Tigers Minor League Baseball Blog

Whenever I am shagging balls in the outfield during batting practice or sitting in the bullpen trying to find something and anything to occupy my attention during down time I try to work on my foreign relations. In professional baseball, most of the time you will have several players from other countries and they are mostly Spanish speaking. So, I like to do what I can to find out what I can about my fellow teammates by attempting to get information across without knowing anything the other guy is saying. So far I have came to learn enough Spanish to not totally sound like an idiot while trying to converse with them, and to their credit many know enough English to let me know how things are. I have come to find out that my teammates from abroad are not just good ballplayers, but pretty good guys as well. So far I have managed to make up a handshake with my bullpen brother Kelvin Cedano, and have garnished many nicknames from some of the others (Flaco, meaning skinny, and “my friend” are the two most popular). We have also reached the point to where practical jokes are fair game to anyone. It used to be the American guys only messed with each other and vice versa, but now, if there is an easy target, no one is spared. I am very fortunate to be friends with these guys because as I said they as much to teach me as me to them. Plus somewhere down the line in life, whether it be in another job or travels, I think that being able to communicate with people who don’t even speak my same language may come in handy.