M's powered by Latino force

It all began on opening day.

Felix Hernandez turned in the best pitching performance by a Mariner in an opener in 12 years. Richie Sexson homered on his second opening day in three as a Mariner. And one of the largest crowds for a first game at Safeco Field witnessed the 4-0 win over the rival Oakland Athletics.

Overlooked perhaps, but more historic, was the lineup card posted on April 2. Seattle fielded a group of starters that included seven Latinos, the most the franchise has put on the field to open a season.

The Latinos were from the United States (Raul Ibanez), the Dominican Republic (Adrian Beltre and Jose Guillen), Venezuela (Jose Lopez and Hernandez), Cuba (Yuniesky Betancourt) and Puerto Rico (Jose Vidro).

The M's also started the season with three other Latino pitchers — Miguel Batista and Julio Mateo, from the Dominican Republic, and Horacio Ramirez, born in Southern California and of Mexican heritage.

Tonight, the defending AL champion Detroit Tigers are at Safeco to open the second half of the season against the Mariners, who have won 12 of their past 15 games. Every one of the six Latino position players from opening day remains in the lineup, all cogs in the Mariners' win machine. Hernandez and Batista are in the rotation, with Ramirez set to rejoin them in a matter of days.

La fuerza latina (the Latino force) of the Mariners is stronger than ever.

Undoubtedly, the makeup of the roster has everything to do with the quality of players. Mariners scouts have found a gold mine of talent in Latin America — the farm system has produced Hernandez, Lopez, Betancourt, Ibanez and Mateo.

Latin American countries have been producing top baseball talent for decades, and the Mariners were right in line with the trend among many teams to establish baseball academies for young players in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The Latino presence in the game is bigger than ever today, with Latinos the largest non-white demographic in baseball for the past 10 years.

American- and foreign-born Latinos made up almost 25 percent of major-league rosters and 44 percent of all of organized baseball to open the 2005 season, according to University of Illinois history professor Adrian Burgos' book, "Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos and the Color Line."

"You're seeing more players come out of the Latin countries," said Bob Engle, the Mariners' director of international operations. "The volume and the caliber of play is greater."

It also has to do with the Mariners' front office, which brought in Beltre in 2005 and Guillen, Vidro, Batista and Ramirez this year.

Race and ethnicity might make them stand out, but the Latino Mariners are here because they belong. And the infusion of talent, together with veterans Ichiro, Sexson, J.J. Putz and the rest of a very international roster, has made Seattle a playoff contender.

"We're very active," Engle said. "We've had the blessing and great freedom to do things internationally. Ownership allows us to do it.

"It's not something you try to do [sign Latino players on purpose]. I think it's just a product of what's going on in Major League Baseball."

Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said the changing face of the game over the years has made the roster what it is in Seattle. He gave much credit to Engle and the scouting department's work abroad.

"When you get into the profile of a player you're trying to find at certain positions, you definitely don't take into account that nationality, ever," Bavasi said. "That would kind of demean them. They're here because they're good players or they're good enough to be one of the few major-league players ... it's a credit to them and their ability."

Seattle, like many other cities in the United States, has a growing Latino population that is mainly Mexican. But it isn't a place that comes to mind when thinking of cities with a high concentration of Latinos like Los Angeles, New York or Chicago.

So what draws players like Vidro, once part of Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals teams stocked with Latinos; Guillen, who has played for Anaheim, and in Washington with Vidro; and Beltre, who played in Los Angeles earlier in his major-league career?

Opportunity, Bavasi said.

And the Latino Mariners are a close-knit group — it's seen in the choice of music at the ballpark and the way they lounge on black-leather couches in the clubhouse shooting the breeze en espanol. Also, those who were in Seattle before encouraged the newer players to come to the Northwest because they found the Mariners to be a good organization, and Seattle a comfortable place to live and play.

"The first thing when you get to a new city is try to find the best place to go for the things we like," Vidro said. "I ask the guys that were here before me where I can get my stuff, and they tell me. That's how it is."

Hernandez came up through the Mariners' organization. Everett, Wisconsin and Tacoma are a long way, both in distance and Latino culture, from his homeland of Venezuela, but at every stop, Hernandez was surrounded by others in a similar situation.

"When I was in the minor leagues I was on teams with plenty of Latinos," Hernandez said in Spanish, "and it felt good because it was a great atmosphere and very happy."

There are more Latino players in the majors and their roles have evolved. Julio Cruz, one of the first Latino Mariners, played in the early 1980s with just a couple of Latino teammates.

Cruz and Mario Mendoza were the Seattle double-play combination for two seasons. Manny Castillo came along in 1982 and played third base.

"Back when I played, the Latino came off the bench," Cruz said. "That was all over the league. On a couple of teams, there'd be one Latino who was really good and played every day."

Examples of everyday players were Rod Carew for the California Angels, Dave Concepcion for the Cincinnati Reds and Jose Cruz for the Houston Astros.

Latinos have had an increasing impact on Mariners baseball through the years. Fans will always remember Edgar Martinez, Tino Martinez and Joey Cora, heroes from the magical 1995 season. Then came Alex Rodriguez, and more recently, a pair of Venezuelans who were key components along with Edgar Martinez earlier this decade, Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen.

But never, until now, have the Mariners had so many everyday players of Latino descent.

"One thing they've done is stopped trading all their Latino prospects," said Burgos, the professor and author.

"Over the last five years, they've been able to develop guys through the system. It's a trend that the smart organizations in baseball have caught on to."

Burgos noted the presence of young and veteran Latino players creates a climate of easier adjustment to life in Seattle and in the big leagues. And having more Latino coaches — the Mariners have two in third-base coach Carlos Garcia and pitching coach Rafael Chaves — has also been a big help.

"We're not seeing Latinos falling by the wayside due to the cultural barrier," Burgos said.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com