Valenzuela a star for Mexico -- and deaf community -- in Women's World Cup

THUNDER BAY, Ont. -- Maria José Valenzuela handed the ball to her manager, and for the first time in two days, Mexico’s dugout went quiet.

A team that chants, shouts, claps and bangs on any available surface stopped and stood to welcome its pitcher, many of the players gesturing or putting their hands together without making a sound. Valenzuela signaled back, drawing a laugh from her teammates.

The silence had nothing to do with the fact that Team USA had an eight-run lead when she departed on Monday afternoon, Day 2 of the Women’s Baseball World Cup finals, at Port Arthur Stadium. Nor was it related to the pair of singles she’d just allowed to open the sixth inning.

Valenzuela’s teammates were simply speaking her language.

"I’ve taught them some sign language,” Valenzuela said through teammate Daniela Leal. "And they’ve all done their part to be able to talk to me."

Valenzuela has been deaf since birth. She’s been playing baseball and softball for almost as long.

A native of Hermosillo, Mexico, the 27-year-old found her calling in a sport that’s hard enough for women who don't have a hearing disability. But her resolve has been steadfast. Now, she gets to represent more than one community on the world stage.

"It’s an honor,” said Valenzuela. "I couldn’t be more proud to be here with these women representing my country."

She’s doing so on both sides of the ball, too.

In Monday’s 11-1 loss to the United States, Valenzuela -- or "Majo," as she’s known around the team -- started in right field before moving to the mound in relief with two out in the bottom of the fourth. When she’s playing defense, the “keep your eyes on the ball" adage doesn’t really work.

Valenzuela can call for a fly ball by yelling, but if a teammate wants to wave her off, they need to really wave her off. The movements need to be even more exaggerated than usual, as Valenzuela relies on her peripheral vision to ensure she won’t collide with another outfielder. Take away one sense, and chemistry becomes crucial.

"I’ve been playing with her on the National Team for four years now,” Mexico center fielder Diana Ibarra said in Spanish. " … We’ve built enough chemistry that she knows to yell if she’s calling for it and look for my hand and arm signals if I’m calling for it, and I’m certain she will cover for me."

This is nothing new for Valenzuela, who has played with teammates who can hear all her life. Mexico City is big enough to have an entire team made of deaf players -- the Osos de Olmeca welcomes athletes from around the country and played in its first international competition earlier this year -- but Hermosillo has only five ballplayers who are deaf.

So Valenzuela adapted. Now, she’s a shortstop for El Águila de Veracruz in Mexico’s pro softball league.

There were certainly some rough moments along the way, especially as a youth. Back in 2015, when Valenzuela was just 9 years old, she darted backward from short on a sharply hit fly ball, unaware and unable to hear that the left fielder was coming in from behind her. The two collided hard enough to bruise Valenzuela in the ribcage area.

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But nothing was ever painful enough to turn her off from the sport she learned from her father.

The best news is that Valenzuela isn’t the only one adapting anymore. As Team Mexico’s captain and Valenzuela's teammate with Águila, Leal led the way and learned sign language to start bridging the gap between "Majo" and her teammates. Leal isn’t fluent yet, at times needing to spell out words through sign language when she lacks certain vocabulary. But that’s somewhat irrelevant as long as they can understand each other. Plus, there’s some fun to be had with it.

Most women on the team now know at least the sign language alphabet, which has led to the coolest inside jokes you’ll see in a clubhouse. They keep picking up signs here and there, too, each gesture reinforcing this silent bond.

"This is someone who we really love, you know? We’re always taking care of her,” said Ibarra. “It’s so special, it’s so unique. She’s gifting us with such a beautiful experience, because we’re all trying hard to understand her, to talk to her. And she trusts us to do so."

Day 2 at Port Arthur Stadium

Venezuela kicks off tourney in style: Team Venezuela came out swinging for a 3-0 upset over Chinese Taipei. Mariana Valdez and Yohelis Colina each picked up a pair of hits, while Angélica Ledezma and Frandelis García combined for the shutout.

USA makes a statement: After a sour fourth-place finish in 2018, Team USA’s gold-medal-or-bust mentality showed up on the field with an 11-1 win over Mexico. Remi Schaber drove in three runs to back Kelsie Whitmore’s four innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts.

Japan narrowly escapes upset in extras: The home team, Canada, gave Japan a run for its money, coming back from a three-run deficit to send the game to extra innings. But things unraveled from there. Aided by two errors, Japan small-balled its way to four eighth-inning runs. Canada couldn’t complete a second rally in the bottom half, wrapping Day 2 with a 7-6 loss.