SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The crowd began gathering around 5 a.m. By noon, there were at least 5,000 fans waiting outside Hiram Bithorn Stadium, the smartest of them holding up umbrellas to block
the hot, bright sun.
|  | | There was lots to sing about Sunday at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. |
Around 12:45 p.m., more three hours early, the gates were opened
and the first huge cheer of the afternoon went up.
The party was on.
The celebration continued throughout Sunday as major league
baseball came to the would-be 51st state for the first time. The
land of Clemente played host to the opener of 2001 season – between
los Azulejos de Toronto and los Rangers de Texas – and the locals
couldn't have been any prouder.
"Demasiado especial," said Margarita Figueroa of Guaynabo.
"Extremely special."
It all began at 4:14 p.m. ET when Toronto's Esteban Loaiza
began the year with a called strike to Rusty Greer. Moments later,
Alex Rodriguez – the $252 million man – singled for the first hit
of the season, then scored the first run on Rafael Palmeiro's
double.
Dennis Colon was part of a 32-person group that left Hatillo at
7 a.m. and arrived at 8. It was worth the wait as the six members
of the 7- and 8-year-old Lechuga (Lettuce) Rangers team he coaches
snagged the third row of the general admission section behind first
base.
Colon was most in awe of the stadium, a place he thought he knew
well after playing here hundreds of times during a career that only
recently ended. He couldn't believe how much it had been improved
in the three months since he last suited up for the Santurce
Crabbers.
"It's incredible," said Colon, who wears a 1996 Texas League
championship ring from his days as a first baseman-outfielder with
the Jackson Generals. "I heard about all they did, but the
difference is so big.
"Next year for winter league, fans are going to love to come
here. They're really going to enjoy it."
More than $600,000 was spent sprucing up the stadium named for
Puerto Rico's first major leaguer.
Among the changes: Reshaping the artificial playing field (which
is only 315 and 313 down the lines and 398 to dead center, with
more foul territory than any major league park), padding the walls,
repairing and replacing seats and overhauling the clubhouses. Most
of it was done in about two months.
The final touch came in a pregame ceremony Sunday.
A green sheet slid down the right-field wall, revealing two
white circles with the names and numbers of Roberto Clemente and
Orlando Cepeda, the two Hall of Famers from the island. The spot
was chosen because it's the position Clemente played, possibly
better than anyone in baseball history.
Clemente's wife, Vera, joined Cepeda in throwing out the first
pitch after the singing of three national anthems – "Oh, Canada,"
"The Star-Spangled Banner," played by Jose Feliciano, and Puerto
Rico's "La Borinquena."
Prior to all that was a vintage celebracion puertorriqueno.
A 12-piece band played folks songs as women twirled in red
dresses with men wearing white straw hats like the kind worn by
golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez. Then came the vejigantes, seven somewhat
grotesque-looking characters popular in street carnivals and
religious celebrations.
The singing and dancing gave way to the introductions of players
from both teams. The loudest cheers went to three locals: Texas'
Ivan Rodriguez and Ricky Ledee and Toronto's Carlos Delgado.
Rodriguez and Ledee waved Puerto Rico flags and Rodriguez and
Delgado met for a hug. Rodriguez later went to a box seat near the
Blue Jays' dugout and kissed his mother, Eva Torres. Delgado and
Rodriguez caught the pitches from Clemente and Cepeda.
"This is something marvelous, very positive for baseball in all
of Latin America," Cepeda said.
Although tickets cost up to $75, fans came ready to spend money
on souvenirs and concessions.
Hats and pins with the game's logo sold out at Saturday night's
exhibition. T-shirts with the names and numbers of Rodriguez was
the top seller. Alex Rodriguez, who is of Dominican descent, beat
Delgado for second.
Americans might have been a bit lost at the food booths. Pizza and
nachos were among the few things you'd find in ballparks back home.
The selection included kebabs called "pinchos" available in
beef, chicken, sausage, fried shrimp, which come on wooden sticks
with the meat separated by discs of fried plantains. Another
popular item is "alcapurrias," fried pockets made of either
mashed plantain or yuca with various meats inside.
Some unusual thirst quenchers included jugs of fruit juices
poured $1 at a time and liquor stands – run by "the 3 Amigos" –
featuring the wide variety of exotic mixed drinks found on a
Florida beach.
Colon said this weekend has two lasting effects: Raising the
Puerto Rico's profile and giving the game a jolt to youngsters, who
no longer play the game with the same passion as previous
generations.
Stricter draft rules and a heightened interest in basketball
have chipped away at baseball's Puerto Rico pipeline.
"That's why I'm managing this team," Colon said. "I want them
to know what baseball is like and I want them to love the game.
That's why I brought them here today."
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