Interview with Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar at Caribbean Baseball Series
During this year’s 2015 Caribbean Baseball Series being held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Roberto
Alomar stopped by the ESPN Deportes transmission booth and had a casual conversation with an ex-fellow player from the Toronto Blue Jays, Candy Maldonado and other ESPN sportscasters.
The following is a portion of that interview:
How does it feel being part of that 1995 reunion of the Dream Team? (Alomar was the MVP of that series with 10 RBIs and a .560 BA.)
Alomar: For me it’s just a great experience to be here to spend some time with my colleagues of that famous Dream Team.
How was the feeling winning that ’92 World Series with the Blue Jays and sharing that experience with a fellow Puerto Rican, Candy Maldonado?
Alomar: It was pleasure to share that experience with Candy. Candy was like part of my family. He is a little older than me (laughter), so he kind of took me in. We would go out to eat together; we would talk a lot about baseball. He showed me and gave me a lot of advice. It was an honor for me to be spending those years with him in Toronto.
When you think about the 20 years ago and that Dream Team. What can you do today to help bring back those golden moments of baseball to Puerto Rico and the big leagues?
Alomar: Well I think the public has to understand that there are a lot of young Latino players that are developing little by little in the big leagues. Also in the years when I came here to play in Puerto Rico, when Candy was also present and other players would come back and play. I believe that the players we have today in the big leagues should come back and play here and participate here in the league so that the general public would be enticed to come and watch the games.
What else do you recommend so that the youth here gets more interested and involved in baseball?
Alomar: Well right now I am talking to the government here in Puerto Rico to see if they can sponsor with me a baseball tournament here that we do in Toronto. It’s called the “12 Tournament” to give youth between the ages of 16 to 19, or 20 to give them an opportunity to come here and play for three or four days and bring some of the top scouts from the big leagues and the top colleges to see them play. This is something that could help a lot. I believe, God willing, that we will have that tournament here by this coming summer.
What can be done to bring incredible and talented players like you back to play in Puerto Rico to motivate the youth?
Alomar: Unfortunately, we also have to see that today’s contracts are somewhat restrictive. Many teams will not allow players to come and play in the offseason. I look forward to some players working out a way to at least come back and play even if just for a month. This will at least give the fans a chance to see them play here.
