La Vida Voices: New York Times’ James Wagner

Every life journey or career path is different, but some are more logical (at least in theory) than others.

I’m a Puerto Rican who grew up in Florida and New York cheering for the Yankees. You see my name and where I grew up and it’s easy to see how I fell in love with baseball.

It isn’t as obvious for New York Times baseball writer James Wagner.

His name doesn’t give away his Nicaraguan roots, and Nicaragua’s limited exposure in the major leagues means many Americans don’t readily associate the game with the country. And yet Wagner is one of the most influential Latino baseball writers in the United States today and one of our favorite reads at La Vida Baseball.

His brilliant big-picture writing at the intersection of Latino culture and baseball is why he’s one of my first reads in the morning. My favorite story of his from last year was an in-depth feature on Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos, the Owls of the Two Laredos, one of the oldest teams in Mexican baseball playing on both sides of the U.S. and Mexico border under the shadow of politics around immigration.

I first met James in person years ago when he was at the Washington Post. I was speaking at a Smithsonian Museum event. We instantly connected around our mutual passion for telling Latino stories, understanding the cultural experience of Latinos in their travels across the Americas and as hard-core baseball fans.

His storytelling prowess and my historical knowledge make for interesting and fulfilling chats when we cross paths at baseball events across the country. I respect his work immensely and am excited we were able to share one of those chats with you.

Adrian Burgos, Jr: Who or what sparked your love of baseball?

James Wagner: My parents aren’t huge sports people, but culturally it [baseball] is passed down. My dad’s from Ohio; my mom’s from Nicaragua.

Growing up in Ohio, my paternal grandparents grew up around baseball. The same is true on my mother’s side of the family in Nicaragua where baseball is the national sport. So, I was exposed to the game from both sides.

My mom raised us to be part Nicaraguans—she took it very seriously to pass that down. She only spoke to us in Spanish growing up, made us read Nicaraguan poetry. We listened to Nicaraguan music. We would eat the food, of course, all the time.

[My mother] would also send us to Nicaragua for an entire summer, multiple times, to spend with my grandparents so we would have the culture. In Managua, we’d visit for summers. Entire summers we’d spend down there, my siblings and I. And I remember my grandfather giving me my first baseball glove. I have fond memories of things like that.

I wasn’t born and raised there, but the culture was definitely passed down.

AB: How did growing up in multiple places shape your writing and thinking about what Latino players go through?

JW: I think growing up all over the world taught me appreciation for politics or international news, or what’s going on around the world. Or just how culture is, things are done differently in different parts in the world.

When a player first comes here, what that really means culturally, what their expectations are, what their experiences are, having a little bit of an understanding… while I’m not in their shoes, I do have an understanding of what their culture is, and how it varies is huge. It’s not homogenous. Just because they all speak the same Spanish, doesn’t mean that it’s spoken in the exact same way. Like the slang, the different words, their meaning … One word in Mexico might not be the same in Argentina. So living in different parts of Latin America helped me understand that, and see that more directly.

More than anything, when you hear the players go through their struggles in terms of how to deal with agents, or how to deal with media members, or how to deal with the team, or team executives, I think people just need to remember sometimes that the sensibilities just aren’t the same. They are not used to it; again, the culture is different. I’m not saying that as an excuse, but just the putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.

AB: How did you start on this career journey to becoming a sportswriter focusing on baseball and particularly Latino stories? Who influenced on your career as a journalist?

JW: I’ve always read about baseball and sports. When it comes to reading about sports, I think back in the day when Frank Deford used write his columns for Sports Illustrated, I always found his voice and his humanity very appealing.

And then in my current life, guys who have been huge influence for me and big helps are Jesse Sanchez at MLB.com and Jorge Arangure Jr, who is now also at the New York Times. Guys like that who were – it feels weird to say who came before me, because they’re not that much older than me – but they were Latinos writing about baseball. Just seeing their work, and how they tackled it, and getting to know them, getting their advice, seeing how they tackled stories, and stories that they pursued. They always meant a lot to me. I’m still good friends with them, and still get their advice every so often.

But that’s really, specifically, Latinos in baseball. When I started, I didn’t really know how to cover baseball day-to-day. I’d written features here and there, previous internships, and freelance. Like I said, I knew the sport from growing up, but not the level of expertise that these guys knew, or I feel like I know now. So, in terms of just covering a baseball team, how to ask the right questions, how to talk to agents, how to talk to GMs, sharing phone numbers, and getting to know people,

There’s a large network of friends and people that I’ve come to know, and read a lot of back in the day and growing up. Guys like Dave Sheinin, Barry Svrluga, and Adam Kilgore, who I learned a ton about covering baseball when I first started at the Washington Post.

Adam, Barry, and Dave were big influences for me, especially because Adam and I started covering the Nationals together. Just learning how to do my job day-to-day, I learned so much from Adam; I’m forever indebted to him for always being patient.

AB: What have you learned writing stories about the cultural exchanges between Latino players and American players that perhaps surprised readers?

JW: I try to show how Americans have taught Latinos, and vice versa.

A couple years ago, I wrote a story about how the exchange of music among the players. How some of the American players on the team had learned reggaeton from the Latinos. And guys like Yoenis Cespedes have picked up country music from his American teammates and coaches. Cespedes is a huge country fan. He loves Garth Brooks. He sings to it on the team buses. And he listens to it when he works out and goes to sleep. And that’s something that he picked up in the United States.

Another story I wrote in spring training this year was about the Bravo Supermarket in Port St. Lucie, Fla. It’s a franchise, but the cafeteria at the one in Port St. Lucie was just a really cool, vibrant scene of Latin American food from the Cuban pastries and coffee, to the Dominican, Puerto Rican [and] some Venezuelan food.

Generations of Mets players had been going there to eat. The owner of the store was a former minor leaguer. He had a house, and he was renting it out to some players, and had given jobs to some minor leaguers to work in the supermarket. It was just a crazy mix of culture, how they carried on their own food, and traditions, and culture, even in the United States.

The Latino experience is more than just that. It’s about not just the assimilation, but also about carrying on their culture.

There’s far more nuance … that’s something that I hope continues to be reflected [in my writing].

AB: You have noted there’s far more nuance in Latino stories, and getting at those nuances is why there are so many more stories to tell. What’s the importance of having bilingual writers on the beat?

JW: If I couldn’t speak Spanish I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. Just imagine if I was covering Congress and I couldn’t speak with 30 percent of the people in Congress because I  didn’t speak their language.

I think the idea that you cannot communicate with a large portion of the people that you cover is huge. And I’m not saying that all Latino baseball players in the United States don’t speak English; many of them do. Some of them speak it pretty well, actually and many of them are learning.

And it’s not just language, but it’s also culture. It’s understanding what their sensibilities are, what their priorities are.

AB: There haven’t been too many Nicaraguans in the major leaguers. The first, Dennis Martínez, is still the greatest. Have you had the chance to interview him? If so, how was that kind of moment for you?

JW: Growing up I had always heard stories about the handful of famous – albeit limited – Nicaraguans who made it to the majors. So I have always been interested in their stories.

Obviously El Presidente, Dennis Martínez, is the king of Nicaraguan baseball. My mom, who doesn’t really know a lot about baseball, knew about him. And my grandfather used to talk about him as well. Everyone in Nicaragua knows who he is.

It’s my job to not be star struck, and I do a pretty good job of not being in awe. But there was a different feeling getting to meet [Martínez]. He was the bullpen coach for the Astros for one year, while I was covering the Nationals at the Washington Post.

One time in spring training, I walked up to him and introduced myself, noting that I am a Nicaraguan American. Of course, his face lit up because there are very few Nicaraguans in baseball overall.

Nicaraguans are always friendly people, but they’re even friendlier in baseball.

I think they are always happy to see someone else that understands their culture, and knows about where they’re from. And despite baseball being the national sport in Nicaragua, they don’t produce the same number of players as the Dominican, or Venezuela, or Puerto Rico.

I think I told my grandfather and mom afterwards… I don’t do that when I meeting celebrities, but that was one that my worlds were colliding, my world as a little kid, to where I was now.

Adrian: Thanks so much James for sharing your tremendous journey that has taken you around the world but kept you coming back home to baseball. Be sure to follow James on Twitter:

Featured Image: James Wagner Instagram