Many professional baseball players compete in winter ball in a Latin American country (or now Australia) following the MLB season. The Latin players (and now Australian players) return home to play in front of the energetic hometown fans in a way of giving back, like SF Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, KC Royals utility fielder Wilson Betemit, and Atlanta Braves reliever Peter Moylan. Some play winter ball to make up for lost time due to an injury, like NY Mets right-hander Oliver Perez (or in his case wildness) and Baltimore Orioles first base prospect Robbie Widlansky, who fractured his ankle while playing with Double-A Bowie. Widlansky is hitting .336 for the Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League (as he has played in all 28 games).

Winter ball gives players a chance to keep playing

Some play winter ball to get more at-bats, pitch more innings, and to work on things, like Philadelphia Phillies rookie outfielder Domonic Brown (though he went home after just nine games) and other prospects like Mike Wilson of the Seattle Mariners and Yunesky Maya of the Washington Nationals (who just earned Dominican League Pitcher of the Year with a league-leading 1.32 ERA). Utility fielder Ramiro Pena of the NY Yankees got only 154 at-bats while spending the entire 2010 season in the majors and is now playing winter ball in his home country of Mexico.

Some play to increase their value to their current club or to another club looking to acquire players via a trade, like Yankees minor league pitcher Josh Schmidt. He has put up good numbers in the minor leagues, but has had trouble moving up from Double-A Trenton (despite back-to-back Eastern League All-Star seasons). Schmidt is predominantly starting in Venezuela and is holding a 2.79 ERA over 23 starts, as he also leads the league in strikeouts with 69. Others play to try and find a job for the upcoming season, like veteran left-hander Jamie Moyer (who has now succumbed to Tommy John surgery) and minor league free agent Scot Drucker (who ended up playing in two winter ball leagues-the DR and Mexico). Veteran Bartolo Colon is seeking employment and is pitching well in his comeback in the Dominican Republic. Colon is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in seven starts with 28 strikeouts to just 6 walks. Others just cannot walk away from the game and keep playing, like former All-Star third baseman Vinny Castilla. Still others play winter ball to collect an offseason paycheck because some make more money in winter ball then they did in the entire minor league season. Plus it is easier to play baseball than to try and find a job in this economy in the United States that would work around a baseball player’s offseason workout schedule.

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