Venezuela Fiesta
An exciting, extra inning affair, the 2003 Venezuelan League All-Star Game was a true celebration of winter baseball.

By Ronald Young
MinorLeagueNews.com

02.27.04 -- While fans of America's pastime endure the winter cold in the United States, some good old-fashioned baseball games are taking place south of the border.

A perfect example is the Venezuelan winter league All-Star game, featuring both major league stars and minor league prospects.

The contest was held on December 2, 2003 and some of the big names that played included Magglio Ordonez, Edgardo Alfonzo, Andres Galarraga, and Miguel Cabrera.

The players treated the fans to an exciting, seesaw battle that saw the West All-Stars defeat their East counterparts 7-5 in extra innings, for the squad's third consecutive victory.

As if a thrilling game were not enough, the pre-game festivities and a tribute to national hero Andres Galarraga made this All-Star game even more memorable.

The Festivities

Like its Major League counterpart, the Venezuelan All-Star Game is surrounded by various festivities and competitions, which are often as popular as the actual game.

In the home run hitting contest, Luis Raven, a veteran minor league slugger who played in Mexico last year, bested competition that included big leaguer Juan Rivera.

Showing some blazing speed, Detroit Tigers infielder Omar Infante took home fastest runner honors, beating out other speedsters such as Expos outfielder Endy Chavez.

Meanwhile, minor league journeyman Victor Valencia, who split time last season between Akron and Buffalo in the Cleveland system, won a throwing competition for catchers.

Though more significant than any of the contests, was the heartfelt tribute to Galarraga.

Being honored in his hometown, the Big Cat was clearly moved by the respect shown to him on his special day.

"It's a tribute that fills you with pride," Galarraga said in an interview that appeared in Caracas' main newspaper, "It makes you fill much prouder of all the Venezuelan people that have been supportive of me, of my family, and of my career."

Some of the biggest names in Venezuelan baseball showed up to pay homage to the hometown hero.

Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio was there as an honorary captain, as well as perennial gold-glover Omar Vizquel.

Accompanied by his family, Galarraga received a bevy of gifts and even ran a lap around the stadium to the delight of adoring fans.

"(No one) remembers the outcome of the game or the Most Valuable Player," claimed one Venezuelan journalist, "Galarraga was the true star."

A Pretty Good Game Too

While the Galarraga tribute may have stolen the show, the two teams played a close and exciting game.

The West opened the scoring in the top of the first when Robert Perez doubled off East starting pitcher Jeff Farnsworth to drive in Selwyn Langaigne. The lead did not last long though.

The East tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first when Tomas Perez drove in Endy Chavez, who had doubled off West starter Kip Bouknight to lead off the inning.

Bouknight then escaped further damage by retiring major league stars Magglio Ordonez, Andres Galarraga, and Edgardo Alfonzo.

A similar script played out in the third inning. With Mark Johnson on the mound, the West took a 2-1 lead when, with two outs, Robert Perez doubled again to drive in Langaigne.

The East knotted the contest at 2-2 when infielder Carlos Hernandez singled off West reliever Dan Murray. Chavez reached on an error and Tomas Perez brought Hernandez home with a ground ball to second base.

The crowd then exploded when Galarraga blasted a two-out double to leftfield to give the East a 3-2 lead.

Eddie Rios then tied the game 3-3 again in the fourth with a controversial solo home run that probably should have been ruled a ground rule double due to fan interference.The East scored again in the fifth with two runs off of Blas Cedeno to take a 5-3 lead.

After Tomas Perez negotiated a two-out walk, Pirates prospect Jose Castillo hit a double to put his team up 4-3. Castillo later scored on a wild pitch.

In the sixth inning, the West tied the game 5-5 with two runs at the expense of reliever Delvis Pacheco.

The game remained tied until the eleventh inning.

Luis Ugueto set the table by leading off the inning with a single to left off of Eduardo Villacis. With one out, Rios blasted his second home run of the night to give the West a 7-5 victory.

Villacis took the loss for the East. Yoan Torrealba notched the win for the West after pitching a scoreless tenth inning. Former big leaguer Julio Machado pitched a perfect bottom of the eleventh for the save.

Eddie Rios was rewarded for his two home runs with the Most Valuable Player award.

After being treated to such an exciting game after last year's cancellation, the fans of Venezuela now eagerly await the playoffs for even more emotion.