of the car itself. Most everyone also had a bottle of Presidente or a cup of rum in their hand as well. After leaving the parade, we decided to walk about a mile to a restaurant on the ocean for my parent's last night here before going back to the winter in MN. On the way, we ended up walking by the park where parade ended. Apparently, the parade was just the beginning of the party, because there was a stage with a huge crowd. On the stage was a band playing bachata, and off to the side was a VIP tent with Vlad and his family and friends. Flanking the stage were huge posters with Vlad in an Angles jersey that said "Vladimir Guerrero Juagador Immortal". I think that phrase, that translates to "Vladimir Guerrero, Immortal Player" captures the spirit of the day perfectly. In this country that is obsessed with baseball, they are overjoyed to see one of their own recognized in the Hall of Fame. I think I saw it on Vlad's face too when he passed by. In a country with so much pride, Vladimir Guerrero is the third of what will surely be many more to be recognized as an "Immortal" in the game they love so much.