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Wednesday, January 18, 2017

"Felicidades, Iván!"

Despite having a population of over 3 million people, Puerto Rico can sometimes seem like the small island that it is.  When someone from Puerto Rico is famous, you inevitably know someone who was that person's neighbor, Little League coach, or hairdresser.  I alone can say that my mother taught a former Miss Universe, my former doctor also treated the wife of Carlos Baerga, and a relative of mine lived next door to a former member of Menudo.  It's also safe to say that every Puerto Rican has run into a famous person at one time or another - I remember seeing a local actress in the pharmacy once, a TV personality was a former client of my father's, and let's not even get into my many run-ins with Ricky Martin!  Needless to say, most Puerto Ricans are just a few degrees of separation from someone famous.

One such encounter I had back in the day (the summer of 1990, to be exact), was with Iván Rodriguez.  He was in the Minor Leagues at the time - a virtual no-name visiting the sports facility where I worked that summer as a camp counselor.  I remember impressing Iván with my baseball knowledge, and a teammate of his saying to me "Remember this guy; he will be famous someday!"  Well little Iván turned out to have a pretty good career - 14-time all-star, 13-time Gold Glove winner, 1999 MVP, and as of today, member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Today's nod comes as no surprise - despite having been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs by former teammate and obvious "juicer" José Canseco, Iván never failed a drug test and vehemently denied ever using PEDs.  His career numbers as a catcher are unparalleled, and his knowledge of the game and control of his battery mates earned him the respect of coaches, reporters, and players alike.

 But something else that sets us Puerto Ricans apart is our sense of family.  We all feel like "Pudge" is that distant cousin that despite only seeing rarely at weddings and funerals, you beam with pride at his every accomplishment and triumph.  We followed his career closely for twenty years, memorizing his statistics and talking about him like if he was Norm and you were Cliff and you had just recently shared a drink at a local bar.  When my father saw Iván walk by him a couple of years ago in Old San Juan, they greeted each other and waved like if they had gone to school together.  Wave your Puerto Rican flag or yell the word "Boricua!" in a baseball stadium, and Carlos Beltrán will give you a baseball, Alex Cora will sign it, and Sandy Alomar will wave at you (speaking from personal experience in all three situations!).  That one-starred flag can be spotted by Puerto Rican athletes and other celebrities no matter where they are, and I bet you there will be hundreds of those flags being proudly waved this coming July in Cooperstown, New York, when Iván Rodriguez is formally inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Having blogged about baseball for so many years and being such an ardent "Pudge" fan, you'd think it was pretty obvious that I would be one of those attending the Hall of Fame festivities this summer.  Unfortunately, it is not the prudent thing to do at this time, since my husband and I started our own retail business last year and just can't justify spending so much money on one weekend (especially since we would have to bring the 12-year-old - YOU try telling him that he can't come along!).  Part of me was secretly hoping that Iván would not be selected into the class of 2017, so I wouldn't feel bad about not going to enshrinement weekend.  But I'm over that, and at this point, my Puerto Rican pride has grown tenfold, and I look forward to watching Iván, Jeff Bagwell, and Tim Raines become Hall of Famers from the comfort of my own couch.  Besides, it's usually dreadfully hot on that day; you always see Willie Mays wiping his brow and Dennis Eckersley taking swigs from a water bottle.  My poor fair-skinned husband would surely get a sunburn!  And what if it rains?  I don't want to be in a Woodstock-like setting being trampled by sweaty, muddy, smelly people!  Really - why spend all that money when there are so many variables you can't control and you have to pee in a porta-potty?  No thank you!  (See how hard I'm trying to make myself feel better?)

So whether you'll have a front-row seat at Cooperstown (Iván's Little League coach might!) or you'll be like me watching from home (waving the flag that Iván signed for me a few years ago), the pride that will be displayed for "Pudge" Rodriguez will be like nothing seen before.  Cooperstown will be rocking with boisterous Puerto Ricans and other fans alike, and the Hall of Fame will have a new inductee:  A guy who caught two no-hitters, a player who got called up to the Majors on his wedding day, and a distant "cousin" who has made every Puerto Rican proud.  Felicidades, Iván!

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