Sports: Bringing it all back home

Bringing it all back home

Boston pitcher Rolando Arrojo returns to the stadium that once was his, and the city that still is. He's away from the Devil Rays but has more family here now.

By MARC TOPKIN

ST. PETERSBURG -- Monday was different for Rolando Arrojo. He found his way to the ballpark without getting lost.

It was the first time Arrojo was at Tropicana Field in nearly a year, but it still felt like home. Much had happened since Arrojo was last there. He was traded from the Rays to Colorado in December, and from the Rockies to Boston in July. There have been constant adjustments since Arrojo defected from Cuba and signed with the Rays in April 1997, but the latest moves taught him a lot.

"First, that I can't hang my shirt in the same place," Arrojo said in Spanish. "I have to keep playing and go where the owners tell me to go, and if they trade me, accept it and move on. Yes, it's a business. It's a difficult lesson."

When Arrojo signed, the Devil Rays were all he knew. And he expected to be with them forever.

"I always thought I would, and that I would win a World Series ring with the Devil Rays, but it didn't work out that way," Arrojo said. "But maybe it will for the next team."

Arrojo likes it in Boston, certainly better than Colorado. He enjoys the chance to learn from Pedro Martinez, the excitement of pitching at Fenway Park and the opportunity to be part of a team with a good shot at the post-season.

"I'm very happy, they're great to be around," he said. "I ask (Pedro) for advice and he gives it to me right away. They are teaching me things that I knew before, but didn't execute very well. He's always giving lots of confidence. He's always saying "Yes, you can do it. I think you can do it!' It's very encouraging. He's the best in the world and his word means a lot to me."

But St. Petersburg is home.

Arrojo's family, his brother's family and his mother have left Cuba and settled here, his wife's father just joined them (and attended his first big-league game Monday), and his father, whom Arrojo hasn't seen in four years, might be coming soon too.

"I'll play wherever they want me," Arrojo said. "If I could be a member of this community, I would like it. It's my home."

- Times correspondent Karen Ray Mathews contributed to this report.