Latinos in the World Series Broke some Records

It is not a surprise that in Major League Baseball we consistently see Latino players being an active part of the circuit and standing out in the offensive as well as the pitching and defensive sections. This was reflected more than ever in the recently completed World Series, in which the Atlanta Braves were crowned over the Houston Astros in a very Caribbean setting.

In fact, of the 56 players who made up the rosters of both teams for the World Series, only 36 were not Latino, while those remaining 20 were distributed among six Venezuelans, five Cubans, four Dominicans, three Puerto Ricans, one Mexican and one from Curaçao from those who were registered on the roster, because outside of this there were two other Dominicans and one Panamanian, so 23 would be perfectly counted.

The Venezuelan infielder José Altuve, a native of Puerto Cabello, Carabobo, is perhaps the most prestigious of all those mentioned, along with the Curaçao Ozzie Albies from Atlanta and the Puerto Rican Carlos Correo, Altuve's partner in Houston. In fact, the Carabobeño hit two home runs during the series to reach the mark of 23, the highest for a Latin American in the postseason.

Latin distribution

The Astros was the team with the most foreign players with 13, while the Braves accumulated 10. Position players were the majority with seven infielders, six outfielders, five pitchers, as well as two receivers.

In the case of Venezuela, their representatives in the World Series were infielders Ehire Adrianza, Orlando Arcia and receiver William Contreras on the champion team, while on the Texan side were second baseman José Altuve, pitcher Luis García, and utility Marwin González, who did not participate in any game.

For the Dominican nation were pitchers Yimi García and José Siri, outfielder Cristian Javier, and pitcher Framber Valdez in Houston, as well as pitcher Huáscar Ynoa and outfielder Christian Paché, the latter two are part of the Atlanta organization, but They weren't on the final series roster.

The five Cubans were outfielder Yordan Álvarez, and infielders Aledmys Díaz and Yuliesky Gurriel on the Astros, while outfielders Guillermo Heredia, and the aforementioned Soler, played for Atlanta.

For Puerto Rico were the experienced patrolman Carlos Correa and receiver Martín Maldonado, who performed well with the bat in the series, and his compatriot Eddie Rosario also stood out, but with the Bravos.

Finally there are the Curaçao Ozzie Albies in the uniform of the "Tomahawk", the Mexican pitcher José Urquidy with the Texans and the Panamanian outfielder Johan Camargo, who finally did not enter the roster of the brand new champions.

The most outstanding

Two key pieces in the Braves title were Soler and Rosario, who curiously arrived in Atlanta from Kansas City and Cleveland, respectively, in the month of July, to strengthen the absence of another Latino, the Venezuelan Ronald Acuña Jr., who lost the rest of the season due to injury.

Soler was hitting just 192 / .288 / .370 when he was traded, while Rosario, who arrived injured, had produced just 254 / .296 / .389. However, wearing the Braves uniform, they had OPS of .882 and .903, respectively.

"This was destiny," said the Puerto Rican, wrapped in his National Flag, after the Braves' victory. “I thought it was going to be very far at the beginning of the year. I thought I was never going to be able to get here, but look at me here, "he highlighted for MLB.com.

Throughout the postseason, Rosario had 23 hits and fell just two short of the franchise record (held by Marquis Grissom in 1996). In the Championship Series against the Dodgers, he hit .560 with three homers and nine RBIs.

In turn, the World Series MVP — who suffered from COVID-19 a couple of weeks ago — hit three home runs over six games with a 1,191 OPS against the Astros.

Soler, who was part of the Chicago Cubs, champions in 2016, is the second Cuban to be MVP of a World Series, after Liván Hernández with the Florida Marlins in 1997. In 2019, he had led the American League with 48 home runs.

Also read: 5 Latinos In Major League Baseball MLB Playoffs 2021

Records of Altuve and Contreras

Venezuelan José Altuve could not be crowned, but he hit a home run during the fourth inning of Game 4 of the World Series that marked his 23rd in the postseason, beating Bernie Williams among the Latinos, and being only behind the Dominican Manny Ramírez, who punctuates the table with 29 full-turn stakes.

Another Venezuelan, William Contreras, did not have the opportunity to play in this World Series. In fact, in the entire postseason he only played one game against the Milwaukee Brewers, but with the title won by the Braves – the first in the franchise since 1995 – Contreras and his brother Willson, catcher of the champion Cubs of 2016, left one " fraternal "footprint in the World Series. Venezuelans are the tenth pair of brothers who played at least one postseason game for the team that ended up being champion.

Finally, the Contreras are the fourth group of Latino brothers to win the World Series, joining the Dominicans Jesús and Mateo Rojas Alou, the Cubans Liván and Orlando “El Duque” Hernández and the Puerto Ricans Bengie, José and Yadier Molina.