Before Pirates reliever Sean Gallagher went to play winter league ball in Venezuela last year, the only time he'd ever left the country was on a cruise to Belize and Cozumel.
"And those were just tourist spots," said Gallagher, 24, who nfl throwback jerseys
played for Magallanes. "(Venezuela) was just a totally different world. We take a lot for granted that down there they just don't have."
Adjusting to the lifestyle was one thing, but Gallagher quickly learned that even the baseball is different in Venezuela.
"The atmosphere down there is like nothing you've ever seen before," Gallagher said. "A lot of places you hear about in South America are soccer countries. Not there. In Venezuela it's baseball, baseball, baseball. They absolutely get into the game."
Gallagher wants to play winter ball again, either in Venezuela or the Dominican Republic, although he says he's getting mixed messages from the Pirates. A week ago, manager John Russell said that both Gallagher and catcher Jason Jaramillo, currently with Triple-A Indianapolis, had committed to winter ball, but as of Friday, general manager Neal Huntington said they are still working through the permission process and until that is settled, there is nothing to report.
So for now, Gallagher will just hope that things will work out. He'd like to go make four or five starts, get stretched out and be able to compete for a job in the starting rotation next spring.
Last year he went because he was coming off knee surgery and wanted to Saints jersey
see how he would respond to throwing multiple innings — up to 100 pitches. He accomplished that goal, but also saw a side of the sport he'd never seen before.
"The big rivalry for Magallanes is Caracas, and that rivalry is bigger than the Yankees-Red Sox," Gallagher said. "I've been to Red Sox-Yankees games before and that doesn't hold anything to this.
"It's incredible. I've seen fights during games, everything. My first week there, opening day, it was Magallanes playing Caracas and it was standing room only, jam packed like you'd never, ever see in a stadium here because of public safety.
"First inning we scored, and I happened to look up in right field. There were 50 people in this giant circle, then you just see haymakers flying. You hit a home run, you'd better cover your head because there's beer flying everywhere. They love their baseball. It's insane."
It's that atmosphere that Huntington said he wants his players to experience.
"I don't think we can have enough guys go to winter ball," he said a week ago. "It's almost like every night down there is a playoff race in terms of fans and enthusiasm and intensity and atmosphere. Talk to the players who, back in the day, had to go play because they needed the money and they'll tell you the San Diego Chargers jersey
experience they gained in Latin America was tremendous, and we're missing that.
"We're missing a big part of that with our guys today because they don't want to go. It's unfortunate, but it's something we're trying to work through."
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