Big dreams for the brothers Basabe
By César Augusto Márquez
The Basabe brothers were born in El Vigia, a town situated in the heart of the Venezuelan Andes mountains, where soccer is the traditional sport above all others.
Luis Alexander and Luis Alejandro hope to break that pattern and at the same time become just the 10th set of twins to play in the major leagues and only the second pair of Latin American twins to accomplish that feat after Jose and Ozzie Canseco.
Born five minutes apart, Luis Alexander of the Chicago White Sox organization is the oldest twin. At 6-foot, the center fielder is taller than his younger brother, a 5-foot-10 middle infield prospect of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Only those two inches in height and the 2,535 miles between Winston Salem, N.C., and Visalia, Calif., separate the two brothers.
Bonds of Brotherhood
The trials and fraternity are the same as they were when they played together, first in El Vigia and then in the Red Sox farm system.
“We’ve always been very united,” Luis Alexander said. “We had to separate only a couple of years ago, but before that we played together our whole lives, since we were learning to play in Venezuela until we had our first steps in the minors.”
Luis Alejandro concurs.
“The truth is that we are very united,” Luis Alejandro said. “We don’t go more than a day without talking to each other. When one of us two is going through a slump, the other is there to support and vice versa.
“It’s been that way since we were little kids.”
Making it from the Andes
Although El Vigia has never produced a major leaguer, the state of Merida where it is located has produced big leaguers. Johan Santana is perhaps the biggest star to come out of Merida.
“Of course we grew up admiring Johan Santana although in his case he was a pitcher,” Luis Alexander said.
Baseball wasn’t foreign to their family. Their mother Yamilet was a star baseball and softball player in San Jose de Las Heras from the neighboring state of Zulia.
“Where my mother is from baseball is played a lot,” Luis Alexander said. “We learned to play baseball from her.”
Scouts always pursued Luis Alexander more, but Luis Alejandro always looked for a way to stand out in his own way. Finally both excelled and took the opportunity Boston gave them to play together again as they did as children.
“I believe that they looked at Luis Alexander more at that moment, but we both had scouts around us,” Luis Alejandro said. “Boston gave us our first opportunities and allowed us to play together.”
They remained together for three years until the Red Sox sent Luis Alejandro, the infielder, to Arizona. Boston eventually traded Luis Alexander as well.
A Tight Bond
“When we played together the relationship was a lot easier for us than with other players,” Luis Alexander said. “We took turns cooking, listened to the same type of music and planned outings together.”
Their tight bond was evident after Luis Alexander was named to the Futures Game. His brother celebrated that honor as though he had been the one named to that team.
“When I found out I had been named (to the Futures Game) one of the first things I did was to call him,” Luis Alexander said. “He almost cried tears of joy. It was a beautiful moment.”
His twin predicts that an emotion like that one will only be felt when they both or at least one of them reaches the major leagues.
“We’re working for the same goal,” he said. “Both of us want to reach the majors, and I think the happiest moment will be when we both can achieve it. But if it’s just one of the two the joy will still be immense. That’s how tight our bond is.”
Featured Image: La Vida Baseball
Inset Image: Ron Vesely / Getty Images Sport