Both born into relative poverty in the Dominican Republic, S4 Cy Young winner Pedro Rosario is from the small rural community of Moncion. At the time of his birth 25 years ago, that town boasted a population of only about 5,000 people. As a child, Pedro helped support his family by begging and acting as a child guide for the many tourists who came to visit the nearby Parque Nacional Armando Bermúdez. On longer tours, he would often find himself on the Pico Duarte, standing atop the Caribbean and imagining he could see the promised land of America off in the distance. He dreamed of following in the footsteps of his countryman Jose Mesa and firing fastballs by befuddled batters as a career.
By comparison, S4 Cy Young runner-up Miguel Cora grew up in Sabana Grande De Boya as the son of a sugar baron. Though he sampled the sugar from the preferred plantation a bit too often - leading, no doubt, to the intense and somewhat hyper gaze he wears even today - he was nevertheless an excellent student. He frequently accompanied his father on business trips to the United States and knew one day that he would make that trip on his own. Like many young Dominican pitchers at the time, Miguel followed the career of Pedro Martinez closely and knew that one day he too would become a major league pitcher.
But for baseball, the two boys' worlds would never have met. As you may know, however, baseball is like a religion in the Dominican Republic, and it brought these two budding stars together, even before their shared destiny in America. First facing one another on travel teams throughout their childhoods, it wasn't until they met one Fall afternoon in a tournament in 2004 that their rivalry began in earnest.
In the championship game, the starting pitcher for Pedro's team was knocked out in the first inning - literally - by a fierce line drive up the middle. Though he had pitched in relief for the three games prior, Pedro was nevertheless called upon on short notice yet again to keep his team in the game. He did so in thrilling fashion, posting shutout inning after shutout inning in relief. Unfortunately for him, Miguel matched his impressive display inning-for-inning and the game lasted well into the evening. 17 innings later, it became clear to both managers that no batter had a chance to hit either pitcher in the dwindling twilight - after all, they had hardly been able to do so in the full sunshine - and so it was agreed that the teams would share the title.
Both Pedro and Miguel, competitors to the end, found this result distasteful and so they organized as many of their teammates as they could and vowed to continue the epic battle the next day. Tragically, the matchup was not meant to be, as the deadly Hurricane Jeanne plowed into the island the next day and baseball become an afterthought as the players all rushed home to help their respective families.
The next season, a damper was put on the highly anticipated rematch between the teams, as Miguel Cora was no longer in the Dominican Republic, having been signed by the Colorado Kryptonite Kids to a Major League deal. Miguel spent that first season (the records of which were all destroyed in a blazing inferno) pitching in Low A and High A for Colorado, but it was only a matter of time before he made an impact at the ML level. Without Miguel in the way, Pedro's team went on to win the tournament the following season, but it was a hollow victory for Pedro, because his greatest rival was missing.
After that season in the Dominican Republic, Pedro's coach was approached by a scout from the Minnesota Mystique. Though the scout was sent to find an Ace SP, he returned instead with something even better - Pedro and his fellow teammate Willie Amaro. Two iron-man relievers with rubber arms and fantastic stuff.
Minnesota quickly inked them both and the duo eventually led the Mystique to a World Series Title in Season 2. Most satisfying for Pedro? The fact that the Mystique went through the Kryptonite Kids - and his rival Miguel - in the ALCS to get there. Now, 2 seasons later, Miguel is trying to return the favor, having torn through the Mystique in the DCS. Miguel and the Kryptonite Kids stand on the cusp of a World Series title of their own, leading the best-of-7 series 1 game-to-0 over the Portland Green Arrows. Though it is far from over - and with the Green Arrows, it really isn't over until the final out is recorded - the Kryptonite Kids are the betting favorite to take down the title.
If they do so, it would be one World Series title each for Pedro and Miguel. With their childhood teammates scattered across the World and the world, it is unlikely that their epic 17-inning battle will ever be concluded, so perhaps the race to World Series titles will act as a worthy substitute. After all, any team with one of these studs has a better-than-even chance of playing deep into the post-season.
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