"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!

Play Hard, Play Smart

Before I get into my topic du jour, I want to give a shout-out to the Cleveland Indians.  The team that should be managed by Sandy Alomar, Jr. (but is not!) is only half a game out of first place in the AL Central behind the Detroit Tigers, and have a record of 7-3 in their last 10 games.  No, this is not the team of years past, with stars like Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, and Jim Thome, but they have Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop and rightie Justin Masterson (6-2, 3.14 ERA) on the mound, and they mean business.  Now, please don’t get TOO good, because we’re going to a game at Jacob’s Field in August, and I don’t want tickets to be too hard to get!

OK, so now that I got that out of the way, let’s talk about this Bryce Harper kid who keeps bashing himself into outfield walls.  I know I’ve said this before, but Harper has to be one of the most intense baseball players I’ve ever seen.  He looks and acts like he should be playing rugby or ice hockey or participating in one of those “Strong Man” competitions.  Not that Bryce could pull a bus with his teeth, but he is all-in, all the time.  This kid sprints to first base after every at-bat, even if he just hits a dribbler to the pitcher.  He will try to stretch a single into a double if the ball is hit deep enough.  He will dive headfirst into home plate even when it’s not a close play.  In one year in the Majors, Harper has stolen home off the Phillies’ Cole Hamels, hit 32 doubles, and 10 triples.  He is so competitive, he doesn’t know when to ease up.

So here’s where the big debate is:  If your team is leading 6-0 in the fifth inning and your pitcher is throwing heat, do you risk your body to try to catch a fly ball?  This was the scenario in Monday night’s game between the Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, where Bryce Harper slammed into the outfield wall and ended up leaving the game and requiring 11 stitches to his chin.  Some seem to think that Harper should have taken the ball after it bounced off the wall – he could have dislocated his collarbone, gotten a concussion, or sprained his shoulder and would have to be out for at least four to six weeks (and they don’t call that strip of dirt out there the “warning track” for no reason!).  Others believe that Harper is Harper, and he would have done the same thing whether the Nationals were losing by five runs or leading by twenty.  This is the way Bryce has always played, and he’s not about to bring his intensity down a notch.

What do I think?  I love Harper and the way he hustles (the fact that he’s not cute and gets bad haircuts does not affect how I feel about his playing ability).  I love his drive, his determination, and his work ethic.  He’s part Rose, part Clemente, part Dykstra (without the potty mouth and jail time) and part Griffey (junior).  If more guys played baseball like Bryce does, it would be a more interesting game to watch.  But then again, he’s only 20.  His body is not always going to be so forgiving when he slams into a wall ten or fifteen years from now (wait until he plays at Wrigley Field, where the outfield wall is solid brick!).  Harper grew up as a catcher, and the Nationals switched him to the outfield so he wouldn’t suffer so much wear and tear and get so beat up.  If they really want to keep him bubble-wrapped, then perhaps they can move him to the bullpen and have him pitch one or two innings every couple of days.  J 

For now, I don’t think you can tell Bryce Harper to ease up and hold back a little.  After all, the kid makes over $1 million a year, so he’s going to earn his paycheck and give fans their money’s-worth.  Let’s just hope the Nationals’ athletic training staff has enough bandages and Steri Strips to keep Bryce Harper put together for years to come.