ESPNdeportes.com presents ‘The Rise of the Latinos’.

As a prelude to its coverage of the inaugural World Baseball Classic and the 2006 Major League Baseball regular season, ESPN.com and ESPNdeportes.com will present “The Rise of the Latinos,” a four-part, multimedia-laden series chronicling the history of Latinos in Major League Baseball. The series will be featured in special sections on both sites, Tuesday, Feb. 28 – Fri., March 3.

Highlights of “The Rise of the Latinos” on ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com

Tuesday, Feb. 28

Hall of Fame pitcher and ESPN Deportes baseball analyst Juan Marichal, with ESPNdeportes.com editor David Venn, describes how far Latinos have come since he made his major-league debut in 1960.

ESPN Motion: Exclusive interview with Dominican slugger David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox.

ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney writes about Minnie Minoso and being locked out of the Hall of Fame
Arriba Baseball: An interactive map of Latin America featuring information, including facts and country-specific statistics, related to Major League Baseball.

Flash presentation: 16 snapshots that take an in-depth look at breakthrough Latin American players through the years.

Wednesday, March 1

Overcoming language barriers. Miami Herald baseball writer Kevin Baxter reports.

Clubhouse cliques. Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Miguel Batista comments on how players from different countries gravitate toward one another.

Chat with ESPN Deportes’ baseball announcer Ernesto Jerez at 3 p.m., ET., on ESPN.com and 3:30 p.m., ET., on ESPNdeportes.com. The sites will feature audio files of Jerez’s home run call, plus calls from other Spanish-speaking broadcasters. One of ESPN’s most respected Spanish-language announcers, Jerez is known for his signature home run call: “[A lo profundo… y] ¡no… no,no, no,no, no…! ¡Dígale que no a esa pelota!” (It’s deep into the outfield. No, no, no, no, no. That ball is outta of here.)

Thursday, March 2

ESPN.com’s baseball columnist Jerry Crasnick reports on how agents help players get acclimated to a major-league lifestyle.
Exclusive interview with New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya. Minaya discusses the key role Major League Baseball teams play in helping foreign players feel at home.

ESPN Motion: Interviews highlighting Latino Hall of Famers, including Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Tony Perez and Luis Aparicio. The feature will also include an interview with Roberto Clemente Jr., son of the late Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.

Chat with Roberto Clemente Jr., at 4 p.m., ET on ESPN.com.

Friday, March 3

Will the World Baseball Classic make a difference in how Latin players are perceived in the U.S.? ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports.
Latino All-Star Team. ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer unveils his starting Latin American squad from the last 25 years. The story also features a selection of photos of Neyer’s all-Latino lineup.

Image-makers: How Latino players are becoming the faces of their franchises—and of baseball. ESPN.com investigative reporter Michael Fish reports. The story also takes a look at the marketing successes and failures of ad campaigns using Latino major leaguers.