Spousal Abuse Is A Walk In The Park

LA Times has an interesting article that really captures the flavor of the Caribbean Series. It's a very entertaining read. Here's a different one in a Mexican paper focusing on the Nats Mexican players.

But buried in the middle of the Times article was something I didn't know before. The league includes:

ageless Dominican outfielder Luis Polonia, who at 41 remains spry enough to bat second in the lineup after Furcal and ahead of Tejada.

Polonia, who batted .293 in 14 major league seasons, has appeared in 11 Caribbean Series, more than any player, and also holds records for games, at-bats, hits, doubles and runs. Although he hasn't played in the majors since 2000, his performance this winter earned him a spring training invitation by the Washington Nationals.

"The Caribbean Series is the most fun I have in baseball," he said. "We play in it to give back. This is where we learned the game. The winter leagues made it possible for many of us to play major league baseball."

Lord knows, I've railed on the wife-beating Wil Cordero enough, but Polonia has his own sullied record. Check out 1989. Charming.

At least there wasn't any squawking about how he's being brought in for veteran leadership. That's what really irked me about the Cordero thing. You don't have to be a good person to be a ballplayer--or anything--in life. But to be praised for being a good person, despite evidence to the contrary is obnoxious.