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Twins stay sharp in Dominican Republic Winter League, site of past glory
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Satchel Paige: so nervous he couldn't button his shirt
Three Twins stars are competing in the Dominican Republic Winter League, one of the most storied baseball leagues in history, and 72 years removed from one of the most exciting pennant races ever.
The Twins, who came up only a game short of a playoff spot last season, hopefully will have a healthier Michael Cuddyer and Francisco Liriano in '08; while Cuddyer is busy rehabbing, Liriano is playing for the Leones (Lions) de Escodigo of the Dominican League, where he's on a strict pitch count, and has allowed one earned run, seven hits and two walks in 9 innings, losing his only decision.
Carlos Gomez, a bundle of talent still learning the game, is struggling with the same Lions, batting .243, with 20 strikeouts in only 74 at bats; he still is almost impossible to throw out stealing when he gets a decent jump, and has nine swipes.
One of the most pleasant surprises for the Twins in '08, Alexi Casilla, is batting .343 with a .436 on base percentage with good power for Aguilas Cibaenas. Nothing pleases general managers and managers more than budding stars willing to put in extra work to take their game up a notch, and Casilla hasn't always been that type of player.
Now, a little history of Dominican baseball. Most fans know that dozens of stars have come from the Dominican Republic in the last 40 years, including Pedro Guerrero, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez, the Alou brothers, Vladimir Guerrero, Alfonso Soriano, Juan Marichal, Robinson Cano, Miguel Tejada and Pedro Martinez. Few know that for a few months back in '37 the Dominican Republic hosted the most intense pennant race ever.
Yes, the '51, '64, '67 and '78 pennant races in the Majors all had high drama, with amazing clutch performers, and each game might have felt like a life or death situation. The '37 race, however, was literally life and death.
The president of the Dominican Republic in 1937 was Rafael Trujillo, who changed the name of the capital, Santa Domingo, to Ciudad Trujillo (Trujillo City), and ruled the country with an iron hand. After '38, Trujillo ruled as a dictator, never afraid of using deadly force, and stayed in power until he was assasinated in 1961.
In 1937, Trujillo was in trouble politically, and the only thing more important to his constituents than paved roads was a great baseball team, so Trujillo sent a representative to the United States to secure enough talent for Ciudad Trujillo to win the Dominican League pennant, and save his political career.
Ciudad's representative approached the Pittsburgh Crawfords' pitcher Satchel Paige of the Negro Leagues, opened a suitcase full of money and said, "get me the players to win, and split it anyway you want."
Paige, who didn't need much help to beat most teams, grabbed a solid catcher, Bill Perkins, and they arrived in in the Dominican Republic not knowing what was in store. Paige's plan was to scrounge up a little Dominican talent to fill in his team, but keep most of the money himself. Paige wasn't aware that there were only three teams (Ciudad Trujillo, Aguilas Cibaenas, and Estrella Oriente) in the Dominican league, with each team stacked with Negro League, Cuban and Mexican stars.
After losing a game early after arrival, Paige was told in no uncertain terms that if he didn't win the pennant, he wouldn't get off the island alive. Paige decided his life was worth more than a few extra dollars, so he called Pittsburgh for more help and soon Josh Gibson, Leroy Matlock, Cool Papa Bell and Sammy Bankhead arrived to fortify Trujillo's Dragones.
Each game was watched by a dozen guards armed with machine guns, and often shots were fired in the air, followed by cries of, "El presidente does not lose!"
The Dragones and Aguilas Cibaenas made the finals, and played a best-of-three series for the championship. Left-handed pitcher Leroy Matlock, who finished the season with only one loss, won the first game, but Aguilas Cibaenas evened the series with Negro League star Chet Brewer pitching the team to victory, and Cuban Martin Dihigo, the best all-around player in black baseball history, homering for the decisive blow.
The night before the final, Brewer, who pitched with Paige on the Kansas City Monarchs for a decade in the United States, went to find his buddy to take him out for a good time. He was informed that Paige and other Trujillo players were locked in a jail cell so that they would be in top form the next day.
Paige had a slightly sore arm, and a more-than-slightly nervous stomach, so Matlock started the game on the mound. Shortstop Bankhead, whose brother Dan would pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers years later, blasted a grand slam off Dihigo to give Trujillo a big lead, but Matlock ran out of gas in the late innings, and when Aguilas put up four runs in the eighth Paige was called in to relieve. With armed guards everywhere, Paige shut the door, saved the game, then caught the first boat off the island. Now that's pressure.
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