Dayan Viciedo Should Go Into Politics

Living in Chicago, I've always been intrigued with the Dayan Viciedo story, the 19-year-old kid from Cuba that was given a shot at the White Sox 3B job in spring training.

Since the White Sox were getting rid of Joe Crede and his bad back and Josh Fields had lost a little bit of his luster the year before, Viciedo and his mysterious scouting reports started to fuel rumors that he could step right into the Bigs and take over the 3B spot.

Baseball America had this to say:

Viciedo has excellent power and hitting ability, however, with one scout comparing him to Giants prospect Angel Villalona. He slugged over .500 two of the last three seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, its top-level league, hitting 14 homers in 2005-2006—as a 16-year-old—in his best season.

His Villa Clara manager, former national team star Victor Mesa, told Cuba’s Granma news in 2006 that Viciedo has “a good arm and tremendous power. He’s got excellent technique, but at the same time is surprisingly calm for his young age and very secure in defense.”

Regardless of how big/chunky he was back then, being that he was only 19 and the Sox were willing to pay him $11 million for four years, everyone was pretty excited.

Here's a video that shows him working out right around the time he signed the deal:



He looks huge, doesn't he? The glove looks tiny in his hand and the one comment by his trainer Jorge Toca is kind of ridiculous:

He has all the talent to make it to the Major Leagues and become the first Cuban player to hit 40 homeruns.

The other trainer is probably getting paid pretty well too:

He could be rookie of the year because of the way he works hard and his talent.

To top it all off, here are his stats from Cuba:



Not bad, but not great. And who knows how a 19-year-old's stats from Cuba will translate to the bigs. Here's what he's done in AA so far this year:

In 47 games, he's hitting .260, .277 OBP, 3HRs, 5BB, 39Ks. Ouchy.

Regardless of whether or not he'll "make it," I still thought Viciedo was an interesting story. One worth digging a little deeper into, Señor Gammons style.

So I figured I'd unearth a few interviews, grab some quotes, and see what the kid is really like when he talks to the media in Spanish. After all, that's how we roll here.

And I did find some interviews, but as you'll see my project didn't gain much steam. The reason? Dayan Viciedo is a young, Cuban player—and young, Cuban players are well trained in the fine art of doublespeak.

This guy talks a better game than Rod Blagojevich.

Check out the steely look in his eyes:



Nothing can phase a 19-year-old kid with that look in his eyes. Now let's move on to some actual speaking.

In case you don't know Spanish, here's what you're missing:

I'm gonna give it my all, everything I've got. I talked to Alexei about Ozzie Guillen and the good thing is he gives players a chance.

And on and on he goes, spewing more and more classic baseball clichés without a care in the world. You'll notice his head move a couple times, but his shoulders never budge. Not sure if that's because he's as big as Jabba the Hut or because this kid just plain doesn't get razzled.

You ride an inflatable boat in a race for your life and see if a TV interview phases you any.

My conclusion? Dayan Viciedo may or may not make it in the Bigs. Alexei Ramirez got off to a slow start last year and then had a great season. This guy is 19, should have no problem with the media, and he's got a lot of tools.

He's so good that Señor Gammons couldn't even find a chink in his armor. This kid's definitely worth keeping an eye out, maybe one day he'll slip and some personality will finally come through.