Venezuela's Ray Olmedo Talks Baseball

One of the Brewers organization's top infielders is second baseman Ray Olmedo, who has spent much of five previous seasons in the majors. Olmedo is a regular starter for the AAA Nashville Sounds, now battling for first place in the PCL North Division with Iowa, Memphis and Omaha.

Olmedo, nicknamed "Rainer", has played in almost 200 big league games with the Reds and Blue Jays. He carries on the very strong Venezuelan baseball tradition in the majors and counts several of the Venezuelan baseball legends as mentors and coaches, including Omar Vizquel, Luis Aparicio and Dave Concepcion. Olmedo is grateful for his family, friends and coaches.

"I've had a lot of guys help me," said Olmedo outside the Sounds' clubhouse. "I've had a lot of good experiences that have helped me." Olmedo mentions he is good friends with fellow Venezuelan player Alex Gonzalez (Blue Jays) and has learned a lot from such players and legends as Ken Griffey, Jr., and Barry Larkin with the Reds. He is also grateful for his family.

"I'm very appreciative to my dad," said Olmedo. "He did everything with me, especially when I was little. He threw to me and my brother a lot, helping us get better. Now I have my wife and baby who really support me. They are my main motivation now." Olmedo has a three-year-old daughter.

What Is It About this Game We Love?......Baseball

The beautiful, wide open field.....the green grass and broad dimensions......like a field out in the country.....quiet, peaceful, calm.....dirt and grass and sun and wind and rain.....

The classic, historic ball parks....the beautiful, modern ball parks....the little league ball field across town, kept up by parents and friends.....

A game played in a park.....on a diamond. A park and a diamond. Two of our favorite things. And the goal is to "go home." That's another good thing.

It's fast and slow. It's short and long. It's simple yet complex. It's both an individual and a team sport- both at the same time.

The game is determined by both minute fractions of a distance and long, expansive distances.....(examples: the distance on the impact of ball and bat- and the distance of a long home run.)

There is a game within the game- many times over. There are literally countless things every game that the casual observer does not see....There is constant, vital communication throughout the game with no words spoken......drama without words

Every inning, every at-bat, every pitch is like a game in and of itself.

Thousands upon thousands of games have been played throughout its history, yet every game, even every inning, and is different and unique.

There is no clock or time limit. A game could last forever. An inning could last forever. An at-bat could last forever.

It takes place in the spring turning to summer....sunshine and birds singing and hot summer days.....longer days and shorter nights....no school.....

What is the perfect number? Perhaps it is the number three. How long is a game? Three times three. Nine innings.

What is another number denoting perfection? Ten. So how long is the playing and running surface, the base path, of this game? Let's see.....the length of the game (nine innings) multiplied times a number denoting perfection (ten) is ninety. Yea, that's sounds right....

Nashville Sounds International........

The current roster of the Nashville Sounds certainly has some geographic variety. The 24 players hail from 6 countries, 1 territory and 12 states.

Going along with the current international flavor of major league and pro baseball, the Sounds have players from, in addition to the USA: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia.

The two countries perhaps somewhat unique on the list are Canada and Australia. The players on the road less traveled are Adam Stern from London, Ontario, and Trent Oeltjen from Sydney, Australia.

They are both living their dream of playing pro baseball. Both are outfielders. Stern is 30 and Oeltjen is 27. Both played for their national teams in international competition, including the Olympics.

They took time out of their hectic schedule to speak to reporters before a Monday game recently.

"Coming up through the ranks, it has been a great experience," said Oeltjen, shirtless, in the clubhouse. "My goal has been to make to the major leagues." He realized that goal last season with the Diamondbacks. He is one of only 26 players from Australia in the history of the major leagues.

Oeltjen is 6-1, 190 with speed and power and bats and throws lefty. He often bats lead-off and can hit the long ball. On this particular night, he tagged a home run about 390 feet, helping the Sounds win.

Stern has played with four organizations in his career and has spent parts of four seasons in the majors.

Being from Ontario in Canada, Stern described how players there do not get as much playing time because of the weather and the heavy emphasis on hockey.

"Our season was shorter and we only usually played on weekends," said Stern. "Playing college ball here helped me a lot." Stern and a group of players from the London area all played for the Univ. of Nebraska in the Big 12, some of the top college baseball in the nation. He was 2nd team All-Big 12 one season and turned pro after three years. Stern has also made it to the majors, with the Red Sox, Orioles and Brewers.

"There are more players from Canada these days, like Morneau and Jason Bay, so people are more aware of baseball in Canada," said Stern. Currently, there are approximately 19 players in the majors from Canada.

Oeltjen said that baseball is about "eighth or ninth" on the list of most popular sports in Australia, behind the leaders like rugby, cricket, swimming, tennis, golf and others. His dad is from the states, Seattle, and introduced Trent to baseball at a young age.

He played seven years in the Twins organization before playing for Arizona and now Milwaukee. He came up through the Twins farm system with Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and others.

By the way, he likes living in Nashville. After greeting a reporter with a friendly "Hi, mate," he was asked about his adopted city.

"It's a nice place here," he said. "It's neat to go downtown and see all the music playing in the restaurants and bars."

Cruz and Almedo: Ballet Without Music

Ballet without music. Drama without words. A carnival without kewpie dolls.

That's how some have described baseball.

And in Nashville, music city USA, that sounds right. It rings true- especially up the box, where shortstop Luis Cruz and second baseman Ray Olmedo orchestrate the middle of the Sounds' defense.

Their defense is almost an art form- gracefully taking shape amidst the hard-nosed reality of baseball at the highest levels. In a recent series against Oklahoma City, 26 of the 48 players on the two rosters spent time in the major leagues last season. This is not your everyday baseball game- these are the top players in the world.

Cruz, from Mexico, and Olmedo, from Venezuela, have both spent considerable time in the majors.

Olmedo has spent five years in the bigs, four with Cincy and one with Toronto.

Cruz has spent parts of two seasons in the show with the Pirates.

Both are high character guys who are well-spoken and courteous. They make a tough, fast-paced sport look easy. Running to balls all over the field, jumping high during double plays, turning double plays faster than a salsa move on the dance floor, these guys are the real deal.