The Baseball Aficionado

Santos is joined by Puerto Rican accredited baseball writer Melvin Lopez to discuss the State of Baseball in Puerto Rico, la LBPRC (Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente) Puerto Rico winter league, How the league has come along way but still has room for improvement. Plus can Puerto Rico put together a competitive roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic? Which Young Puerto Rican players can develop in time to be included on the WBC 2026 roster?

Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X: @TheBBAficionado https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

Follow Melvin Lopez

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/melvinbaseballcosmos?igsh=MWdzYjJpZHFkcXh5

For Puerto Rico Winter League Stats and more:

https://beisbol101.com/author/melvinlopez499gmail-com/?fbclid=PAY2xjawHVS11leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABpsoSA7jQAhHr1Oqwxsi0X_rfBVtPWQJ9er_UGK18l3Jw2eUJYy9Oql90nw_aem_R9XzGpCNW_yASjycq9aD2A

Santos discusses whether the Mets are really the favorites to land Juan Soto. Is Scott Boras using the Red Sox and Mets to make the Yankees raise their offer? Could the Dodgers ultimately end up signing Juan Soto? Why David Ortiz matters in the Juan Soto to Boston pursuit, and more.

Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado

https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X:

@TheBBAficionado https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

Santos and Willy Baez reunite to talk the MLB Silver Sluggers, Cy Youngs, and All MLB Teams. Where will Juan Soto and end up? Are the Dodgers a lock to sign Roki Sasaki? Why Luis Arraez did not deserve to win a Silver Slugger award. Should Emmanuel Clase gotten more consideration for AL Cy Young? Will age fraud in the Dominican Republic force MLB towards an International Draft? Does Anthony Santander put up empty stats? All of this and more.

Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado

https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn Twitter/X: @TheBBAficionado

https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

Follow Bodega Sports on Social Media

https://www.instagram.com/Bodega.Sports/

https://www.facebook.com/share/PREWX5TY9GZDxshP/?mibextid=qi2Omg

Santos is joined by Willy Baez of Bodega Sports to discuss their current MLB awards predictions to date, including MVP, Cy Young, Managers of the year, Division Winners and Wildcard winners. Does Marcell Ozuna really have a chance to win the NL MVP over Ohtani? Ketel Marte vs Francisco Lindor 2024 season, Does Paul Skenes deserve more Cy Young consideration? Are Aaron Judge and Juan Soto enough for the Yankees to win the AL East division? The Seattle Mariners desperate hire of Edgar Martinez as hitting coach, Can Emmanuel Clase win the AL Cy Young? Can the Mets actually beat out the Braves for the final NL Wildcard spot? Plus more!!

Follow Santos/The Baseball Aficionado on Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado

https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X: @TheBBAficionado https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

@santos_threads

https://www.instagram.com/santos_threads?igsh=Zjd2c2UwMGJnN3gy

Shop Latino Baseball Apparel (Santos Threads)

https://santos-threads.com/

YouTube: The Baseball Aficionado Podcast Channel

https://youtube.com/@TheBaseballAficionado?si=ybJj2VdoXe4On0uO

Follow Bodega Sports on Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/Bodega.Sports/

https://www.facebook.com/share/PREWX5TY9GZDxshP/?mibextid=qi2Omg

Santos addresses harsh criticism towards Elly de la Cruz made by Puerto Rican media personality Playmaker; Why Santos feels Elly de la Cruz is not a good shortstop despite his natural tools and talent; Is it still impressive to steal 50+ bases despite being on a non-contending team? Why overpaying for Juan Soto will be a colossal mistake; Plus how the Tampa Bay Rays continue to fool everyone in believing they are a winning organization, and more! Santos addresses harsh criticism towards Elly de la Cruz made by Puerto Rican media personality Playmaker; Why Santos feels Elly de la Cruz is not a good shortstop despite his natural tools and talent; Is it still impressive to steal 50+ bases despite being on a non-contending team? Why overpaying for Juan Soto will be a colossal mistake; Plus how the Tampa Bay Rays continue to fool everyone in believing they are a winning organization, and more!

Follow Santos/The Baseball Aficionado on Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X: @TheBBAficionado https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

@santos_threads https://www.instagram.com/santos_threads?igsh=Zjd2c2UwMGJnN3gy

Shop Latino Baseball Apparel (Santos Threads) https://santos-threads.com/

YouTube: The Baseball Aficionado Podcast Channel

https://youtube.com/@TheBaseballAficionado?si=ybJj2VdoXe4On0uO

Santos is joined by Willy Baez and Claudio Castillo of Bodega Sports and Yusseff Díaz of Pelota Cubana as they debate which Latino country has the best baseball players of all-time by position. Who in fact is the greatest Latino Baseball player of all-time? Have Dominican Republic and Venezuela benefited most from Cuba politics and Puerto Rico being in the MLB draft? Is Venezuela catching up behind the plate? Who are some of the greatest players to either never play in MLB or arrived too late? ; Latino players who failed to live up to the hype, and more.

Follow Santos/The Baseball Aficionado on Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X: @TheBBAficionado https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

@santos_threads https://www.instagram.com/santos_threads?igsh=Zjd2c2UwMGJnN3gy

Shop Latino Baseball Apparel (Santos Threads) https://santos-threads.com/

YouTube: The Baseball Aficionado Podcast Channel https://youtube.com/@TheBaseballAficionado?si=ybJj2VdoXe4On0uO

Follow Bodega Sports on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/Bodega.Sports/ https://www.facebook.com/share/PREWX5TY9GZDxshP/?mibextid=qi2Omg

Follow Yusseff Diaz and Pelota Cubana/Cuban Baseball Digest IG:

https://www.instagram.com/yusseff305?igsh=MTh5YnNxa2c1aGxueQ==

https://www.instagram.com/pelota_cubana_usa?igsh=MTd4bHpiYWlzMmszNA==

https://twitter.com/yusseff305

https://twitter.com/pelotacubanausa/status/1778095557468213701https://pelotacubanausa.com/

https://cubanbaseballdigest.com/

Santos is joined by Willy Baez of Bodega Sports and Yusseff Díaz of Pelota Cubana as they recap the MLB first half; including All-Star game snubs, first half Rookies of the Year, Cy Young, MVP candidates and more. Does MLB hate Francisco Lindor? Who has been the biggest surprise performance amongst Latino players Heliot Ramos or Ronel Blanco? Ohtani vs Ozuna, what is really the difference in the NL MVP race? Who will be traded at the MLB deadline? Does the All-Star game still matter? Paul Skenes robbed of a no-hitter? WAR what is it good for? Another Babe Ruth reference, and more!

Follow Santos/The Baseball Aficionado on Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X: @TheBBAficionado https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

@santos_threads https://www.instagram.com/santos_threads?igsh=Zjd2c2UwMGJnN3gy

Shop Latino Baseball Apparel (Santos Threads) https://santos-threads.com/

YouTube: The Baseball Aficionado Podcast Channel

https://youtube.com/@TheBaseballAficionado?si=ybJj2VdoXe4On0uO

Follow Bodega Sports on Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/Bodega.Sports/ https://www.facebook.com/share/PREWX5TY9GZDxshP/?mibextid=qi2Omg

Follow Yusseff Diaz and Pelota

Cubana/Cuban Baseball Digest IG/X:

https://www.instagram.com/yusseff305?igsh=MTh5YnNxa2c1aGxueQ==

https://www.instagram.com/pelota_cubana_usa?igsh=MTd4bHpiYWlzMmszNA==

https://twitter.com/yusseff305

https://twitter.com/pelotacubanausa/status/1778095557468213701https://pelotacubanausa.com/ https://cubanbaseballdigest.com/

Santos is rejoined by Yusseff Díaz of Pelota Cubana to discuss the Baseball Hall of Fame, Latinos who should be in the hall but have either fallen off the ballot or are surrounded by controversy; The upcoming enshrinment of Adrian Beltre; The Hall of Fame case for Tetelo Vargas, The issue with the Negro League Stats and it's Latino legacy. Why Omar Vizquel's legacy is tarnished; Has Bernie Williams' career been overlooked? Why is Rafael Palmeiro so hated? Venezuela's upcoming Hall of Famers; Do Dominican players emphasize defense enough? Plus more! Follow Santos on Social media:

IG:

@thebaseballaficionado

https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X:

@TheBBAficionado

https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

@santos_threads

https://www.instagram.com/santos_threads?igsh=Zjd2c2UwMGJnN3gy

Shop Latino Baseball Apparel (Santos Threads)

https://santos-threads.com/

YouTube: The Baseball Aficionado Podcast Channel

https://youtube.com/@TheBaseballAficionado?si=ybJj2VdoXe4On0uO

Follow Yusseff Diaz and Pelota Cubana/Cuban Baseball Digest IG:

https://www.instagram.com/yusseff305?igsh=MTh5YnNxa2c1aGxueQ==

https://www.instagram.com/pelota_cubana_usa?igsh=MTd4bHpiYWlzMmszNA==

https://twitter.com/yusseff305

https://twitter.com/pelotacubanausa/status/1778095557468213701https://pelotacubanausa.com/ https://cubanbaseballdigest.com/

Santos reunites with Willy Baez of Bodega Sports to recap the MLB month of May; including early picks for Cy Young, MVP, best Latino player performances and more. Willy asks Santos his thoughts on why Dominican Republic has been unable to produce dominant catchers, and why Venezuela has seemingly been able to grab the baton from Puerto Rico. Aaron Judge vs Juan Soto AL MVP talk; Is Luis Arraez really the modern day Tony Gwynn? Is it time for the Blue Jays and Mets to go full on rebuild? Pete Alonso to the Mariners? Why the Houston Astros can return from the dead; Can Shohei Ohtani win the MVP as a DH?

Follow Santos/The Baseball Aficionado on Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado

https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X: @TheBBAficionado

https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

@santos_threads

https://www.instagram.com/santos_threads?igsh=Zjd2c2UwMGJnN3gy

Shop Latino Baseball Apparel (Santos Threads) https://santos-threads.com/

YouTube:

The Baseball Aficionado Podcast Channel

https://youtube.com/@TheBaseballAficionado?si=ybJj2VdoXe4On0uO

Follow Bodega Sports on Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/Bodega.Sports/

https://www.facebook.com/share/PREWX5TY9GZDxshP/?mibextid=qi2Omg

Santos talks about the decline of Puerto Rican born stars in MLB and addresses reasons for the current situation; how MLB has abandoned investing in baseball on the island, why the LBPRC (Puerto Rico winter league) needs to do a better job of marketing itself and how that can help baseball. Puerto Rico without any all-stars this season? Why MLB should consider funding a new baseball academy in Puerto Rico, Could Johnathan Rodriguez and Heliot Ramos breathe new life into Puerto Rican baseball?

Follow Santos/The Baseball Aficionado on Social media:

IG: @thebaseballaficionado https://www.instagram.com/thebaseballaficionado?igsh=ZGdmaXMxZThqMXpn

Twitter/X: @TheBBAficionado

https://x.com/TheBBAficionado?t=yWRE6FUDMv7yiCSiAY_5rw&s=09

@santos_threads https://www.instagram.com/santos_threads?igsh=Zjd2c2UwMGJnN3gy

Shop Latino Baseball Apparel (Santos Threads)

https://santos-threads.com/

YouTube: The Baseball Aficionado Podcast Channel

https://youtube.com/@TheBaseballAficionado?si=ybJj2VdoXe4On0uO