My trip to Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan Puerto Rico: January 2000

Last Updated 7 February 2002

Karin and I were on a 14-day cruise thru the Caribbean. We stopped in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Wednesday January 5th (2000). There was a PR Winter league game going on, so I HAD to go get a mid-winter baseball fix. The cab ride from the pier (in Old San Juan) to Hiram Bithorn Stadium was about $15. The tickets were either $5 for General Admission or $6 for a box seat. I went for the better seat, but in hindsight, I could have sat just about anywhere in the ballpark. My assigned seats were in Row B, behind the screen, just behind the on-deck circle. The hometown Santurce Crabbers were hosting the Ponce Lions. Note, both the San Juan Senators and Santurce Cangrejeros call Hiram Bithorn their home field. I was lucky since several of the Bucco associated players are on the visiting Ponce roster. I was looking forward to checking out Ivan Cruz in particular.
The ballpark looks like a late-1970's AAA park. It is one level, with about 10 rows of green box seats, a walking concourse, then maybe 30 rows of General Admission seats. The GA seats are orange out to the 1st/3rd base bags, then dark green and finally a brown section of seats towards the OF corners. A clamshell type (zig zag pattern) roof covers most of the GA seats. 14 (or maybe double that) luxury boxes hang above all the action. The OF walls had minor league type ads; a single row on the main wall for banks, cars, newspapers, drinks (Gatorade to Vodka), with a few ads elevated above and behind the standard size wall (10-12 feet). The outfield dimensions were symmetrical: 315 down the lines, 360 to the power alleys, and 400 straight away CF. The most surprising component of the park for me, considering the lush tropical environment, is that the field is made of artificial turf. I'm not sure of the capacity, but I'd guess at 12,000, though would go as high as 20,000 without being surprised. The attendance that night looked like an old Maryland Fall League crowd - I guess it was around 400. I'm certain that Karin and I were the only ones off of the cruise ship there. The seats seemed to be set back from the field further than I am used too. There is a LOT of foul ground there.
Ponce wore a red sleeveless jersey with a black undershirt, and white lettering. Instead of names across the back of the shoulders, each player had an ad for "Popular Finance". They did wear numbers, but I couldn't find a program or scorecard to help me identify players. The Ponce cap is a dark blue with a red "P" outlined in white. The visitors wore gray pants. The hometown Crabbers uniform looks like a Dodger outfit. White, blue script, red numbers.
Players: Darryl Brinkley has been playing regularly for Ponce in RF. He's shorter than I imagined. The Media Guide lists him as 5' 11". He worked a 3-2 count in his first AB and then rapped a single to LF. Although he's advertised as a speedy player, he failed to go from 1st to 3rd on Ivan Cruz's single to RF - but Brinkley did score later anyway. Brinkley did make a sliding catch in RF later in the game. He looks like he could be a 5th OF'er in an emergency, so he's a good insurance piece at AAA. Ivan Cruz seemed to get good at bats. His RBI single in the 1st inning got things started for the Lions. He was the DH that night, so I didn't see him in the field. In the top of the 4th, Ivan's AB led to high drama when he took a close 1-2 pitch and the man in blue called it a ball; the Crabbers manager had been ticked before at ball/strike calls, so he strolled to the mound (in the middle of the AB) and just stands there. He didn't talk to his pitcher or catcher. After a visit from the home plate ump to hurry the manager along, the staring face-off continued. The manager eventually got tossed, but the crowd enjoyed the show. I only had a couple ABs to look at Ivan Cruz and Darryl Brinkley, so I can't report much.
Other familiar names? Orlando Merced (a K looking early in the game, but an RBI single in the 6th). Jose Cruz Jr - seemed to walk and steal second every time up. Edgar Clemente (Roberto's nephew from the Rockies).
The local fans seemed to be very knowledgeable of the game and were interested in the action on the field. There wasn't any between innings music, YMCA or even a Take me out to the ballgame at the 7th inning stretch. No between inning games, no macerena, and not even a National Anthem to start the game. It was different to hear the taunts/jeers from the seats cascade down on the field in espanol.
In the bottom of the first, a light shower chased us under the GA overhang - guess who left our umbrella on the ship instead of having it in my game bag? The shower didn't last long though.
Ballpark fare? I didn't hear any beer vendors all night, but the familiar cry was for "Pina, Pina". You could buy a virgin Colada and then have the vendor add some Don Q rum for an extra dollar. Karin sampled the Pina - it was good, but not anything special. I didn't see any hotdog stands, but the baked potato with nacho cheese style sauce seemed popular. There was also some sort of pasty (I don't know if it was meat, veggie, or dessert). I was shut out on the Gearhard linescore - remember though, I was coming off of a cruise ship where eating counts as a thrice daily activity/highlight.
I did see one Pirate cap (red bill) being worn in the ballpark, and another around town earlier in the day.
The level of play was professional, but looked more like AA to me. I'm interested to see more winter games. We left the game (the ship was getting ready to sail that evening) in a 2-2 tie in the 8th inning.
The Ponce web site is at: http://www.efn.org/~tiago/pressbox.htm http://www.efn.org/tiago/pressbox.htm but I have a hard time wading through the espanol. One translator can be found at: http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/
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