James Florentino, Francisco Rodriguez, Julio Pabón, Johan Santana, Omar Minaya and Carol Delgado (LS/Bill Menzel)

Queens, New York - On the 20th Anniversary of the LatinoMVP Awards and on a date that coincided with the birthday of baseball immortal Roberto Clemente – two Mets pitchers, Johan Santana (16-7, 2.53- 2008), and Francisco Rodriguez (62 saves, 2.24 - 2008), were respectively awarded the Pitcher of the Year, and Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards by the Latino Sports Writers and Broadcasters Association (LSWBA).  Master of Ceremony Raquel Barrera-Julitch, of Foreign Radio and LSWBA member, called the Ceremony to order after a scrumptious lunch at the Caesar's Club at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.

MC Raquel Barrera-Julitch (LS/Bill Menzel)

The awards given to the two Venezuelan and Mets’ baseball stars were what Latino Sports CEO Julio Pabón explained as a sure bet future investment – where something today seems ordinary and years later grows in value – the art work of James Florentino and John Pennisi. Whereas Mr. Florentino’s water color paintings are true to life in composition and proportion, John Pennisi, on the other hand, creates a caricature, cartoon-like composition of his subjects.

Francisco Rodriguez said, “I am very glad and proud to be here, amazed at the paintings and very happy to receive this award. God and the Virgin Mary willing, this won’t be the last.”

Johan Santana has won the LatinoMVP award for the second time. The first time he visited a South Bronx Community, under a very humble setting compared to the plush Caesar's Club, as Mr. Pabón proudly recalled.

Julio Pabón, Francisco Rodriguez, Johan Santana and John Pennisi (LS/Bill Menzel)

“For me it is an honor that for the second time I receive this award; I know what it means as a Latino, to cross barriers and make one’s way to a different country and face all kinds of adversities, to me this award represents the Latino Community and allows me to represent all of Latin America, this is a huge honor to be blessed with,” Santana said.

Santana also spoke of the commitment (while speaking in Spanish, he used the word in English) he made to his country and family and how he vowed not to let them down.

The ceremony had another coincidence by having two pitchers, playing for the same team, receive the starter and closer awards at the same event (Francisco Rodriguez, then as a closer for the Los Angeles Angels) and both being natives of Venezuela. Carol Delgado, the Council General of the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela, was among the guest, celebrating her birthday and sharing significance of her countrymen’s accolades.

Baseball Youth present at the LatinoMVP Award luncheon (LS/Bill Menzel)

The Invocation pastor, Franklyn Simpson, of the Resurrection Lutheran Church, let the guests know that he too, was a native of Venezuela.

Ms. Barrera acknowledged a number of Mets media personnel, such as Juan Alicea, and Max Perez Jimenez, Puerto Rican and Dominican Spanish language announcers, and Shannon Forde from the Media Department before the introduction of David Newman, the NY Mets Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

Mr. Newman welcomed the participation of Santana and Rodriguez and put into a multi-cultural perspective what the Mets organization represents when he said, “From the ownership which is Jewish, the first Latin General Manager in Major League baseball, and the manager who is African American, we here at the Mets are truly a reflection of the home town that we are from.”

Mr. Newman made reference to the Latino composition of the Mets roster, and added, “We truly try to embrace everything that is great about every culture in New York, here at the Mets.” Taking notice of the growing Hispanic population, and other ethnic groups, Mr. Newman truly reflected a favorable immigration outlook that is in tandem with the Mets vision of a viable growing fan base.

Photo by Bill Menzel, Latino Sports photographer

It was 1989, the first year the Latino Sports Most Valuable Player came into existence. Ms. Barrero named the twenty principal recipients of the LatinoMVP awards – but not the categories that were later added in both leagues, such as rookie of the year and the pitching achievements represented with Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez. And with that, she introduced Armando Talavera of ESPN Deportes Radio, Vice President of LSWBA and also of Venezuelan heritage. He acknowledged the presence of the award recipients, welcomed the audience that included a number of young kids.

Latino Sports President and LSWBA Chairman, Julio Pabón, as Mr. Talavera alluded to when he mentioned Ruben Sierra’s role in the creation of the LatinoMVP , would give a historical overview on the creation of the prestigious award prefaced with the reason the date of the event was chosen: to honor Roberto Clemente’s birth date.

Francisco Rodriguez, Johan Santana and guests (LS/Bill Menzel)

But if Latinos and what they represent are second to none, something Latino Sports and its confreres promote in all their efforts, Mr. Pabón asserted the fact that Latinos have a historical legacy in the United States that predates the arrival of the pilgrims, one that gives them a residence legitimacy that dispels the notion they are immigrants.

“When you look west of the Mississippi,” he said, “I hate to tell you, but that used to be Mexico. The first city in America was not Plymouth Rock, it was San Augustine; colonized by Spain – so the first language in this country was Spanish. The first University in the hemisphere was La Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.”  

With these historical notes, and the existence of a rich Latino culture in this country, Mr. Pabón juxtaposed the politics of exclusion that has made Latinos felt unwelcomed and their Spanish language stigmatized (never mind the Mendoza line and the Golden Sombrero references).

For Latino Sports, mixing all these concerns with politics, “Was basically bringing it all down to sports; sports is a very important thing in our community because it keeps kids away from drugs. If I want to be a Johan Santana, or a Francisco Martinez, I cannot mess up with drugs,” Mr. Pabón continued. Yet, when a person becomes a player, often time they do not have the time to be with the community; for Latino Sports, their award events are geared towards creating a bridge between player and community.

Following his socio-political introduction, Mr. Pabón explained how the mainstream sports media had Robin Yount chosen over Ruben Sierra, Star outfielder for the Texas Rangers, as the American League Most Valuable Player in 1989 and how the Latino Sports Writers and Broadcasters Association came into existence as a parallel Media organization that went on to create the Latino MVP Award (as a logo, LatinoMVP). This award, at first a way to rectify what could have been interpreted as a glaring neglect (benign neglect to others), has become a vehicle to enhance the self esteem of Latino Youth, as Mr. Pabón explained. And yet, he later continued, “With an African American President, Barak Obama and a Latina Supreme Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, go down west on route 80 for an hour and a half and tell me if there is a big change; no, we still have a lot of work to be do, as Latinos.”

Later on in the ceremony, Mets General Manager Omar Minaya gave greetings, thank Latino Sports and Mr. Pabón for the work it has done.

But as the afternoon ceremony came to its end, there was one curiosity of sorts: Francisco Rodriguez, as a speaker was the starter, and Johan Santana became the closer.

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This event was made possible by the New York Mets, Johnny Walker and 1199/SEAU. 

Editor's Note: because of a mispelled name and other considerations, the MC's name was incorrectly spelled, and because she was referred to as  Raquel Barrera by Armando Talavera, this writer combined the name of  Julitch which should really be Julich (minus the 't'). So, her name is Raquel Julich, pure and simple. Her non-marriage name, or her native name  is Raquel Torres-Castro, but she prefers Raquel Lulich.This correction was added on August 26, 2009.