Vlad Jr. and Álex Cora honored, stars tee off in Puerto Rico and Kiké gets a ring
By Andy Martinez
Vlad Jr. picks up hardware
The Winter Meetings are kicking off this week in Las Vegas and on Sunday, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year. He had many gracias in his speech, including his abuela, Altagracia, who is well known throughout the Latino béisbol world.
Kiké ties the knot
Kiké Hernández is naturally one of our favorite players. He’s always putting his fun side on display and injecting life into the Dodgers lineup. But Sunday night, he shared an album on Instagram where he showed his tenderness. Hernández admitted to not being able to hold back the tears during the ceremony. Who can blame him?!
Remembering their estrellas
The Cardenales de Lara, who are part of the Venezuelan baseball league, honored José Castillo and Luis Valbuena at their stadium, Estadio Antonio Herrera Gutiérrez in Barquisimeto, Venezuela in a ceremony over the weekend. It was a touching tribute to the two peloteros who tragically lost their lives last Thursday.
A Boricua hangout
We’re used to seeing the Puerto Rican players hanging out. Whether it’s at All-Star games or regular season games, it’s commonplace to see them together. On Saturday, though, Eddie Rosario shared a picture of the pachanga to top all Boricua ballplayer get togethers. Javy Báez, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, José Berríos and Rosario snapped a picture with former Boricua peloteros Carlos Delgado, Carlos Baerga and Carlos Beltrán. ¡Wepa!
Álex Cora takes home award
Red Sox manager Álex Cora took home the titulo of all titulos in October, winning the World Series. Monday morning, though, Cora took home The Athletic’s Person of the Year. Chad Jennings wrote, “He led with empathy, and with analytics, and in this sports-crazed commonwealth, he dismissed the notion that any of his wins should be as important as the 1-year-old twins waiting for him at home.” We couldn’t agree more!
Social Post of the Day
Ok, ok, we know Javy Báez has swag. But he definitely doesn’t have the most swag in his family. Come on, look at little Adrián Javier, aka El Maguito!
Happy Birthday!
Jaime Jarrín, Dodgers Spanish broadcaster (b. 1935)
Carlos Rodón, White Sox pitcher (b. 1992)
OTD
1998 – The Tampa Devil Rays sign José Canseco to a one-year deal.
2008 – Francisco Rodríguez, who set the major league save record during the 2008 season, signs a three-year deal with the New York Mets.
2014 – In a seven-player deal the Dodgers acquire Kiké Hernández, Austin Barnes, Chris Hatcher and Andrew Heaney from the Marlins for Dee Gordon, Dan Haren, Miguel Rojas and cash.
Featured Image: Ben Badler Twitter