Sunday, March 22

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Pablo López didn’t get to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get to experience it.

López, originally scheduled to pitch for Team Venezuela before an elbow injury ended his season, found ways to spend time around his countrymen as they brought home their first WBC championship. He attended multiple games in Miami, including the final, and spent some time in the clubhouse as well.

The veteran right-hander even got to celebrate on the field after Venezuela won the title. So although he didn’t throw a pitch, he was a part of it.

“It was so much fun,” he said. “I tried my hardest to be in the dugout during the game, but because I was never on the active WBC roster, they didn’t let me. No matter how hard I tried, they didn’t let me during the game. But before the game, because I had my credential, I was able to be in the clubhouse. … I watched all the ceremonies and then I would just go up and sit wherever they could fit me in a suite. So I was usually with like the manager’s family or the bench coach’s family. But it overall was a beautiful, absolutely electric experience.”

López, who resides in Miami, pitched in the 2023 WBC and knows what the tournament means in his home country.

“It was so important,” he said. “For the longest time we’ve tried to be an international presence in soccer. Soccer dominates South America. Obviously baseball is the most popular game in Venezuela, but in South America, soccer dominates everything. … So we’ve always cheered our soccer team so much, but it’s a really tough conference to get [into the World Cup]. So we never make it to the world tournament in soccer, so we know baseball is what we have. Baseball is what we’re supposed to be good at.

“So we go into each WBC with expectations, with hopes for the people. Maybe the soccer team didn’t do it, so the baseball team can do it. … So to the people back home, it means so much. I’ve seen videos of people celebrating that same night, even though the game was on at like 11:30 or midnight, people were celebrating. They’re still doing it. There’s all kinds of meaningful, wholesome videos back home. So to the people back home, it represents something to be very proud of. We’re the best at something. We’re world champions at something. So to the people back home, whether they were soccer fans, if you’re a sports fan in general, it means the world.”

Byron Buxton, meanwhile, did get to play in the WBC, though perhaps not as much as the Twins would have hoped. Buxton played for Team USA and appeared in five games, but got only seven at-bats. So while he played in his first game back in camp, the plan for the coming days is likely to include him getting plenty of at-bats in Minor League games.

That’s because on the back fields, he can do things like lead off every inning and come out for a pinch-runner, maximizing the number of live at-bats he sees without grinding him too hard overall.

“I don't need too [many] regular games,” Buxton said. “I need at-bats. I'm not off. I feel like I'm a couple of clicks off, but it ain't nothing where I'm worried. It is what it is.”

As Spring Training approaches a close, one of the manager’s main duties is having a series of heavy conversations with players. Some of them are very enjoyable, and some are rather less so. But on Friday morning, Derek Shelton got to enjoy one of the good ones.

That’s when he told Mick Abel that the young right-hander had made his first Opening Day roster, and would be in the Twins’ rotation to start the season. Abel, who has been the most impressive pitcher in camp, certainly earned the opportunity, but he came into spring needing to force the issue in order to crack the rotation. He did just that, and he’s been rewarded.

“It was nice,” Shelton said. “The good part of it is telling a guy he's made his first Opening Day roster. The crappy part is telling someone you like and we think is going to help us that he did not make the Opening Day roster, and explaining how we feel about him. Any time you're telling a guy he made his first roster, it's very exciting to see the look on his face.

“I told him it was OK, he could smile. He doesn't smile very much. But I think he was extremely excited.”

For Abel, the conversation with his manager was memorable, but the ones that followed were even better.

“I think telling my family [was the best part],” he said. “Obviously, they’ve been with me my whole life, and they’ve been with me throughout this entire journey and so for me, it’s kind of like yeah, I’ve put a lot of work into this, but they’ve invested a lot of money and time and emotions into me on this journey. I think as much as I see it as kind of a payoff, I think they see it as the same, if not more.”

There’s been a run of terrific new releases over the past few weeks, so here’s a selection of tracks from a few of my favorite albums of the new year. Y’all be kind and look out for each other, OK.

Remember Sports, “Across the Line”

Gladie, “I Want That For You”

Francis Of Delirium, “It’s A Beautiful Life”

Alice Merton, “Cruel Intentions”

Gorillaz, “The Empty Dream Machine”

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