Angels phenom survives Venezuela strife, super Series

March 19, 2003 By Scott Miller SportsLine.com Senior Writer Tell Scott your opinion!

Camping Out with Miller TEMPE, Ariz. -- It's not like this is the first time in recent months that political unrest and trepidation have replaced strikeouts and the double play in the forefront of the mind.

With the glow of their first World Series championship still burning brightly, the Anaheim Angels parted ways for the winter with their newest star, hard-throwing reliever Francisco Rodriguez, knowing he was heading home to Venezuela, a country on the precipice of political upheaval.

The country experienced a coup last April, though President Hugo Chavez was restored to power just two days later. Then, the opposition to Chavez called a fourth national strike within a year's time in December, a strike that virtually paralyzed the state's oil industry for several weeks -- and, during which time, things turned violent.

"We had a pretty good idea -- in fact, before that stuff happened there, we had one guy who wanted to play (winter ball) there and we said no," Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said. "It was a North American guy. With travel advisories going out from the State Department, there were a lot of signs that there could be trouble down there.

"I just felt it wasn't a great spot for employees to be -- especially foreigners. But how can you tell a native he can't go home?"

The Angels -- and other clubs with Venezuelan players -- obviously decided they couldn't. And there were some harrowing times over the winter as the violence escalated. Houston outfielder Richard Hidalgo was shot during an attempted car-jacking of his SUV (he's in camp with the Astros now, recovered from surgery).

Rodriguez's grandmother, whom he calls his mother, and his uncle, whom he calls his brother, were mugged at gunpoint three times in one week.

"It was out of control," Rodriguez said. "It's something I don't like to talk about. Sometimes it was scary."

It could have been scary for the Angels, too. K-Rod, as he came to be known after bursting onto the scene like a meteor last postseason, is a vital part of the club's future. He is the closer-in-waiting behind Troy Percival, and anybody who caught a glimpse of him last fall knows why.

At 20 years and 286 days old, he became the youngest pitcher ever to win a World Series game, working three stellar innings in Game 2. He won a total of five postseason games against the Yankees, Minnesota and San Francisco last fall, fanning 28 batters in 18 2/3 innings.

This after he pitched a mere 5 2/3 innings during the regular season, all of which came last September. He struck out 13 hitters in that brief time.

"A lot of his success is, he's one who never lacks confidence," Angels pitching coach Bud Black said. "He's fearless when he pitches, when he plays, when he competes.

"Even though he's just 21, and even though he basically has just over a month of major-league experience, this guy is a believer in his ability. There's never a sense with him that he's in a place where he shouldn't be."

In the midst of the Venezuelan strike last winter, Rodriguez -- a national hero in his native land after his October exploits in the United States -- lived about 1 1/2 miles from the city center in Caracas, close enough that he could hear the protests. Even when he closed his windows, the tear gas would seep in.

The park close to his home where he would do his offseason running became too dangerous, so he purchased a stationary bicycle to ride at home.

He declined to elaborate on all of this the other day, other than his brief comments above.

Thanks to his fiancée in Phoenix, Andrea Harvey, the Angels were able to communicate with him regularly. Because of that, the Angels weren't overly concerned about their phenom despite the ongoing protests and violence in Venezuela -- the world's fourth-largest producer of oil.

"We kept tabs on him, almost all of which was through his fiancée," Stoneman said. "We'd send information on down, or it would come back, and it was through her."

Sometimes it was others in the Angels' front office who would talk to her, sometimes it was Stoneman. Mostly, it was because they couldn't establish cell phone contact with Rodriguez in Venezuela.

Nevertheless, thanks to Harvey, communication flowed effectively.

"For example, when we found out that the U.S. Embassy was going to open for a few days -- he didn't have his visa, but he had gotten approval -- when we found that out, we were able to get the information to him pretty quickly," Stoneman said. "Then we got confirmation back that he had gotten the information, and a couple of days later we got the information that he had gotten his visa.

"We felt more comfortable than maybe some other clubs did, because we were getting information."

Rodriguez reported to camp this spring none the worse for wear. The trouble at home doesn't appear to have affected his heart, and the success last October hasn't seemed to swell his head.

"He's been incredible," Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said. "The pace of his practice, whether throwing bullpen or PFP drills (fundamental drills for pitchers), the pace of his practices has been incredible. But he's not the exception. He's the rule here."

Percival, the Angels' closer since 1996, has talked to Rodriguez some this spring, but the kid remains so young that Percival doesn't have a whole lot to discuss with him -- yet.

"It's kind of tough to give advice until you see a kid do more," Percival said. "You wait and let a kid experience success and experience failure on his own, and then you can talk. Like (former major league closer) Lee Smith did with me. Then you can learn."

Smith pitched in Anaheim in 1995 and 1996, passing the closer's torch to Percival in '96.

"When I'd go out, whether I'd get the job done right or wrong, he'd tell me what he thought I needed to work on," said Percival, who was 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA and 40 saves in 2002. "It's a (steep) learning curve when you need to pitch at this level. That's all stuff you find out through time."

It is stuff that Rodriguez, the neophyte who seems like he's been around for much longer than he actually has, continues to learn this spring. He's struck out 10 in nine innings of work this spring, holding opponents to a .167 batting average. He yielded his first home run Monday in Tucson, when the Chicago White Sox's Brian Daubach took him deep.

Still, even as a postseason hero in the U.S. last October and then a national hero back home in Venezuela, K-Rod is taking nothing for granted.

"Last year during the spring, I was just one more guy on the roster," he said. "It's very, very incredible. It's a 360-degree change, things changed so much after the World Series.

"My mom said what I did before in the postseason is in the past. Now, I have to stay focused, stay ready."

He is determined to do that.

"I want to prove who is Francisco Rodriguez," he said. "I want to show the Angels' office. I want to show the fans. I want to show my family and I want to show myself that this is what I can do. What I did in the postseason, I can do for a full season."