Middlemen

By: Ethan Wilson

Some 2,500 miles separate Pittsburgh & Venezuela, yet the new middle infield duo have more in common than meets the eye



Pittsburgh. Steel city. Toughness. Work ethic. Home to Neil Walker. Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. South Shore of the Caribbean. Resort Town. Home to Asdrubal Cabrera.

Walker and Cabrera are the same age – 30, they are both middle infielders and they are both switch-hitters. Pittsburgh and Puerto La Cruz are separated by approximately 2,500 miles. This year, the Mets’ new double play combination will be playing approximately 20 feet from each other.

Over a three-day period during the 2015 Winter Meetings in Nashville, the Mets revamped their middle infield. On Dec. 9, the Mets acquired Walker from the Pirates in exchange for lefthanded pitcher Jonathon Niese and on Dec. 11, the club signed Cabrera to a two-year contract.

“We are very happy with that combination,” stated Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson. Walker was introduced at the Mets Holiday Party for children. A prophetic setting considering his background.

Neil’s father, Tom, pitched in the majors from 1972-1977. In 1972, he was playing winter ball in Puerto Rico. At the same time, Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente was helping deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

“(Clemente) was one of my childhood heroes,” remembers Tom Walker. “He was suddenly asking for my help to load planes with supplies. We had already loaded two planes that had taken off. But, Roberto had heard that the supplies weren’t ending up in the right hands so he was going on the third trip. I told him ‘I’ll go with you to help unload everything’ and he said ‘No, stay, party. You are young. Enjoy New Year’s Eve.’ We packed up the final plane. I remember waving to Roberto, and he waved back. I went to grab dinner and I was walking home when my neighbor told me the news about the plane crash. I still get very emotional talking about it. He saved my life, and he died helping others.”

“It’s pretty amazing,” commented Neil. “It gives you chills. I feel fortunate that my dad didn’t get on that plane. The memory of Clemente has been a big part of our life.”

The connection between Walker and Cabrera is eerily strong.

Cabrera and his father (also named Asdrubal) are extremely close. They made a deal when the current Mets shortstop was just 15 years old.

“My dad wanted me to stay in school,” recalled Asdrubal, who grew up idolizing Omar Vizquel.

“But, I wanted to try professional baseball. We made a deal. He told me ‘I’m going to give you one year, one opportunity. If you sign with a team, wonderful, if not, you come back and finish school.’”

Within two months of the handshake agreement, Cabrera signed with the Seattle Mariners. Five years later he made his major league debut and nine years after the deal was struck, his parents sat in the stands in Arizona and watched their son play in an All-Star Game, his first of two such honors.

“I was very proud they could come and watch me play in the All-Star Game,” said Cabrera. The double-play combo even has a similar story on how they selected their jerseys – each to honor people who were special to them.

Walker’s #20 is a tribute to his father, who wore that number when he pitched with the Expos. “I never had an opportunity to wear it in Pittsburgh,’’ stated Walker, pointing out the Pirates had retired #20 in tribute to Hall of Famer Pie Traynor. “But, I’ll be wearing it proudly here in New York.”



“Neil called home after he took the physical and said he picked #20 because he wanted to wear my number,” smiled his father, Tom. “I couldn’t have been more humbled.”

Cabrera dons #13 because that’s what all young shortstops growing up in Venezuela wear. Cabrera’s idols, Dave Concepcion and Omar Vizquel, both wore #13.

“I’m proud to honor them by wearing #13,” said Cabrera. “It’s a special tradition.”

In Spring Training, the duo could be found on the backfields, working together.

“He’s a really good second baseman,” smiled Cabrera. “We’ll enjoy playing together.”

“They have to learn how to make each other comfortable,” said Tim Teufel, who works with the Mets infielders. “How they turn double plays, throwing it to a spot or underhand flips, a lot goes into how comfortable you can make each other so the play becomes routine. Walker likes it thrown over the bag, waist-high.”

“It will take a little time to understand what (Cabrera) likes, particularly on double-play turns and feeds,” noted Walker. “How he likes to comes across the bag and I like to come across the bag.”

“(Cabrera) told me he likes to receive DP feeds ‘from the heart to the left side’,” said Walker, who will try to feed throws to the middle of Cabrera’s chest and outward.

“My first four years in Cleveland I was always working with a new second baseman,” recalled Cabrera. “That’s not always easy. You want to have a good rhythm.”

Defense wins championships has been a long stated mantra. The Amazins have built one of the best of the best pitching staffs in the game and extra potential outs in the middle of a game will be crucial. The Mets will look to upgrade the 131 double plays they turned last season, one of the lowest totals in the majors.

The similarities between the two are astounding. Walker hit 16 home runs last year, Cabrera belted 15.

Walker has 69 home runs since the start of the 2012 campaign, the most among NL second basemen and tied for the second-most in the majors. Cabrera meanwhile has 84 home runs since 2011, the fifth-most among major league shortstops.

“We are very happy with the combination of Walker and Cabrera,” said Alderson. “One of the keys was to improve against righthanded pitching and I think we’ve done that.”

The Big Apple and Queens specifically will be home to the Pittsburgh kid and the defensive whiz from Venezuela. Citi Field has become a melting pot for the Mets middle infield duo.

When you have pitching like we’ve got right now, you want to help those guys, no matter how,” says Cabrera, the shortstop. Defense, he knows, will be vital.

“I got Neil Walker now as my new second baseman,” Cabrera said. “He’s great. He looks comfortable there. He knows what he’s doing. That’s the second baseman you want to play with.”

“When you’ve been in this game for a while and you know your pitchers, what they’re trying to do and accomplish, and you see hitters you’ve seen for a while, those types of things help.”

