BEEG BOY: ONE OF THE FIRST DOMINICAN STARS

Before the likes of Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Vladimir Guerrero, Tony Fernández, Manny Ramírez, and countless other stars strengthened the reputation of the Dominican Republic being a hotbed of baseball talent there were players building the foundations, one of them being Rico Carty.

impact with the bat he finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year that season. His .330 batting average was the second-best in the league that year with only Roberto Clemente’s .339 surpassing him.

teenth on the ballot.

mó antes de que se hiciera público”, dijo Baldelli. “Creo que habla de la profundidad de esa relación y cuánto se apoyarán el uno en el otro. Son muy diferentes. Pero son complementarios en muchos sentidos, y creo que ambos saben que son fundamentales para lo que estamos tratando de hacer”. Solo otras tres veces en la historia las selecciones Nro. 1 y Nro. 2 del mismo Draft de MLB han sido compañeros de equipo, y ninguna por más de dos temporadas.

Ahora, los Twins tienen a Correa y Buxton durante al menos siete años, y Falvey admite que el entorno competitivo y la dirección de este roster se habrían sentido completamente diferentes en un universo alternativo.

“Creo que lo que tendríamos que haber hecho es ser creativos de muchas maneras diferentes, y quién sabe lo que eso habría significado para el resto de nuestro roster y cómo se vería”, dijo Falvey. Afortunadamente para los Tw- ins, no necesitan preocuparse por eso. Sus estrellas están alineadas en el campo y en el clubhouse, y ese vínculo se estrechará aún más en la próxima media década.

“El vínculo que creamos el año pasado fue increíble, pero poder hacerlo durante seis años más y tener a tus hijos uno al lado del otro en las gradas, lo hace mucho mejor”, dijo Buxton.

“Realmente siento que vamos a ser hermanos de por vida después de esto”, dijo Correa.

Carty, que se apodaba a sí mismo "Beeg Boy", terminaría las dos temporadas siguientes con una media de bateo superior a .300, una hazaña que lograría en ocho de sus 15 temporadas. Sin embargo, desde el principio se hizo evidente que las lesiones serían un problema para el Beeg Boy, ya que luchaba por mantenerse sano y nunca fue capaz de jugar un calendario completo de 162 partidos. Se perdería toda

Carty spent 15 seasons in MLB playing for the Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. Making his debut in 1963, the 23-year-old Carty would only make two appearances that season as a pinch hitter, striking out both times.

However, in 1964, Carty became a staple in the Braves lineup playing in 133 games that season. In those 133 games, he finished with 22 home runs and 88 RBI. His batting average for that season was .330, with an On Base Percentage of .388, slugging .554, and putting up an OPS+ of 161. He had such an

Carty who gave himself the nickname “Beeg Boy” would finish the next two consecutive seasons with a batting average above .300, a feat he would achieve in eight of his 15 seasons. Yet early on it became apparent injuries would be a problem for the Beeg Boy as he struggled to stay healthy and wasn’t ever able to play a full 162-game schedule. He would miss the entire 1968 season battling tuberculosis. In 1969 a 29-year-old Carty came back after missing the first two months like he never missed an at-bat.

In 104 games that season, he batted .342 with a .401 OBP and slugged .549. 1969 would be the first season he would receive MVP votes finishing thir-

In 1970 he would become a household name, making the All-star game after fans wrote him in since his name wasn’t on the ballot. 1970 would be a career year for Carty as his .366 batting average and .454 OBP would both be the best in the league. During this season he would also have an impressive 31-game hit streak that stood as the longest in Braves Franchise history until it was surpassed in 2011. His spectacular season was good enough to have him finish tenth in NL MVP voting. He would miss the entire 1971 season due to a knee injury he suffered playing in LIDOM. He would return in 1972 but his production was down compared to previous seasons. Following altercations with teammates Hank Aaron and Ron Reed the Braves traded Carty to the Texas Rangers. In 1973 he would end up playing for four different teams having the worst season of his career.

It looked as if at 33 years old, Carty’s career was done. Then the Cleveland Indians came calling about his services while he was playing in Mexico. In 1974 he would only play in 33 games but in those 33 games, Carty looked like his old self with a .363 batting average. He would follow up the next two seasons in Cleveland by batting above .300. He was such a commodity that the Toronto Blue Jays selected him with the tenth pick in the 1976 expansion draft. The Indians couldn’t stand losing one of their key players and traded Rick Cerone and John Lowenstein to the Blue Jays for Carty to be an Indian again.