Quality of play is between Triple-A and majors, atmosphere is between college football and English soccer
February 26, 2002
By JEFF FLETCHER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
SPRING TRAINING PHOENIX -- Eric Byrnes stood in the outfield with chaos unfolding around him, and he loved every minute.
It was Game 7 of the Dominican Championship Series, and the frenzied fans in the baseball-crazy Caribbean were off-the-chart intense.
"You could just feel the energy, feel the pressure right on top of you," Byrnes recalled in the quiet of the A's spring-training clubhouse. "I was just thinking, 'This is cool.' Because next year when I'm in the playoffs in Yankee Stadium, it will be like I've been there."
If Byrnes does wind up playing regularly with the A's this year, it probably will be largely because he spent the off-season taking his game to another level in winter ball.
In spring-training camps across Arizona and Florida, there will be dozens of players who will owe their big-league jobs to winter ball, where the quality of play is between Triple-A and the majors, and the atmosphere between big-time college football and English soccer.
Before Byrnes, there was Aaron Fultz, a Giants' left-hander who has spent the last two years in the big leagues after winter ball helped him get his first shot.
Long before Fultz, there was Dusty Baker, the Giants' manager who said he had his best years in the majors after playing winter ball.
A's third-base coach Ron Washington carved out a big-league career in the '70s with the help of winter ball.
"I attribute my advance in the big leagues to winter ball," Washington said. "I think every ballplayer that hasn't been to the big leagues or is trying to maintain status in the big leagues should experience winter ball, if for no other reason than to get humbled, to see that there is a life other than what they have experienced."
These days it's harder than ever to convince American players to play winter ball, though. They don't need the money and many are hesitant to give up an off-season of golf to dodge bottles in Venezuela. Their reluctance to play is one of the reasons for what baseball people believe is an erosion of fundamentals in the majors.
"Anytime you can play baseball, you should play," said A's manager Art Howe, who played and managed in Puerto Rico during the '70s and early '80s. "That's how you develop baseball instincts."
Because the four main winter leagues -- in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Venezuela -- operate outside the control of Major League Baseball, teams have no power to force players to play winter ball.
Some players go for the money. A minor-leaguer can make more in three months in the Dominican than in six months in the United States. Other players go simply to refine their skills.
Many established Latin players play winter ball in their native countries, even though they don't need the money and have nothing to prove.
Playing for family, nation "I like to play for my friends and family that might not be able to see me here," said A's shortstop Miguel Tejada, who admitted he's going to take a lot of heat from the locals in the Dominican because he decided not to play next winter.
Playing in the Caribbean Series, which matches teams from each of the four leagues, is an Olympic-like experience for the Latin players.
"The playoffs (in the majors) are my job," Tejada said, "but (the Caribbean Series) is for my country. I can't compare them."
National pride has also brought players such as Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez and Ivan Rodriguez onto winter-ball fields years after they were established in the majors. The presence of such players, as well as dozens who are short of stardom but still in the majors, gives these leagues a level of play that is higher than anywhere in the minors.
"It's about Triple-A-and-a-half," Byrnes said.
The leagues provide the perfect opportunity for players to compete at a near major-league level, and do so at a time that helps them get ready before spring training.
Fultz caught break in winter ball
Fultz was a longtime minor-leaguer whose big-league hopes were dimming before he went to the Dominican following the '99 season. He pitched well enough in winter ball that the Giants kept their eyes on him, and the extra work prepared him to do well in spring training.
"That was the reason for me making the big leagues," Fultz said. "I had a lot of success in the Dominican that year and I had thrown a lot of innings. The teams I was facing had three to six big-leaguers on the team consistently. That gave me the confidence to come in knowing I could get people out, because I faced them all winter."
Byrnes chose to go to the Dominican because he realized he was on the bubble of the big-league roster last season. Byrnes' stock with the A's jumped this winter when he hit .345 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs in the Dominican. He also worked to refine his game. With Johnny Damon's departure, Byrnes knew he could help himself win a big-league job if he could improve in center field and learn to bat leadoff.
Bob Geren, who managed Byrnes at Triple-A Sacramento and over the winter with the Licey team in the Dominican, said Byrnes even wanted to work on bunting for hits.
"You wouldn't think little things like that are a big deal, but when you get to the border between Triple-A and the bigs, they are," Geren said. "If Art wants Eric to bunt, he hasn't bunted much in the minors because he was usually batting third.
"But it's a fine line because the owners and fans down there don't view it as developmental at all. They don't want Eric Byrnes to learn how to bunt. They want to win."
Geren said he occasionally went on the wrong side of the line and he heard about it. Prospect Carlos Peña just happened to be playing for Geren's Licey team when the A's acquired him from the Texas Rangers in January. One night shortly after the trade, a left-handed pitcher was summoned to face the left-handed Peña, who was in a slump. The Licey fans were all over Geren to bring in a right-handed hitter.
Geren, figuring Peña would need to handle these situations in the majors, took the developmental route and let Peña hit. Peña eventually drew a walk, getting Geren off the hook.
Geren felt the wrath of the fans plenty of other times. He's not fluent in Spanish, so he wasn't exactly sure what they were calling him, but he could catch enough words to know when they weren't happy.
Fans pack into small stadiums
"They take it all seriously," Geren said. "When the playoffs start, it's like the playoffs here. Everything is scrutinized. Every throw you make, every pitch, every managerial move, every error is magnified. It's a real intense playoff atmosphere.
"There would be 25,000 people in an 18,000-seat stadium. They'd be sitting in aisles and hanging over railings. Borderline dangerous, really. If there was an evacuation, people would get trampled. It's crazy ... You'd have to go almost all the way to the World Series to get that kind of electricity here. It was like a rock concert every night. You'd get ear damage."
By rnes said even the regular-season games in the Dominican drew the passion in the fans. A Licey fan once came after him in the dugout after he struck out. Another tried to get him after he hit a home run on the road. He said it was not unusual to be dodging items thrown from the stands or to get doused with beer.
Back in the '70s, when A's bench coach Ken Macha played winter ball, "You were glad they poured beer on you," he said, "because it could have been something else."
Byrnes recalled another day when his team's bus was stuck in a rival city because angry fans were rioting in the streets after their team had lost.
Burning passion for the game
"It's the only game there -- that's what people here don't realize," Byrnes said. "That's all they care about. That's the reason for the intensity and passion. Say my favorite team in football was the 49ers, and my favorite baseball team was the A's and my favorite basketball team was the Lakers and you put all those things, all your emotions, into one thing. That's how the people feel down there."
This isn't to make it sound like a nightmare for the players. Byrnes said the atmosphere is what makes the lousy conditions of the fields and clubhouses even bearable.
"I'd call them rookie-ball facilities, but I'd be doing rookie ball an injustice," Byrnes said. "It will wear on you. There are certain things you want. No. 1 is a clean clubhouse. But the crowds kept everybody going. We'd put 30,000 people in the stands and it would be an intense game."
Byrnes said he would recommend any young player spend at least one winter playing in the Caribbean.
"More than anything, it's going to help your mental game," he said. "You come to spring training and look at the white balls and the nice grass and the hitters' background. You are able to speak the language of everyone. You really learn to appreciate that more."
You can reach Staff Writer Jeff Fletcher at 521-5489 or e-mail at jfletcher@pressdemocrat.com.
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