El Pupo

Bernardo Brito, 1993 Pinnacle, Rookie Prospects

Let us check on the prospects of rookie prospect Bernardo Brito.



Talk about paying your dues!

I know, right! What are we talking about?

Bernardo spent 12 seasons in the minors before finally getting the call from Minnesota mid-September last season.

Oh, I see. I do wonder if Bernardo would have been required to pay off such extensive dues had he been able to hit the ol’ breaking ball. I do think, however, we—and by “we” I mean, you: Pinnacle—must distinguish between a rookie and a rookie prospect. Certainly, upon getting called up to the majors Brito qualified as a rookie, similar to when Randy Quaid’s brother played a 70-year old baseball rookie in that movie called … I forget the name. But was he a “prospect” in that scouts were licking their chops, and organizations were investing their future in him, and impressionable kids such as myself were stocking up on his baseball cards with the hopes that like the three years he had remaining in professional ball, if he could even stay in the bigs, might lead to the Hall of Fame and drive up our investment portfolio?

Considering that B.B. hailed from the D.R., where many a player has fibbed about his age upon reaching the land of milk and hardball, it could be that Bernardo had several factors working against his favor.

1981, Twins public tryouts

Calvin Griffith, Twins GM: Alright, son. How about you? What’s your name?

Brito: My name? Is uh, Bernard … o Burrito.

Griffith: Bernardo Burrito?

Brito: Um, no. Try, Bernardo Brito.

Griffith: What’s your middle name?

Brito: Ummm, Gerard …o.

Griffith: Your name is Bernardo Gerardo Brito?

Brito: Yes, I am Spanish.

Griffith: What position do you play?

Brito: I don’t care, the grass? Wherever. I will hit mucho home runs.

Griffith: How old are you?

Brito: I am, how you say, 16.

Griffith: Sixteen?

Brito:



Griffith: We’re gonna start you in Single A, see what you got.

According to this awesome Michael Rand RandBall page, Brito was known as El Pupo, Spanish for “the Pupo” (literally, as Rand points out). Also, he hit 299 career minor league home runs before taking his talents to the Pacific Rim. He eventually returned to America in order to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming the designated hitter and then hitting coach for the Sioux Falls Canaries. The best part about the Canaries, besides their penchant for intimidating the opposition by singing lightly and pleasantly in their general direction, is that they issue baseball cards:



I forgot to mention that these canaries are giant canaries and they will celebrate victory on your field of baseball without remorse. The city of Sioux Falls is most famous for its corn and also its canaries.