Rangers’ lefty Alex Claudio hopes to help his team to the Major League World Series come October. For now, he’s happy to be in another World Series – in The Caribbean.
It’s one of the reasons I’ve never understood (or liked) the name “World Series,” because baseball is played all over the world and to smugly proclaim the league winners from the United States as “World Champions” is just … Well, for another day and another blog.
For now, Claudio is a key cog in the bullpen of Santurce, the Puero Rican champs. While playing with Mayaguez in the regular season and playoffs, he tied for the league lead in holds with eight and four, respectively.
A month from now Claudio, who is on the Rangers’ 40-man roster, will be in Surprise, Arizona battling for a roster spot. But this week he’s in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic fighting for, yep, a different World Series.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
