These Royals experienced more than just baseball in Dominican Winter League

Kansas City Royals outfielder Nick Heath could not hear himself think. On Friday and Saturday nights in the Dominican Republic, the crowds for Winter League games would be packed to the brim. Even the standing room spots were full, and Heath said the atmosphere remained deafening for things as arbitrary as a high fly ball to short.

“A lot of guys here were telling me that it closely relates to playoff games and I didn’t believe that,” Heath said. “Then, I got down there and I couldn’t hear myself think during the fifth inning after a pop-up or something.”

For two months during the MLB offseason, leagues across Latin America provide opportunities for players from around the world to get big-league experience, and the chance to dive into new cultures.

A handful of Royals took advantage of this during the winter.

Heath spent his offseason playing for Tigres Del Licey, the team based in Santo Domingo that lost in the Dominican Winter League Championship series. It was the first time Heath, born in Junction City, Kansas, had left the country, and the experience made an impact for a few reasons.

“I got to go down there for two months and enjoy the culture and figure out how they play baseball down there versus up here,” said Heath, 26. “And I had the time of my life. I always have good things to say about it when I come back. I played with a few of these guys and against a few of them so coming back and talking trash is a good time.”

Ryan McBroom and Erik Mejia were his Tigres teammates as were pitchers Foster Griffin and Tyler Zuber. Former Royal Jorge Bonifacio was “El Capitán,” leading the team in home runs.

Even though most Royals who participated are younger players, this is no developmental league. Professional seasons in the Dominican Republic stretch over 50 games and feature high intensity.

“It’s super competitive,” said Griffin, 24. “If you don’t have your stuff that day then you’re out. They have to win, they have to make the playoffs. So, they play every game like they have to win no matter what.”

New Royals manager Mike Matheny loved the idea of his players getting that experience. He said there is not a place where players can get experience during the offseason other than in winter leagues in Latin America.

“I think it’s priceless,” Matheny said. “They have great arms. Every night you’re facing somebody throwing hard with good stuff. It’s a great challenge.

“I think it’s good for the pitcher who needs the extra innings. Especially when you’re trying to build the overall workload, you can’t simulate that with bullpen sessions.”

Royals infielder Kelvin Gutiérrez, from Pimentel, Dominican Republic, played in his third season of Dominican League baseball for Gigantes del Cibao this winter.

He said that the competition is similar to the United States, albeit with unique fans.

Matheny didn’t just mention the on-field experience, however, as there are a lot of benefits to seeing the world.

“There is just a passion there. I’ve been taking a group of young kids even in their teens down to experience it. ‘Do you want to see passion for the game? Do you want to see pickup games in an open field?’ Go down to the D.R,” Matheny said.

McBroom, 27, added: “They eat, sleep and live baseball. Everyone plays, from 3 or 4 years old they’re playing baseball in the street.”

That culture translates as kids mature, and Heath found out how much fun players who were raised in the Dominican have on the baseball field.

“It’s a bit more flamboyant,” Heath said. “Everybody has a little swagger. Up here it’s more like acting like you’ve done it before. But to go there and see guys get singles and see them celebrating and bat flipping, it’s funny.

“It gives players the opportunity to express the passion they have for baseball. Down there,as long as you respect the other players, then have as much fun as you can.”

Flamboyant is a colorful but seemingly accurate way of describing the baseball culture in the Dominican.

In the stands, fans wave flags and blow horns throughout big games, almost like a World Cup atmosphere. And when Torros Del Este won in 2020, there was no stopping a large group of fans from rushing the field with their orange flags and celebrating with the team.

In clubhouses, Heath experienced new celebrations after wins, like dancing while wearing a tiger’s mask as strobe and disco lights illuminated the room.

“It builds team morale,” Heath said. “We did something like that in the minor leagues but this is my first big league camp and I’m sure they don’t do that up here.”

Perhaps those experiences won’t add much to the Royals’ production on the field, but they certainly could.

Experiencing fun new things in sport that at times can be monotonous keeps the players energized. It can also create a bond between American and Latin players. Sometimes that leads to trash talk like the banter Heath said he has with his Royals teammates who played for different winter ball teams, but even that can help bring the team together a little more.

“For myself the experience gave me great appreciation for the culture and the players and an understanding of what they’ve gone through, a little empathy,” Matheny said.

That understanding can connect people whether it is baseball related or not.

Heath described his Spanish as “terrible” and said he got away with nodding and shaking his head until his teammates realized he didn’t know what they were saying.

But he says that he’s working on it, and Gutiérrez is teaching him.

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 3:36 PM.