There could not have been a player that came to the ball park each day last season with more weighing on his mind than Yuniesky Betancourt. Many may not have noticed it because he held his worries close to his heart and preferred not to share the concern he felt for his family almost every minute of the day.

Mike Hargrove had his concerns and checked frequently with Spanish speaking members of the team to see if "Yuni" or "Cuba" as his teammates often called him was okay. Betancourt himself admits that he tried hard to never show what was going on around him, and stay as consistent as he could on the field.

What betrayed him however, at least to me, was a weariness that I would see in the second half of the season. I would often find him lying on the bench in the dugout, no matter what city we were in, talking on the cell phone to family members for countless hours before the games. Sometimes he would hang up and take a deep sigh. A couple of times I asked if he was okay and he would drop his head, nod and try to smile. Every now and then I would throw an arm around him and give him a quick squeeze. He looked like he needed it. I don’t think he was physically tired, rather mentally exhausted having to deal with worries for a family left behind in Cuba.

That no longer is an issue. The people closest to Yuni, including his mother and grandmother are now in this country. He had made a promise to them when he left, that when he had a stable job doing whatever, he would try to get them out of Cuba to come and live with him in the United States.

His mother Maura arrived in October, his grandmother Maria in December. They did not have to escape by boat as Yuni did, rather they were able to come here officially after stacks of paperwork were filled out and filed.

With most of his family here now, Yuni says he doesn’t have the distractions, doesn’t have to worry about what happens to them. His biggest fear was that something would happen and he would not be able to go back and see them or in a worse case scenario, to go back and say goodbye. He is especially relieved that he can give them peace of mind which in turn makes it easier for him to go out on the field and do the best he can.

Although those closest to him are now safe, Yuni still will not talk about his journey from Cuba to major league baseball. We know it was not an easy path, with Betancourt on a small boat along with nine others escaping Cuba with the police in pursuit.

There are also stories that he spent time in a Mexican jail because according to recent court hearings, his Mexican passport, which was obtained with the help of an agent who has recently been indicted by a grand jury on 53 counts of immigration fraud, was “determined to be fraudulent.”

Betancourt does not want to talk about that time other than to say that it was a horrible experience, one that he doesn’t want to remember.

On the field, now free of distractions, Yuni is looking forward to an improved season both offensively and defensively. His defense last year bothers him. In his words he is not a twenty error shortstop. He can do better in positioning himself as he learns the league.

While it may be a bit harder for the fans to get to know Yuni because of the language barrier, I think Mike Hargrove best sums up his personality. While acknowledging the mental toughness he must possess in order to get through what he has been through, Hargrove paints the picture of another side of Yuni.

“I don’t know that we have fully seen his personality. We’ve seen peeks of it especially this spring. He’s a little playful, almost charismatic. The people around him want to take care of him. He kind of brings that out of you. I think the reason is he seems to be so sincere about everything he does. He strikes you as a really young kid who hasn’t lost his innocence. I just really enjoy him. You watch him take ground balls and you can see that he starts to feel real good about himself and starts to get fancy. Then he realizes what he is doing and gets back to the basics. He’s a good guy. I have never seen him without a smile on his face. He is a good guy.”

That good guy is looking forward to opening day when his mother and grandmother will be on hand at Safeco Field to see him play in person for the first time in over three years. They will spend the season in Seattle, the town that is rapidly turning into home for Yuni. The town where he has built a great support system and has made a few friends “from the island.” No doubt there will be a big party, with mom cooking and grandmother leading the singing and dancing. In the middle of it all, will be Yuni, with a smile on his face and the weight of the world off his shoulders.


News and notes

Edgar held a hitters meeting today that lasted about 50 minutes. After the meeting, Edgar headed for the cages with several hitters following…Jose Lopez took ground balls for the first time today since injuring an ankle in winter ball. Oswaldo Navarro will take grounders tomorrow…Hargrove had his first blow up of the spring and it was a doozy. Stopped a base running drill because he felt the runners were not paying close enough attention to instruction. After letting the team have it, Hargrove apologized to the fans on hand for his colorful language…Academy Awards tonight. Hargrove’s pick for best picture “Letters from Iwo Jima”…