Ernesto Frieri was a bright spot for a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim team that fell short of expectations. The 27-year-old right-hander stepped into the closer role after being acquired in a May 3 trade with San Diego Padres. In 56 games, he had 23 saves, a 2.32 ERA and a 13.3 K/9. He also didn’t allow a hit in his first 13 innings in an Angels uniform.
Frieri talked about his journey from South America to big-league stardom during a late-summer visit to Fenway Park.
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Frieri: “I come from Colombia and the number one sport there is soccer. We don’t play baseball in all of the country. We only play it in four or five main cities, on the coast of Colombia. I’m from Cartagena, the same city as Orlando Cabrera. Cartagena is a bigger city for baseball. The best baseball players come from there. Edgar Renteria is from Barranquilla, which is two hours from Cartagena.
“Why I got in love with baseball is because my family are baseball fans. It was also hard for me to get any opportunity in soccer, because everybody played soccer and if you are going to play you have to be really good. That’s why I stopped practicing soccer.
“I got in love with baseball when I was 12 years old. I was watching the 1997 World Series — the Marlins against the Indians — and Edgar Renteria was playing for the Marlins. It was Game 7, the bases were loaded with two out, and Edgar Renteria was at bat. He got the base hit to win the World Series. I see my family jumping around and the everybody was talking about it. Edgar Renteria was all the news. Everybody was excited and happy about what he did, and I was like, ‘Wow! I like baseball now. I want to practice baseball and be like Edgar Renteria. I want to make it to the big leagues and make my family feel proud of me.’ Now, here I am, playing the best baseball in the world.
“At that time, my grandma made tamales. This is going to sound like crazy, but my grandma was making tamales and she made it with corn. Read the rest of this entry »