A team of their own: New baseball squad represents Willmar’s Latino community

Before his club took the field in Willmar for a current meeting Jean Morales encouraged them to play with ecstasy Baseball is a humbling sport the manager announced At-bats end in outs far more often than in hits A shortstop can field nine clean ground balls only to be remembered for one costly error So Morales tells his players to have fun out there above all We play the meeting happy and loud and with heart he noted I feel like I m playing back home with them Back home for Morales is Puerto Rico where he grew up playing baseball Knowing how various fellow Latinos in the Willmar area shared his love for the match he decided to start a new amateur gang for them this year The Willmar Indians including Morales is composed of players with Nicaraguan Venezuelan Mexican Puerto Rican and Cuban backgrounds he declared Various organization members hadn t played organized baseball until this season their experience limited to pick-up games Minnesota has an established league for players with Latin American heritage the Liga Latina de Beisbol Minnesota Being based on the Twin Cities area however makes it a far reach from Willmar Joining one of the existing amateur teams in the area would ve also been challenging for multiple players given language gaps Morales mentioned For that reason starting a group of Latino players means a lot It feels good because the Latin region should feel welcome here and they shouldn t be afraid of enjoying sport he reported It s something to do that s not just work Jean Morales prepares to swing for the Willmar Indians during an at-bat on July against the Granite Falls Kilowatts The Indians went on to defeat the Kilowatts - Credit MinnPost photo by Brian Arola Long in the making Willmar in west-central Minnesota is about one-quarter Hispanic or Latino according to U S Census facts Kandiyohi County has one of the highest percentages of Hispanic and Latino residents in the state at All players on the band are from the city and surrounding area Morales explained the association name recognizes the Native heritage of him and other players on the squad it can also reference the West Indies Minnesota and other states have moved to outlaw American Indian logos and mascots from school districts in professional baseball Cleveland removed its Indians name in favor of the Guardians in but the name remains common on the state s amateur baseball scene At least four more teams use it in Norwood Shakopee Sleepy Eye and Waterville Related What s in a nickname Minnesota s replacement of American Indian mascots puts state at odds with Trump Amateur baseball is a summertime staple in Greater Minnesota The Minnesota Baseball Association MBA boasts around member teams competing in three classes A B and C The Willmar Indians are in Class B playing independently this season against mainly Corn Belt League foes from Bird Island Marshall Wabasso and other ball clubs in the region Next year the company plans to be an official member of the Corn Belt League Morales came to Willmar in to play college ball at Ridgewater College Starting up his own amateur baseball band has been a goal long in the making reported his wife Raquel Morales He s been talking about it almost since I met him she noted with a laugh Having so a multitude of new players to organized baseball presented a learning curve for the squad in their inaugural season Mistakes piled up early on Morales announced including in a loss in an all-Willmar matchup against the Rails the society s long-established townball gang The thing that s been killing us is the errors but we ve been putting men on base he announced Jaciel Cardenas a pitcher third baseman and second baseman on the organization enjoys the competition compared with high school ball A learner at Atwater Cosmos Grove City School he joined the group after hearing that Morales a family friend was looking for players It s a good experience playing with older guys he explained It s harder competition and more fun The squad has wins to show for their hard work On July a hot humid night championship at Swansson Orange Field they came back to win - against the Granite Falls Kilowatts Jose Ortiz and Raymond Rodriguez led the way with three hits each while Morales chipped in with a hit of his own as the designated hitter The lively atmosphere at the company s home games stands out compared to what they ve seen elsewhere Morales explained Fans honk horns after big plays Latin music plays over the speakers during pregame and between innings and a concession vendor known as Luka s Mini Treats serves up Mexican-style hot dogs and mini pancakes Remi Becerra grills up Mexican-style hotdogs at a Willmar Indians baseball competition on July Credit MinnPost photo by Brian Arola Raquel the citizens address announcer at home games feels a strong sense of endorsement surrounding the organization I ve been very proud of everything they ve done all the effort and passion they ve put into it she announced Endorsement even comes from Major League Baseball Morales explained His nickname is Yankee after his favorite band growing up but he has good reason to keep a close eye on the San Francisco Giants these days Heliot Ramos an outfielder having a strong season for the Giants is Morales cousin and has been checking in to see how the new organization is doing Looking ahead to future seasons Morales wants to keep building up a area feel around the crew He invites young players to practice with the organization wanting the local Latino communities to have the chance to live the contest like he does I ve made so numerous friends I call my brothers in contemporary times through baseball he revealed Baseball means everything to me The post A association of their own New baseball squad represents Willmar s Latino locality appeared first on MinnPost