SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – It's the rare man among us who can own his own island. But Pudge Rodriguez and Carlos Delgado now know the feeling.
Oh, they've never actually gone down to the Banco Popular mortgage office and purchased the island of Puerto Rico. But in every other sense of the word, it's theirs.
|  | | Ivan Rodriguez, left, knows the importance of playing in front of his home people. "It feels special to be here," he said. |
And this is their weekend to move in.
Sunday afternoon at Estadio Hiram Bithorn, Major League Baseball's season will open on this island – Pudge's island, Delgado's island.
Game within the game: Delgado vs. I-Rod
It's the Delgado Blue Jays versus the Rodriguez Rangers, 4 p.m. ET on ESPN. And you may be able to feel the passion all the way back on the mainland.
"I've been telling my teammates they're going to experience an atmosphere I don't think they've ever experienced in their lives," said Toronto's Jose Cruz Jr., still the pride of Arroyo, Puerto Rico, after all these years. "Between the conga drum and the noise and the screams and the chants, they're going to feel more like they're at a World Cup. It'll be fun, man. No doubt about it."
But it will especially be fun to be the catcher for the Rangers – Señor Pudge – or la primera base for the Blue Jays – Señor Delgado. Because this is a day they have waited a lifetime to live.
"This is a great feeling," said Delgado on Saturday, before pounding a humongous homer to center field in one final exhibition game in preparation for the real deal Sunday. "I don't think I can explain how important it is to represent your country in front of your country.
"I guess you can say that for anybody who plays in the Olympics, they get an opportunity to represent their country. But this is great. I have played here many games. I have played many games in this stadium. But this will be a lot sweeter. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And I'm going to enjoy every moment of it."
As will his countryman, the Pudge-ster.
"It feels special to be here," Rodriguez said. "I can't wait until I can put on my uniform and play in front of my own people."
Who's No. 1? No contest – Pudge
Saturday night – with his son, Pudgecito, serving as batboy – Rodriguez had to wave his cap three times to acknowledge a 30-second standing ovation. Then he thwacked an RBI double down the left-field line on the first pitch he saw – and rolled into second base slapping his hands in exultation.
|  | | Carlos Delgado, along with Todd Helton and Jeff Bagwell, are team leaders at first base. |
Let's just say you don't see that kind of euphoria after those RBI doubles in Port Charlotte.
Pudge then followed that act with two cinematic home runs in his next two at-bats – and went flying back to the dugout pumping his helmet as the crowd chanted, "I-van, I-van." Pretty cool scene.
Of all the current players who sprang from this island to play baseball in the States, none is more beloved at the moment than Rodriguez. Juan Gonzalez had his time. The Alomar brothers have a fan or two. And Delgado grows increasingly rock star-esque.
But it is no accident that at the Hiram Bithorn souvenir stand, the Pudge shirts hang front and center, while the Delgado shirts hang on a side wall. And the Texas caps in the stands Saturday night outnumbered the Toronto caps, at least five to one.
"Both of these guys are so important for our country," said Jossie Alvarado, a broadcaster from Radio WHOY in Salinas. "But No. 1, for consistency and durability, is Pudge. Delgado – he's the next superstar of Puerto Rico. But Pudge has nine years in baseball. He's been doing it longer."
Friday, Rodriguez spent his day journeying around the island. He visited his old elementary school, then stopped by the Little League field where he first slipped on a uniform to play baseball.
Watching him look at his life in the rear-view mirror and interact with children whose lives remind him of his own, Rangers GM Doug Melvin was overwhelmed by what he saw.
"You can see he has a great kids' following," Melvin said. "From what I understand, his kids' following is so much greater than anybody else's. And I think that's because he plays the game like a kid, with the enthusiasm and the energy of a young kid."
Delgado rooted to his people
But soon, Pudge will move his offseason home from Rio Piedras to Miami. And by doing so, he may leave the door open for Delgado to replace him as Puerto Rico's numero uno baseball deity.
"He deserves it," said Candy Maldonado, the former Blue Jay who now broadcasts Spanish-language games for ESPN. "You get to know Carlos, it's not just what he does on the field that makes him great. Off the field, he's a great gentleman, an educated man. Only the sky is the limit for him."
Delgado's commitment to his people and his roots shows in the house he owns in Aguadilla, 10 minutes from the home of his parents. He also owns a condo in San Juan. And the locals often talk of seeing him walking down the street in a tee-shirt and shorts, his smile as wide as the island where he was born.
"He's a people's player," said Monserrate Quinones, a shopping-mall security guard in San Juan who has seen Delgado on his home turf in Aguadilla. "Sometimes I go to Carlos' hometown in the winter, and there he is, playing dominoes with the same people he went to school with."
When you are a superstar – as Pudge is, as Delgado is becoming – you have an obligation to accept the responsibilities of stardom along with those roars of the crowd.
"And both of these guys do," Maldonado said. "They do it, and they do it very well. The great thing about both of them is that they've both done so much with kids here. It's a great thing when you see kids out there trying to be Carlos or trying to be Pudge."
Before Saturday's game, Delgado presented a $37,000 check to four Puerto Rican charities, while Rodriguez drew on funds from La Fundacion Ivan Rodriguez to aid local children with cancer.
And that, too, tells you something about them. No man should move forward in life without looking backward at the places where it all began, particularly men like this. And clearly, Pudge and Delgado haven't forgotten.
"As a player from Puerto Rico," said Rangers left fielder Ricky Ledee, "I'm really proud of them for all the great things they've done for kids here. Roberto (Clemente) did them first. And we've all tried to follow his lead.
"So all the cheers they'll get here, they deserve them. By not forgetting where they came from and all the people they've been helping, it's made them very beloved by the people in Puerto Rico."
Just how beloved, the whole world will see Sunday on the ESPN television network. If your TV set shakes, do not adjust your set. That's just Carlos Delgado and Pudge Rodriguez rocking the house – their house.
Jayson Stark is a Senior Writer at ESPN.com.
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