After Hurricane María, an offseason like never before

By Hiram Alberto Torraca

For ballplayers from Puerto Rico, it was an offseason like never before. Thanks to Hurricane María, which pummeled the island on Sept. 20, they were forced along with everyone else to adapt to a new normal.

That the hurricane wreaked havoc during the stretch run to the playoffs was bad enough, forcing stars like Carlos Beltrán, Carlos Correa, Kiké Hernández and Javy Báez to deal with distress and multiple distractions.

But once the season ended, almost every Puerto Rican playing organized ball in the States had to acknowledge that their winter routines would be disrupted. That instead of focusing on their recoveries from injuries and fatigue, of planning workouts to improve their weaknesses, all critical aspects of the preparation for a new season, they would also have to help family, friends and their communities regain a sense of stability and order.

Here are the stories of five players who talked to La Vida Baseball during the past month about their sacrifices and decisions. Not surprisingly, they all agreed on one thing — they hope never again to endure an offseason like this one.

Martín ‘Machete’ Maldonado

Maldonado will never forget 2017 for a number of reasons. At age 31, he became a starting catcher for the Angels and won his first Gold Glove. And on Dec. 1, he and his wife Janelise had their first child.

Yet despite all the joy and satisfaction, for the first time ever, Maldonado spent Christmas away from the island.

“Due to the situation in Puerto Rico and the fact that my wife was pregnant, I had to sacrifice and stay in Arizona,” Maldonado said. “It wasn’t easy because I had to find housing and a new training facility. In Puerto Rico, I knew what to do and where to go. Here, I had to start from zero.”

Maldonado always returns to Puerto Rico after his last game in the States, spending about 90 percent of the offseason on the island. This winter he flipped the calendar. He traveled home in January on a Friday. Spent Sunday running a charity softball game that he organized together with Mariners closer Edwin “Sugar” Díaz for the benefit of their hometown of Naguabo. Then flew back to the States on the following Tuesday.

The hardest part, Maldonado said, was celebrating the birth of his daughter, as well as Christmas and New Year’s Eve, away from home.

“It was tough,” Maldonado said. “Even though I was able to bring my family and the family of my wife to the States, it was very sad to be away from our friends. They don’t celebrate the holidays here like we do in Puerto Rico.

“It was frustrating because it just wasn’t the same. You couldn’t stop worrying about the situation on the island and about those without power. Just before I had to report for spring training [on Feb. 14], my mom, my dad and my wife’s parents still didn’t have electricity.”

Edwin ‘Sugar’ Díaz

Stay home. Return to the States. Or accept teammate Robinson Canó’s generous invitation and go live with him in the Dominican Republic.

“After the end of a season, I like to rest for a month,” Díaz said. “But this year I didn’t know what to do.”

Díaz, who last year saved 34 games for the Mariners in his second season in the major leagues, decided eventually to stay close to family and friends, even if it meant altering his workouts and spending more time travelling to find training facilities.

“Little by little, things improved,” Díaz said. “When I found a gym, a running track and a ballpark, I decided to stay. And I was able to keep the same routine as in previous years.”

It definitely wasn’t as easy. Díaz, who turns 24 in mid-March, grew up in Naguabo and now lives in neighboring Ceiba — two towns on the east coast that bore the brunt of María. He found a gym and running track about 15 minutes north by car in Fajardo. But to find a ballpark in good condition, he drove 50 minutes west to Loíza, frequently navigating roads without working stoplights.

“I had to find alternatives because the ballpark in my neighborhood was completely destroyed,” Díaz said.

Díaz said that he got power back in his apartment in Ceiba in October. He was among the fortunate ones. Naguabo, where his parents still live, lost power when Hurricane Irma sideswiped the island on Sept. 7. When Díaz left for spring training in mid-February, his parents and most of the town remained in the dark.

“My family likes to get together during the Christmas holidays,” Díaz said. “But due to the power outages, it wasn’t easy. Every time it got dark, we had to turn on the generators and they are pretty noisy. Under the circumstances, we had a good time. Not as much as in previous years, but we got to share family time together.”

José de León

A promising 25-year-old right-hander for the Rays, De León might be the only major leaguer who actually endured María. Recovering from injuries that limited his 2017 season to one game and 2.2 innings, he was back home in Isabela when the hurricane struck.

Located in the northwest corner of the island, Isabela still suffered major damage. As a result, the power outages and the new normal impacted de León’s offseason workouts. His personal trainer, Édgar Díaz — a two-time gold-medalist in the pole vault at Central American and Caribbean Games and Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez’s former trainer — started working for one of the companies installing light poles.

“It was a very different offseason,” de León said. “I don’t think it affected my workouts per se. But it certainly changed my hours. Édgar worked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The only time I had to train with him was from 5 to 6:30 a.m. From Monday to Friday, I was getting up at 4:30 a.m. to work out with him.”

De León took Saturdays and Sundays off to help Isabela mayor Charlie Delgado Altieri distribute supplies to the victims of the storm.

“Using social media, I raised money to help the town,” de León said. “We bought water and other supplies. The town helped me 100 percent. I would go to the mayor, he would tell me where the supplies were needed, and we would go directly to the neighborhoods and the countryside.”

De León’s good deeds spread to the neighboring towns of Aguadilla and Moca as well as to the island of Vieques. And his seven-day weekly routine improved his fitness. He impressed the Rays early in camp with his aggressive pitching.

Unfortunately, de León can’t stay healthy. On Mar. 7, the Rays announced that he had suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the right elbow after pitching two one-inning stints this spring. De León saw famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion and last week had Tommy John surgery.

Víctor Caratini

The Cubs believe in the switch-hitting Caratini so much that the moment the season ended, they offered him the opportunity to spend the offseason working out at the team’s spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz.

The 24-year-old Caratini, who debuted last year and played in 31 games, readily accepted the offer. He stayed in Arizona throughout the winter except for one week in Thanksgiving, when he visited Puerto Rico. It was the right move, because his parents, who live in Coamo, a town in the south-central portion of the island, did not get power until January.

“It was the first time I spent Christmas away from Puerto Rico,” Caratini said. “It was a whole different experience since we are a culture that likes parties. But despite that, I’m very happy with my preparation for this season. I got work on new things and got tips from the trainers and the batting and catching coaches of the organization.”

Iván de Jesús Jr.

A utility infielder who has a non-roster invite to the Red Sox’s camp this spring, the 30-year-old de Jesús has spent the past decade faithfully playing winter ball in Puerto Rico.

This year, while waiting for the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League to start its abbreviated 18-game schedule in January, de Jesús scrambled for options. He ended up playing for the Charros de Jalisco (Guadalajara) in the Mexican Pacific League.

“I liked the league; it’s very competitive,” de Jesús said. “But there was too much distance between Mexico and Puerto Rico. Living without my family in a different culture made it very difficult for me to settle in.”

De Jesús spent Thanksgiving Day in Mexico before deciding to return home in the first week of December.

“Management wanted me to play until Dec. 29, but I told them that I didn’t want to spend Christmas there,” de Jesús said.

While de Jesús was in Mexico, his wife and four-year-old son alternated between Puerto Rico and their second home in Orlando. Their house on the island went 53 days without power.

The slow recovery in Puerto Rico has hurt numerable small businesses, including gyms and workout studios. Many establishments without power or water never reopened. When he returned home in December, de Jesús had problems finding a gym.

“It was very strange,” de Jesús said. “I had to use like four different gyms. It was the oddest offseason of my career. But who can control a hurricane? Thank God I had a chance to play in Mexico and Puerto Rico.”

Featured Image: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images Sport