Dr. Mattalino's travels with USA Baseball in Puerto Rico, October 2010- Entry 2

This past Sunday, October 3rd, Team USA played Aruba in game 2 of the Pan Am Qualifying Pool Play in Puerto Rico. Team USA defeated Aruba 14-0 in a 7 inning game. Below are some highlights from the game.

OLYMPIC BLAST: Team USA shortstop Brian Barden crushed a two-run homerun to right-center in the third inning to put the U.S. up 2-0. Barden went 2-for-4 on the night with 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored. This is Barden’s second stint with Team USA. In 2008 he was a member of the Olympic squad that won bronze in Beijing. In eight Olympic Games, Barden hit .265 with a homer and five RBIs.


COACHES CORNER: Former major leaguer Jay Bell begins his first stint as first base coach for Team USA. A two-time All-Star, Bell played 18 seasons in the majors, compiling 1,963 hits for five different teams. His teams reached the postseason five times, and in 2001 while with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bell scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 7 of the World Series to beat the New York Yankees in one of the most thrilling World Series games in MLB history. Bell won the Rawlings Gold Glove award in 1993 as a shortstop with the Pittsburgh Pirates.



DOCTOR K: Tonight’s U.S. starter Everett Teaford, currently in the Kansas City Royals organization, surrendered a single to Aruba’s first batter then pitched a five perfect innings, striking out 10 of the 15 batters he faced, to record the win and push Team USA to 2-0 in pool play.



GOOD EYE: U.S. first baseman Eric Hosmer has walked six times in nine plate appearances over the first two games. Hosmer walked 59 times in 579 plate appearances in the Minor Leagues this year.



GOOD GENES: USA reliever Bryan Henry entered the game in the sixth and retired the side in order, striking out two. Henry’s grandfather Larry Callaway is a member of the Senior Softball Hall of Fame. Callaway holds 35 national softball titles.



WELL TRAVELED: USA outfielder Jaime Hoffman of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization went 3-for-3 with 3 runs scored. Hoffman was selected by the New York Yankees in the 2009 Rule 5 Draft and was sent back to the Dodgers after Spring Training.

TODAY’S OTHER ACTION:

Nicaragua 8 – Netherlands Antilles 4

Venezuela 5 – Canada 3

Panama 5 – Colombia 3

Cuba vs. Argentina – Late

Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic – Late