At long last, Nicaragua will play in the World Baseball Classic
"Viva Nicaragua!" manager Sandor Guido yelled, slamming the press conference table.
It seems crazy that a country where Dennis "El Presidente" Martinez is from, a country where there are marching bands and cheerleaders at games, a country where baseball is clearly the No. 1 sport, has a national team that has never made it to a World Baseball Classic.
Nicaragua wasn't entered into the Classic in either 2006 or 2009, and failed to qualify in 2013 and 2017. They were knocked out by Panama the first time and mercy-ruled twice by Mexico in '17. They nearly lost to Czech Republic -- not exactly a baseball powerhouse (except for, so it seems, this year).
But after mercy-ruling Pakistan on Sunday and a tight 3-1 win over Brazil on Wednesday, the Land of Lakes and Volcanos (and Baseball, they should add Baseball to that) has finally reached baseball's preeminent international competition. The Nicaraguans, along with the Panamanians, are World Baseball Classic bound.
"My guys, my players worked so hard," Guido said postgame, via an interpreter.
Brandon Leyton, a shortstop with the Reds at Triple-A, had three hits in the leadoff spot for Team Nicaragua. The wily, former Mariners signee at 16, Dwight Britton, continued his clutch hitting with a big RBI double in the first.
But their pitching is probably what's pulled them through the last few days. And, mostly, it came down to one guy: Former Blue Jays Minor Leaguer Osman Gutierrez.
The 27-year-old righty got the win against Pakistan, allowing just one hit and no runs over three innings of work. Three days later, he was back to start against the Brazilians. He was even better against a better team. Gutierrez struck out five and gave up zero runs and three hits in six frames.
Gutierrez was originally signed by Toronto in 2012 at 17 and then had six up-and-down years at some of the organization's lower levels. Nicaragua plucked him out of an independent league this year way out in Quebec City, where he was 5-5 with a 5.28 ERA. According to writers who cover the Blue Jays, he's as good off the field as he was on it this week.
Nicaraguan fans, most who live in Panama City, a few who took a 36-hour bus from Managua, were making all kinds of noise at Rod Carew for their star pitcher. The country probably had the second-most fans in attendance at the qualifiers, only home-team Panama had more.
Opposing Brazil manager Steve Finley gave credit to Gutierrez's performance and said Nicaragua's chances at the main tournament just kind of depended on who -- from the big leagues -- played for their team.
"It really centers around [who their big leaguers are]," Finley said postgame. "How many of those guys are gonna come play for you and be healthy? That's just the nature of the beast in this."
The Yankees' Jonathan Loáisiga and the Nats' Erasmo Ramírez are just a couple of key additions the Nicaraguans could have come March. But right now, after playing this game of baseball for 140 years and finally getting to the Classic since its inception way back in 2006, they'll celebrate. They'll be happy.
"I'm happy for Nicaragua, I'm happy for my guys," Guido said. "It's so important for Nicaragua. This couldn't have gone any better."