NewsPage 1 2 3 4 Feb 4, 2010, 10:29 am MARGARITA ISLAND, Venezuela -- Dave Hudgens might be the most popular field coordinator in all of baseball. Unless there's somebody else in the position that signs autographs, poses for photos with fans before games and has 2,500 followers on Twitter. Yes, being the manager for Caracas at the Caribbean Series in Venezuela has its privileges. "It's all about the team and going out there, playing good baseball and winning," said Hudgens, 53, who will report to his full-time job with Cleveland next week. "It's an honor to be here and an honor to manage this team. It has a great history and it's a great organization." The celebrity is fun, the manager said, but the longtime hitting coach remains a reluctant rock star. For coaches and players like Hudgens, the biggest perk that comes with being a part of the Caribbean Series is the experience gained. The experience and exposure can lead to a job -- or a better job -- in baseball. "I would love to manage in the big leagues one day and I think this can't hurt me," said Dominican Republic skipper Ken Oberkfell, the manager for Triple-A Buffalo, an affiliate for the Mets. "It's a great experience for me. It's helped me as far as handling a pitching staff, being able to think quickly and making moves. I'm a big believer that if you can manage in the Caribbean, you can manage anywhere." Hudgens agrees, and for the record, he said he manages in Venezuela because he is a student of the game. He's on Twitter because it helps him "keep up with his kids." One of Hudgens' most recent tweets describes him to a tee in 140 characters or less. "6 a.m. workout at the gym before leaving for Margarita. Nothing better than that." That was posted at 2:59 a.m. on Monday. "One of my jobs with the Indians is to help train managers, and you can't go through any more situations as a manager than in Venezuela," Hudgens said. "All experience is healthy in baseball and it helps both ways. I do recommend managing here." The Venezuela experience has helped Hudgens become a better communicator, he said. He's also learned to juggle a roster full of players at different skill levels. It's not uncommon to have a player at Class A start in the same lineup as a Major League player on any given night in the winter leagues. It's not also uncommon for a manager to not know which players will show up each night. Additionally, a diffrent 30-man roster is submitted from a pool of 50 players for every game. "It's unbelievable," Oberkfell said. "It's just so fast-paced and you have to be on your toes keeping up with what's going on. Who's getting up, who's coming off the field. It's more intense than anywhere else I have ever been. How can that not help you?" Dominican Republic pitching coach Doug Linton, who coaches for the Rockies at Triple-A Colorado Springs, played parts of nine seasons in the Major Leagues and played 13 winters in Latin America. He pitched for current Oakland manager Bob Geren when Geren managed in the D.R. five years ago, and Linton raves about the experience. "Over here, you have 50 games in a season and it's all that matters," Linton said. "You can get fired anytime. I don't know where you can find that pressure." He's right. Geren led the Dominican Republic's Licey team to the Caribbean Series in 2002, and three years later, he was fired by Escogido during the season. Geren was promoted from bench coach to manager by the A's in 2006. Does managing in the winter leagues always lead to a big league gig? No, but it doesn't hurt. Ask Geren or former Mariners skipper John McLaren, a longtime manager in Venezuela. Cleveland manager Manny Acta also spent several years managing in the Dominican Winter League before taking over the Nationals in 2007. Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda led Licey to a Caribbean Series title in 1973, three years before he became the Dodgers skipper. The Caribbean Series also provides unemployed players a chance to show off their skills before the start of Spring Training. One American League scout said there were several organizations sitting behind home plate at Estadio Nueva Esparta evaluating players this week. "Obviously, baseball in Latin America is important and it all starts down here," the scout said. "From what I've seen, the pitching is good, but I think it takes a few more days to figure out who is who and get a good read on them." Raul Valdez, who pitched for the Dominican Republic in Tuesday's 2-1 victory against Puerto Rico, is hoping to find a job in the United States after spending the past two seasons in Latin America. Valdez was in the Mets organization in 2007. Puerto Rico pitchers Juan Padilla, who was released by the Mets in 2008, and former big leaguer Bill Pulsipher, now an independent league player, are also trying to keep the baseball dream alive. The goal is to be the next Nelson Figueroa. Figueroa, 35, spent parts of five seasons pitching with Arizona, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh starting in 2000 but was out of baseball in the United States after the '04 season. The right-handed pitcher spent the next two years bouncing around Venezuela, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, China and some independent leagues before a five-month stint in the Minor Leagues with the Nationals in 2006. Two years later, Figueroa signed with the Mets as a free agent, and he enters Spring Training this year competing for a spot on the big league pitching staff. On Wednesday, Figueroa gave up one run in a complete-game victory for the Dominican Republic against Mexico. "Here you get a chance to show not only what you can do in the Latin baseball world but the entire baseball world," Figueroa said. "I've been there. I've played all over the world. It's competitive out there. There are so many guys looking for jobs, so any chance you get to play in front of somebody is a good thing." However, not everybody at the Caribbean Series is looking for a job. For many, the tournament is about pride, patriotism and membership into one of baseball's oldest fraternities. Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Tony Perez, Juan Marichal and Willie Mays are all part of the extensive Caribbean Series brotherhood. "I can't imagine being anywhere else," Figueroa said. "When you get the opportunity as a foreign player to compete in this, you can't turn it down." Jesse Sanchez is a national reporter for MLB.com. Nov 24, 2009, 11:59 am Orkas Center Feild Gabriel Montero won Gold on the last Bolivarian Games 2009. For the 2009 edition in Bolivia, the Venezuelan Baseball team won without any problem all matches, playing agains Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Panama.
Oct 30, 2009, 5:01 pm Konica Minolta Pioniers just signed Nelson Santander to pitch on the Major Dutch League for the coming 2010 season. According Rogier van Zon of Honkbalsite.com the KONICA MINOLTA PIONIERS bring in twelve new players for the 2010 season, seven will leave. The transfer period (within the Netherlands) closes on Saturday. There are quite a few big names among the newcomers for this season’s Holland Series participant and reigning Hoofdklasse vice champion. The 27-year-old Venezuelan right-hander Nelson Santander returns to the Netherlands and will lead a pitching staff, which also will be reinforced by the 34-year-old American Eddie Aucoin, who walked just 27 batters in 329 innings over four years German Baseball-Bundesliga. He played for the BUCHBINDER LEGIONAERE REGENSBURG in 2009. The PIONIERS also have acquired Hoofdklasse proven pitchers Dave Draijer (RCH) and Jurjen van Zijl (DOOR Neptunus and es-Orkas). The Czech outfielder/designated hitter Jakub Malik (RCH) is supposed to strengthen the offense. Jean-Paul Gulinck (RCH), Lennart Koster (DOOR Neptunus), Shurty Tremus (ADO), Linoy Croes (Almere Magpies), Wouter Kamstra (DSS), Kevin Dirksen (UVV) and Zerzinho Croes (Aruba) will join the 2010 roster of the Hoofddorp based club too.
Oct 21, 2009, 7:40 pm The ALB-Europe and the Orkas BBC team presented the selection for the new season. The team consisted of 18 baseball players from the Dutch Competition. Amongst others former dutch internationals Kenny Berkenbosch, Vince Rooi, Mervin Gario en Shurty Tremus and players from Germany, Ghana, Colombia, USA, Czech Republic, France, Colombia and Venezuela. At the beginning of this month we received the shocking news that the Liga Paralela's board got replaced by a new one and the new board has set up new regulations. Allthough we are well on our way to becoming a professional organization, we are not affiliated with one of these organizations (yet) and this means we cannot participate in the upcoming winter Liga Paralela competion. Also due to the short notice of these new regulations. Our goal is to participate in 2010 and we will work very hard this coming year to make this happen!
Aug 20, 2009, 4:06 pm Yulman Ribeiro (W 1-1) allowed four hits, two runs and three bb in seven innings. He struck out three. Matteo D’Angelo and Fabio Milano closed it out by retiring the last six batters in order. Tiago Da Silva (L 1-1) couldn’t repeat his performance from game two and issued eight hits and four runs in four-plus innings. Now, FORTITUDO BOLOGNA is the 2009 Italian Baseball champion. They defeated last year’s winner T&A SAN MARINO 16-2 on Wednesday to win the best-of-seven series 4-1. It is the first Italian Baseball League title for BOLOGNA since 2005.
Aug 4, 2009, 9:30 pm The ALB is holding in Venezuela a Pro Baseball Tryout for all Orkas players on 01-11-09 What the Academia Latina de Beisbol offer with this private Tryout is the opportunity for Orkas players to showcase their skills. This private Tryout is an opportunity for the ALB to get another look at Orkas talent and it is also a chance for players in this team to showcase their abilities and receive some constructive feedback from a professional scout. Jun 30, 2009, 8:16 pm
The Venezuelan Baseball's mix-media "Hablamos Beisbol" (tv, radio, internet, magazine) would be one of Orkas promoting platform for this coming winter season. "Hablamos Beisbol" completed the media network of the Orkas BBC 2009, they would be part of a important way to promote the team worldwide. Mister-Baseball(International) www.mister-baseball.com |
