As I’ve written before, I don’t agree with the notion that fans are entitled to a player’s autograph. A privilege, a shared moment. Sure, but hardly an obligation. At any rate, my memories of Midre as a ballplayer were he worked hard and got along in the dugout. If Phil gave him the seal of approval he must have been ‘doing his job right,’ which is all we should expect from our price of admission.

Most importantly, thanks for posting the column on Midre at your website on Baseball in the Virgin Islands, which helped remind/inspire me to post my own tale. For those readers who have not perused Rory’s site, I really recommend you embark on this interesting tour of Caribbean baseball.

Seems as though the MLB is fast-becoming a showcase for international talent, much more so than the other U.S. “big-leagues,” namely NBA and NFL. [The NHL already is well-stocked globally, much to the dismay of Don Cherry.] Baseball has taken root in so many countries and when it returns, it’s fun to note how our ‘national pastime” has become infused with new, international flavors.

Hispano/Latino players, along with their dreadlocks and cries of “¡Adelante!”, now constitute the majority of professional ballplayers in organized baseball (MiLB, MLB). Names like Daisuke, Hideki, and Keiichi roll off fans’ tongues with nary a stutter. And who could have predicted South Korea to win the Olympic Gold Medal over Cuba? In fact, South Korea was undefeated against all teams faced, including Japan and the U.S. Who knows? Perhaps at the next All-Star Futures Game, we’ll be watching the “crafty left-hander from Seoul” while dining on a bowl of bibimbap with kim chee.