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Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

bmfc1 Jun 27 2010 02:39 PM

We were in Puerto Rico last week. This gives me the chance to share some Fun Facts about Puerto Rico as background for the Mets three games in San Juan: The population of Puerto Rico is 3.9 million. If Puerto Rico was a state, it would rank 27th in population (and have six or seven Congressmen). The sun goes down in Puerto Rico at around 7 so it will be dark at game time (Puerto Rico is on Atlantic Standard Time which is the same as EDT). It’s been raining a lot. We might have seen two hours of sun in six days. Hiram Bithorn was the first Puerto Rican native to play in the majors (he was a pitcher for the Cubs in 1942). Next to San Juan is Carolina (“Caro-leena”) which is known as the “City of Giants” because it was the birth place of Roberto Clemente and Felipe Birriel, who was 7’11” (one tour guide said 8’4”). Posters for these games featured Carlos Beltran, Puerto Rican native. Also on the posters are Jose Reyes, from the Dominican Republic, and Johan Santana, from Venezuela. They could have had pictures of Puerto Rican natives Alex Cora, Angel Pagan, Pedro Feliciano and Jesus Feliciano (called “El Motorito” in the local insert of [u:3qcwahyz]USA Today[/u:3qcwahyz]). One of our tour guides said that they are sorry that Beltran will not be able to play. According to Mets.com, “The Marlins have no active players from Puerto Rico, though their interim manager, Edwin Rodriguez, is a native of Ponce, P.R.” If you read that the Mets enjoyed a local food called mofongo before the game, that will not be good news. It is delicious but heavy and it will make the Mets lethargic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mofongo You’ve heard that Miami is New York’s “6th Borough” but I’ll go with San Juan. You can get [u:3qcwahyz]The Times[/u:3qcwahyz] and [u:3qcwahyz]The Post[/u:3qcwahyz] everywhere. A local TV station has a contract with MLB and mostly shows Mets games (either on WAPA or WAPA 2). The ABC affiliate shows “Eyewitness News” from NY each day at 5, 6 and 11. You can get Schaefer at the Super Max (although I don’t know why you would when you can get excellent local beers Medalla and El Presidente) so there will be plenty available for the Mets to earn during these three games.

Edgy DC Jun 27 2010 03:38 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

I wonder if the home-field-away-from-home effect will be more pronounced than it is in Miami. Puerto Rico has been generous to the Mets, especially if you like strength up the middle and aren't, you know, too particular about starting pitching depth. If you want more home town flava, you can always call up San Juan's Jose De La Torre or Rio Piedras' Jorge Padilla from Buffalo. All Time NuYorkiquan Mets team Starting Pitcher Dicky Gonzalez Julio Valera Relief Pitcher Pedro Feliciano Roberto Hernandez Juan Padilla Edwin Nuñez Willie Collazo José Santiago Catcher Junior Ortiz Ramon Castro Omir Santos Robinson Cancel Orlando Mercado Raul Casanova Sandy Alomar, Jr. First Base Carlos Delgado Willie Montañez Luis Rosado Second Base Felix Millan Jose Valentin Roberto Alomar Carlos Baerga Ruben Gotay Luis Alvarado Sandy Alomar, Sr. Third Base Felix Mantilla Shortstop José Oquendo Alex Cora Rey Sanchez Mario Diaz Sergio Ferrer Luis Lopez Mario Ramirez Tito Navarro Luis Rivera Left Field Raul Gonzalez Benny Ayala Ricky Otero Ricky Ledee Center Field Carlos Beltran Angel Pagan Jerry Morales Pepe Mangual Jesus Feliciano Right Field Gil Flores Coaches Luis Alicea Luis Aguayo . . . . . .

RealityChuck Jun 27 2010 03:50 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Some accounts indicate that the island was originally named "San Juan" and the capital "Puerto Rico," and they got accidentally switched.

G-Fafif Jun 27 2010 05:41 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

It will be more fun if the Mets improve on their all-time 2-5 HBS mark this week.

Edgy DC Jun 28 2010 01:49 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Hiram Bithorn: Retirees: The first all-Puerto Rican MLB doubplay combinatino to play in San Juan: Roberto Alomar and Rey Sanchez. My money says Bay can reach these walls.

metsmarathon Jun 28 2010 02:37 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

after how many bounces?

metsguyinmichigan Jun 28 2010 03:11 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Great information!!! I was in Puerto Rico only for a short while back in 2005, as it was a cruise stop. The ride into Old San Juan, past the castillo, is stunning. I was hoping to make a run to the stadium, but given the time constraints we were pretty much limited to Old San Juan. Having only been to Canada previously, Puerto Rico seemed like my first real international place, even though technically it's not. Then again, Miami seemed more foreign than Toronto. Anyway, it was a really neat place and I'd love to go back.

themetfairy Jun 28 2010 03:34 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Nice knowledge bmfc1!

Frayed Knot Jun 28 2010 05:12 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

metsguyinmichigan wrote: I was in Puerto Rico only for a short while back in 2005, as it was a cruise stop. The ride into Old San Juan, past the castillo, is stunning. Was it limping?

metirish Jun 28 2010 05:15 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Here's a fun fact , this is Bob , a chicken that Lorcan adopted when we were there for New years, we would feed him every morning ....he got fat....he gave birth to a bunch of chick the week after we left....Bob is now Bobbi

Edgy DC Jun 28 2010 06:27 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

I, myself wrote: My money says Bay can reach these walls. metsmarathon wrote: after how many bounces? Bounce this. Not much going right, but Bay's on the board.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 28 2010 07:58 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Not to get all Cassandra on y'all, but I have a bad feeling about the next two games. Tak* and Pelf both tend to get hammered by the Fish. *SSS Alert!

metsmarathon Jun 28 2010 08:34 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Edgy DC wrote: I, myself wrote: My money says Bay can reach these walls. metsmarathon wrote: after how many bounces? Bounce this. Not much going right, but Bay's on the board. oh sure. there's a juicy setup for an easy funny, and it blows right up on me, yet we still lose. jerks.

MFS62 Jun 28 2010 10:02 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Edgy, I know you showed his number in the wall. But do you have any photos of HBS that include the statue of Roberto Clemente? I didn't spot it in the pics you posted. Maybe it will change the karma for the series if you post one. Later

Edgy DC Jun 28 2010 10:09 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Don't worry about karma.

The Second Spitter Jun 28 2010 10:12 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

metirish wrote: Here's a fun fact , this is Bob , a chicken that Lorcan adopted when we were there for New years, we would feed him every morning ....he got fat....he gave birth to a bunch of chick the week after we left....Bob is now Bobbi Wow, Lorcan's getting bigger. He'll be playing with the other type of chicken before too long.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 29 2010 05:02 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

MFS62 wrote: Edgy, I know you showed his number in the wall. But do you have any photos of HBS that include the statue of Roberto Clemente? I didn't spot it in the pics you posted. Maybe it will change the karma for the series if you post one. Later Stay tuned. I took one last night, and I'll post it when I get home. The statue of Clemente isn't actually at Hiram Bithorn, but next door at the Roberto Clemente Arena. (Not its actual name. I'll post that as well.)

Benjamin Grimm Jun 29 2010 05:19 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Anyway, as the previous post more than hints, I'm in Puerto Rico right now, typing this from a hotel in Condado Beach (San Juan) with a balcony overlooking the ocean. When we checked in, our room wasn't ready, so they upgraded us (for free!) to a suite! Sweet! I'll post photos in this thread when I get home. (We're attending the Monday and Tuesday games, but we're returning home on Wednesday afternoon.) The retired numbers in the photo Edgy posted were nowhere to be seen last night, by the way. There's a statue of Hiram Bithorn in front of the stadium, and, as I said above, one of Roberto Clemente in front of the hideous arena adjacent to Bithorn. There was a very excited vibe in front of the stadium last night as we waited for the gates to open. Sort of a playoff atmosphere with a Caribbean flavor. A camera man was taking video of the throngs, and he zeroed in on me, in my Mets cap. I might have been on the local news last night, shouting YAHHHHHHHHHHH! into the camera. (I was trying to get into the spirit of the moment!) In the last few days, as I've been around town (and around the island) in my Mets cap, I've had a few people approach me. One guy said that the Mets are the "team of Puerto Rico" and that might very well be. The crowd at the ballpark was definitely a Mets crowd; there were Mets caps and jerseys all over the place, and very little evidence of Marlins fans. (Except for Billy Marlin, who had his work cut out for him trying to get Mets fans to root for the Marlins. He only made a few quick appearances.) Weirdest moment of the game, for me: After the Mets were out in the seventh, I stood up to stretch. I remembered something I used to do at Shea when I was a callow youth. I'd stand just a little before most of the other fans, and gesture for everyone else to stand. It made it seem like 50,000 people were following me lead. (A fun little thing to do.) Last night I stood, and realizing that I was the first one up, I had a little flashback and did the "up" gesture again.) Nobody stood. Nobody. The guys next to me, who didn't look or sound Puerto Rican and who were wearing Mets gear, looked at me like I was crazy. There was no seventh-inning stretch. It was like I had slipped into an alternate Fringe universe where nobody had ever heard of the seventh inning stretch. Even my wife and kids refused to stand! Bizarre! I felt like I had been punked by Ashton Kutcher or something. The game had very few of the "distractions" that we've become used to between innings. Other than one acrobatic exhibition, and a few- t-shirt launchers, there was nothing. Very laid back, but noisy at the same time. The P.A. system was kind of garbled, so it was hard to understand the announcements. (Was that Vera Clemente throwing out the first pitch? I couldn't hear clearly enough to know for sure.) Beer sales continued right up until the last out. Whatever policy MLB has regarding beer sales doesn't seem to apply in Puerto Rico. Either that, or the rule was simply flouted. I had my first experience, either as a kid or as a parent, with the pre-game autograph ritual. Johan Santana was signing, and my daughter and I tryed to jockey our way close to him so that he could sign her orange Kids Club Mets cap. He bailed, though, before she got her turn. But then Pedro Feliciano came along, and she was in good position and was the third or fourth fan that he signed for. She was thrilled! I think Pedro Feliciano has a new fan. That's it for now. Photos forthcoming...

themetfairy Jun 29 2010 05:41 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Very cool BG - I'm glad you had such a great time (despite the results on the field)! Enjoy the rest of your trip :)

Fman99 Jun 29 2010 06:23 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Good story BG. No "Take Me Out to the Ballgame?" Do the results even count at the end then?

The Second Spitter Jun 29 2010 06:44 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Benjamin Grimm wrote: In the last few days, as I've been around town (and around the island) in my Mets cap, I've had a few people approach me. One guy said that the Mets are the "team of Puerto Rico" and that might very well be. The crowd at the ballpark was definitely a Mets crowd; there were Mets caps and jerseys all over the place, and very little evidence of Marlins fans. (Except for Billy Marlin, who had his work cut out for him trying to get Mets fans to root for the Marlins. He only made a few quick appearances.) Billy the Marlin should watch out - Fresh grilled marlin and chorizo with crabalaitos and corn salsa is a PR delicacy. I highly recommend you try it before you leave (if your diet permits, that is).It's yum. Benjamin Grimm wrote: I had my first experience, either as a kid or as a parent, with the pre-game autograph ritual. Johan Santana was signing, and my daughter and I tryed to jockey our way close to him so that he could sign her orange Kids Club Mets cap. He bailed, though, before she got her turn. But then Pedro Feliciano came along, and she was in good position and was the third or fourth fan that he signed for. She was thrilled! I think Pedro Feliciano has a new fan. I'm happy for daughter but who is the new fan, you or your daughter?

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 29 2010 07:46 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Anyway, as the previous post more than hints, I'm in Puerto Rico right now, typing this from a hotel in Condado Beach (San Juan) with a balcony overlooking the ocean. When we checked in, our room wasn't ready, so they upgraded us (for free!) to a suite! Sweet! I'll post photos in this thread when I get home. (We're attending the Monday and Tuesday games, but we're returning home on Wednesday afternoon.) The retired numbers in the photo Edgy posted were nowhere to be seen last night, by the way. There's a statue of Hiram Bithorn in front of the stadium, and, as I said above, one of Roberto Clemente in front of the hideous arena adjacent to Bithorn. There was a very excited vibe in front of the stadium last night as we waited for the gates to open. Sort of a playoff atmosphere with a Caribbean flavor. A camera man was taking video of the throngs, and he zeroed in on me, in my Mets cap. I might have been on the local news last night, shouting YAHHHHHHHHHHH! into the camera. (I was trying to get into the spirit of the moment!) In the last few days, as I've been around town (and around the island) in my Mets cap, I've had a few people approach me. One guy said that the Mets are the "team of Puerto Rico" and that might very well be. The crowd at the ballpark was definitely a Mets crowd; there were Mets caps and jerseys all over the place, and very little evidence of Marlins fans. (Except for Billy Marlin, who had his work cut out for him trying to get Mets fans to root for the Marlins. He only made a few quick appearances.) Weirdest moment of the game, for me: After the Mets were out in the seventh, I stood up to stretch. I remembered something I used to do at Shea when I was a callow youth. I'd stand just a little before most of the other fans, and gesture for everyone else to stand. It made it seem like 50,000 people were following me lead. (A fun little thing to do.) Last night I stood, and realizing that I was the first one up, I had a little flashback and did the "up" gesture again.) Nobody stood. Nobody. The guys next to me, who didn't look or sound Puerto Rican and who were wearing Mets gear, looked at me like I was crazy. There was no seventh-inning stretch. It was like I had slipped into an alternate Fringe universe where nobody had ever heard of the seventh inning stretch. Even my wife and kids refused to stand! Bizarre! I felt like I had been punked by Ashton Kutcher or something. The game had very few of the "distractions" that we've become used to between innings. Other than one acrobatic exhibition, and a few- t-shirt launchers, there was nothing. Very laid back, but noisy at the same time. The P.A. system was kind of garbled, so it was hard to understand the announcements. (Was that Vera Clemente throwing out the first pitch? I couldn't hear clearly enough to know for sure.) Beer sales continued right up until the last out. Whatever policy MLB has regarding beer sales doesn't seem to apply in Puerto Rico. Either that, or the rule was simply flouted. I had my first experience, either as a kid or as a parent, with the pre-game autograph ritual. Johan Santana was signing, and my daughter and I tryed to jockey our way close to him so that he could sign her orange Kids Club Mets cap. He bailed, though, before she got her turn. But then Pedro Feliciano came along, and she was in good position and was the third or fourth fan that he signed for. She was thrilled! I think Pedro Feliciano has a new fan. That's it for now. Photos forthcoming... Hey that's great. Bob the Chicken great. The Lunches have Puerto Rico on the calendar for next spring.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 29 2010 10:01 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Kick-ass, BG! How's the stadium food?

Frayed Knot Jun 29 2010 10:34 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Keith said he's going to go check out Old San Juan today. Go over there and maybe you can hang out with him.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 01 2010 10:50 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Fman99 wrote: Good story BG. No "Take Me Out to the Ballgame?" Do the results even count at the end then? On the second day, they did have a band atop the Marlins dugout playing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. But nobody was stretching, except for me and the guy sitting on my right. He's an upstate New Yorker who's in San Juan for a two-year project. I said, "Don't they stretch here?" and his weary answer was, "They do everything different down here."

Benjamin Grimm Jul 01 2010 10:51 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

The Second Spitter wrote: I'm happy for daughter but who is the new fan, you or your daughter? My daughter. She now thinks she "knows" Pedro Feliciano.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 01 2010 10:55 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: How's the stadium food? Sucked. Not a whole lot of variety. The hot dog/burger concession was run by Fuddruckers, so I thought my burger would at least be of the quality you'd expect from a restaurant chain. (Houlihans, Fridays, etc.) But it was more like the kind you'd get at a bad backyard barbecue. For Tuesday's game we ate before we went to the stadium. There's a big shopping mall across the street from Hiram Bithorn, and we got sandwiches and stuff at the food court. I had a Caribbean turkey platter from a place called La Vaca Frita.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 01 2010 10:57 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Frayed Knot wrote: Keith said he's going to go check out Old San Juan today. Go over there and maybe you can hang out with him. Of all the Mets, I figured Keith would be the one I'd be most likely to run into in Old San Juan. We were there on Monday, though, and from what you say, Keith was there on Tuesday. Oh well.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 01 2010 11:00 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The Lunches have Puerto Rico on the calendar for next spring. I'd try to get a place on Condado Beach.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 01 2010 11:02 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

I'll post photos of the Hiram Bithorn Experience some time over the weekend.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 02 2010 02:09 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Composite panoramic photo of Hiram Bithorn Stadium, prior to Monday night's game. (June 28, 2010.) More to come...

Edgy DC Jul 02 2010 02:12 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

How are we supposed to win if the left-field foul line isn't even straight?

metsguyinmichigan Jul 02 2010 02:32 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Absolutely loving these travel posts!!!

Benjamin Grimm Jul 03 2010 04:26 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

We stayed in two hotels in San Juan. We started at the Caribe Hilton, which was a nice hotel but not in a great location, beach-wise or neighborhood-wise. But while we were there, we did have an interesting next-door neighbor, an old stadium named after legendary Puerto Rican boxer Sixto Escobar. (No, I had never heard of him either.) I later found out that the stadium, which appeared to be currently used for soccer, was the baseball park that Hiram Bithorn would replace in 1962. The Escobar stadium was built in 1935 and was the spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds in 1936. (I learned all this from Wikipedia, so take that as you will.) Although it's still in use, it's in definite need of repair, like much of Puerto Rico. Here are a couple of photos: This is the statue of Sixto Escobar in front of the stadium. This is the main entrance. One of many many buildings in Puerto Rico that's well past its prime. You'd think it was an abandoned structure, but it's still in use. The field (as I was able to see between the gates) had well-maintained turf, equipment, and uniformed players practicing. Continuing the theme of next-door stadiums, here's the Roberto Clemente place I mentioned the other day. The arena named for Clemente is a Soviet-style monstrosity next door to Hiram Bithorn. It features a statue of Clemente placed in front of an ugly lime-green backdrop. More to come...

themetfairy Jul 03 2010 07:59 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Very nice BG!

Zvon Jul 03 2010 11:36 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

That statue ain't right....... They stuck a bat in Roberto's hands! They removed the ball AND Ed Kranepool!

Edgy DC Jul 03 2010 11:59 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

To go from that disrepaired but still beautiful Spanish Colonial-Deco hybrid to that brutalist monstrosity is, well, brutal.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 03 2010 07:54 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

what was the other place you stayed in? Better or worse than Caribe? Was looking at that one on the net for our trip.

Edgy DC Jul 03 2010 08:05 PM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Let's name an outdoors sports venue after a boxer and an indoor one after a baseball player. Sure!

Benjamin Grimm Jul 04 2010 05:11 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: what was the other place you stayed in? Better or worse than Caribe? Was looking at that one on the net for our trip. We moved to the La Concha on Condado Beach. Much nicer, largely because of the location. It's directly on the ocean beach, and it's in a neighborhood with easily accessible shopping and restaurants. On previous trips to San Juan we had stayed at the Marriott in Condado, but we couldn't get a room there this time. Isla Verde is another San Juan spot with hotels, but I've never stayed there or even seen the 'hood, so I don't know what that's like. But we really wanted to leave the Caribe because it was kind of confining. Unless you wanted to eat the Hilton's food, you had to either grab something at the one mini-mart, or get in your car and drive somewhere else. And the food at the Hilton was very expensive. A glass of orange juice? Eight bucks. I'm not sure when you're planning to go to Puerto Rico, but when I was previously there, in 2002 and 2003, it was much cheaper to go after May 1. Our original plan, for 2002, was to go during the last week of April, but I then discovered that on May 1, the hotel prices dropped nearly in half. I don't know if that's still the case, though, but I suspect it probably is.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 04 2010 07:32 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

Thanks! We are prolly going to go during school spring break aka peak $$.

metirish Jul 04 2010 07:58 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Thanks! We are prolly going to go during school spring break aka peak $$. Have you checked out hotels in Isla Verde?, it's on the beach and right next to San Juan.....plenty to do there , you'll be renting a car ?.....in the past we found a guy that rents out his studio right on the beach in Isle Verde....12th floor views...I have his # if you want...he's an american , very nice guy....full studio amenities .Not in the link below but Hojo's Hotel is http://www.hotels.com/de1634920/hotels- ... erto-rico/ We stayed at the San Juan Hotel & Casino once..... spectacular, and expensive of course.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 04 2010 10:13 AM Re: Fun Facts About Puerto Rico

More photos, taken outside Hiram Bithorn before the games. The first two were taken on Sunday, when we were there to pick up the tickets. (That's why there's no crowd.) And here's Billy Marlin. He's probably reacting to my Mets cap, but his posture also could mean he's wondering why there are no Marlins fans at these "home games." Given the Mets nature of the crowd, we really should have had Mr. Met on site.