<a href=asia.reuters.com>Reuters Wed April 2, 2003 03:10 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It may be America's pastime but baseball is turning into a world game.

Of the 827 players on Major League Baseball's 30 teams for opening day, 230, or 27.8 percent, were born outside the United States, according to figures released on Tuesday.

It is the sixth consecutive year that the number of foreign-born players on MLB teams has increased.

The World Series could take on a truly international flavor in coming years with 46 percent of 6,196 minor league players signed to professional contracts also born outside the U.S.

The Dominican Republic, long a talent pipeline for the major leagues, tops the list with 79 players in the various lineups on opening day followed by Puerto Rico 38 and Venezuela with 37.

The Montreal Expos, who will play part of their home schedule in Puerto Rico, have the most foreign players with 14 while the Baltimore Orioles are second with 13.

The Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants each have 11.

A total of 16 countries along with Puerto Rico have contributed players to the opening rosters.

Japanese imports continue to make their mark in the MLB, New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui and Seattle Mariners Ichiro Suzuki topping the list of 11 players from Japan in the majors.

Europe is also represented in the MLB this season with Britain's Lance Painter signing for the St Louis Cardinals and Germany's Will Ohman with the Chicago Cubs.

Australia are also well represented with Luke Prokopec of the Cincinnati Reds, Damian Moss of the San Francisco Giants and Graeme Lloyd of the New York Mets.

Evidence of the expanding search for talent is evident in the minor leagues where players from non-traditional baseball-playing nations such as New Zealand, Italy, Russia, China, South Africa and the Netherlands are under contract.

<a href=www.sfgate.com>Source Wednesday, April 2, 2003 (04-02) 11:36 PST NEW YORK (AP) --

The percentage of major leaguers born outside the 50 states rose for the sixth straight year, up to 27.8.

Of the 827 players on opening-day rosters and disabled lists, 230 were born among 16 foreign countries and Puerto Rico, the commissioner's office said Wednesday. The percentage has climbed steadily from 19.0 in 1997, reaching 26.1 last year.

Seventy-nine players were born in the Dominican Republic, 38 in Puerto Rico and 37 in Venezuela. Mexico had 17, followed by Japan (11), Canada and Cuba (10 each), Panama (seven), South Korea (six), Australia and Colombia (three each), Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles and Nicaragua (two each). England (Lance Painter), Germany (Will Ohman) and Vietnam (Danny Graves) had one player each.

Montreal has the most-foreign born players with 14, followed by Baltimore (12) and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Texas (11 each).

The percentage of players with minor league contracts who were born outside the 50 states dropped from 49.6 to 46.0 (2,851 of 6,196). The number of Dominican-born players dropped from 1,536 to 1,437. Venezuela was second with 793, followed by Puerto Rico (113), and Canada and Mexico (95 each).

By Kirby Arnold Herald Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. - No day in Giovanni Carrara's professional life seemed worse than last Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, the team he thought finally would be his ticket to the playoffs this year, decided he wasn't even good enough to help them in the regular season.

The Dodgers waived him.

"I never thought that was going to happen," Carrara said. "I was surprised big-time."

Twenty-four hours later he was pinching himself again, in a good way, at where he wound up.

The Seattle Mariners, a team needing a veteran pitcher in middle relief, signed the 35-year-old Carrara back into playoff contention.

"I was really excited because I was going to a team that really has a shot to go to the World Series," said Carrara, a native of Venezuela who is good friends with fellow countrymen Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen of the Mariners. "It's the best thing to happen to me."

It could be a good thing for the Mariners, too, based on what they know about the right-hander.

He's a durable pitcher who can work in a variety of roles - middle relief, setup and even start on occasion - and adds further to a clubhouse filled with veterans. This is his 13th professional season, his fourth in the major leagues.

Carrara essentially was squeezed out of a job with the Dodgers. When Kevin Brown returned to the L.A. rotation, it pushed Andy Ashby into the bullpen in middle relief.

"Ashby is doing the job that I was doing and I was the one who paid for it," Carrara said. "But this is a business and I'm with a great team right now."

Carrara is 15-11 lifetime with a 5.15 ERA, but last year with the Dodgers he was 6-3, 3.28. He throws a fastball in the low-90 mph range and keeps hitters honest with a cutter, changeup and curve.

What the Mariners like most is his control. He pitched 176 innings the last two years, striking out 126 and walking just 56.

"He's a strike-thrower and an inning-eater," said Roger Jongewaard, the Mariners' scouting director.

"I've heard nothing but good things about him," pitching coach Bryan Price said. "The way he competes, his resiliency, his ability to throw strikes, he can get left handed and right-handed hitters out. We were pleased that a player like that was available to us."

The Mariners certainly didn't base their signing decision on Carrara's spring training numbers. He pitched 13 innings for the Dodgers with an 8.31 ERA.

"If you go by the numbers, the veteran guys here for the most part wouldn't have made this team," Price said. "Some of them were fairly atrocious."

Two men, especially, knew what the Mariners were getting.

Carrara pitched for Toronto when general manager Pat Gillick was the GM there in the mid-1990s, and Dodgers pitching coach Jim Colburn gave the M's high praise after they dropped him last week. Before he took the L.A. job, Colburn was the Mariners' Pacific Rim scouting director.

"He can pitch every day," Gillick said. "He can start in an emergency, but he's basically going to help us in the middle innings. He's a very durable guy."

And, Carrara is quick to add, he's a very happy guy.

As he suited up for the Mariners' season opener Tuesday afternoon, Carrara couldn't help but gush over his new surroundings.

"This team is like a family, everyone is together," he said. "I've been watching this team for two or three years and you could see that. Hopefully, I can help this team. This team has a chance to win it all."

By MAGGIE GALEHOUSE <a href=miva.jacksonsun.com>The Arizona Republic Apr 2 2003

Baseball is a breeze for minor-league player Freiddy Dominguez, but buying groceries in American stores really makes him sweat.

Many of the 38 Spanish-speaking players in the Texas Rangers' farm system - including Dominguez - arrived from Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with just a few English words. But the team has developed several programs to speed their transition into a new culture.

One is a computer program that pumps the Spanish speakers with words and phrases they need to know.

"Can I have some toilet paper, please?'' says a voice from Dominguez' laptop.

Dominguez, 22, a catcher from Venezuela, repeats the sentence slowly, then listens to his own voice played back.

The Spanish translation, "Me pueda dar papel de bano,'' materializes at the bottom of the computer screen.

"This is not a traditional way of learning English,'' said Carlos Subero, Latin American liaison and field manager for the Class A Clinton Lumberkings, a minor-league Rangers team in Iowa.

Dubbed "personal language trainer,'' the software familiarizes players with words and sentences surrounding everyday activities, including going to the doctor, banking and shopping.

Many of the younger players, some of whom arrive when they're 16, have only a fourth-, fifth- or sixth-grade education, Subero explained.

"They're not used to being in school, and their English ranges from none to very good,'' he said.

The lessons don't stop there. The team also runs cultural programs in the players' home countries that teach them how to order food at a restaurant and open a bank account.

"By law, the guys have to make $850 a month starting out,'' said John Lombardo, director of minor-league operations for the Rangers, "but a lot of them have signing bonuses that range from $5,000 to $1 million.''

Many send part of their paychecks home, so money management is crucial, he said.

In the evenings, the players give their English lessons a workout by going out to a restaurant or watching a movie. That way, they're forced to use their skills in a public setting. Many of the seasoned players take the new recruits under their wing.

"Guys that are more advanced in the system are remembering what was done for them and are happily volunteering to take the younger guys out at night,'' Lombardo said. "It's becoming a mentoring program.''

Not surprising, the longer a player stays with the team, the better his English becomes. Luis Rodriguez, 21, a pitcher from Venezuela who plays for the Rangers' Class A Savannah (Ga.) Sand Gnats, is in his fifth year with the Rangers system. His English is solid.

"I was scared at first, going to the mall or the grocery store, but you have to break your fear,'' said Rodriguez, punching his right fist into his left hand.

Rodriguez watches sports or "The Cosby Show'' with closed captions in English, so he can see the words as he hears them.

Like most things, though, language acquisition is a step-by-step process.

"Every day, I try to learn one word,'' said Juan Carlos Senreiso, 21, from the Dominican Republic, who plays for the Rangers' Class A Stockton (Calif.) Ports.

What's the latest addition to his vocabulary?

"Dishwasher,'' the outfielder said.

<a href=www.tulsasportsweb.com>URL By: Chris Harmon 04.01.2003

Oswaldo Gonzalez, a 6-9 and 240 pound center from Jacksonville College in Texas, made the trek to the University of Tulsa for a visit last weekend. Gonzalez averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds as a sophomore, while continually drawing double-teams. Jacksonville head coach Brandon Curran says Gonzalez is very high on the Hurricane, who have extended a scholarship offer.

“He really liked Tulsa and is considering them heavily,” Curran explained. “He was scheduled to take five visits, but now, he may only take one or two more.” New Mexico State, College of Charleston, Nebraska and South Alabama are the other schools on Gonzalez’s list.

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Gonzalez came to Jacksonville as a thin, unknown player. “He came here at 215 pounds and put on weight in the weight room,” Curran described. “He has a tremendous work ethic and has worked very hard to develop his offensive game. He is a good defender and he is athletic.”

Gonzalez is also an unselfish player that played on a guard-oriented team, averaging just seven shots per contest. “The guards dominated the ball and shot it really well,” Curran said. “(Gonzalez) drew a lot of double-teams, and he kicked it out a lot. When you are 6-foot-9 and 240 (pounds) in this league, you draw a lot of attention. But he can jump hook right at the basket when he gets someone sealed.”

Coach Curran explained that Gonzalez plays with intensity and is very vocal on and off the court. “He’s one of the most vocal guys on the team. He calls screens, he’s waving towels on the bench, and he gets excited sometimes when he blocks shots.”

Tulsa has been hitting the junior college scene very hard, looking for an inside presence to sure up their front line. TU can offer immediate playing time and a likely starting position, as they lose their top three front court players. Gonzalez’s size and ability would be a quality pick-up for the Golden Hurricane.