Last of a three-part series about the recent rise of Latin American players on the Phillies' big-league roster and within the entire organization.
It's even more challenging, however, if you come from a country where the primary language is not English. Add in the political unrest, violence, and the ongoing economic meltdown of a place like Venezuela and you wonder how players from that country can focus at all on the game they love so much.
"Latin players live in a much different world," said former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., son of a Mexican-born father and a Cuban-born grandfather (Santos).