Danys Baez has been solid for Rays. But his toughest relief work, getting parents out of Cuba, lies ahead.
By ROGER MILLS
Published May 25, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - He defected from Cuba during the Pan Am Games in Winnipeg in 1999 and hasn't seen his parents since. In a few months, their five-year travel ban will be rescinded and Rays closer Danys Baez hopes he can get them to the United States.
This, of course, is his dream.
"When I defected, (Fidel) Castro got mad and said they couldn't go anywhere for five years," Baez said. "Their (travel) visas were suspended and they couldn't leave. But the five years are going to be up in June or July. Maybe I can bring my family with me. Maybe."
Considering the way he has dominated this season and the way he has turned around a rocky start to his major-league career to become the most consistent Rays player, mom and pop might have a fighting chance.
You see, thus far, the 26-year-old from Pinar Del Rio isn't missing on much. Through the first two months of the season Baez has done everything the Rays thought he could when they signed him in the offseason to a three-year deal worth as much as $10.5-million.
He has converted all six of his save opportunities and done it with the kind of fiery disposition that teams covet.
"We have a couple of pitchers struggling right now and we need to be consistent in the bullpen, and I have been trying to keep the bullpen strong in the last few innings of games," Baez said. "I've been doing that for a while. Yeah, there is some pressure. But I have to be ready every game, whatever the situation. We have to keep doing well."
Catcher Brook Fordyce said Baez's no-nonsense approach to getting hitters out has been refreshing.
"You know what, he has an overpowering fastball, 95 mph, and it has tremendous movement," Fordyce said. "What is key is that he's staying aggressive and in the zone. He's not trying to be too cute and is going after hitters right away and early, and he's really confident now with his fastball."
Confidence wasn't always there. After signing a four-year, $14-million contract with the Indians, Baez's career went through the ringer. Through his first three seasons he moved from the starting rotation to long relief to closer. He had moments of brilliance and periods of woe.
A lot of it, he said, was traced to problems with his mechanics.
"My mechanics (had to be corrected)," he said. "When you lose your mechanics, you lose everything: your control, your velocity. You have to keep your mechanics good."
And there also was the issue of what was happening in Cleveland. A former powerhouse in the American League, the Indians began a gradual rebuilding process. Baez found himself caught in the whirlwind.
"Things can happen," he said. "I was in Cleveland for a while, we went to the playoffs and things were fine. We had great players, and in 2002 they sold everybody. In 2003, the team was young and struggling. So every year I learned something new."
Baez went 2-9 with 25 saves in 2003, but he had 10 blown saves. It brought an end to his tenure in Cleveland.
"It was difficult," he said. "Sometimes I (went) to the ballpark and I didn't know what I was going to do: "I'm going to be in the bullpen? Going to start? Going to close?' It was very hard to do one job, much less a number of jobs."
Fordyce said Baez's life experiences helped him through the bleak times.
"His ordeal of getting out of Cuba and getting to major-league baseball and living in the U.S. (put things in perspective)," he said. "If you can mentally go through that and get through it, then the Cleveland situation is nothing. That is the hardest mind-set you have to have.
"I think that has helped him switch roles. He understands that you have to make changes in life in ways that none of us have ever had to understand. Bases loaded with no outs is really no pressure situation compared to what he's had to deal with it."
There has been no such confusion in Tampa Bay. Under the direction of pitching coach Chuck Hernandez, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder is a full-time closer.
"It's perfect," he said. "I go to the ballpark and focus to go in in the eighth or ninth. ... I'm very comfortable and happy that they have given me the opportunity to be the closer."
Manager Lou Piniella is pleased with Baez but understands there are 120 games remaining.
"He's got good stuff," Piniella said. "He works hard and, for the most part, he's been throwing strikes. "(But) we haven't won an overabundance of (close) games, so he stays nice and fresh too."
