On Yuni B...

I have a love/hate relationship with Yuniesky Betancourt. Part of me loves the story of the man, while the other part hates watching the baseball player. This conflict is insignificant, but it does make watching Brewers games slightly more complicated. Allow me to elaborate on the two sides of the Yuni B coin.

1) Yuniesky Betancourt is the embodiment of the American dream

What we know is Betancourt escaped Cuba in 2003. The official story is that he came to the United States via raft, though amendments to the story claim he was smuggled out of Cuba through unknown channels. The details of his sojourn to America are not as important as the fact he escaped the oppressive poverty of communism and parlayed his ability to play baseball into a lucrative career in Major League Baseball* once he arrived in the Land of Opportunity. Furthermore, the world is likely a better place because he became a major league baseball player. We know he helped his mother and grandmother get to America from Cuba, and I'm sure his wealth is helping/will help people in need. He's a reminder that there are more important things in life than baseball.

*$15,755,000 according to Baseball-Reference.com.

2) Watching Yunikesky Betancourt play baseball often makes me want to vomit

This part of the post is 100% inspired by him grounding into a fielder's choice leading to the Rickie Weeks being thrown out at home and the Brewers losing the game. It was both an awful pitch to swing at and the worst realistic outcome of the play. You can argue this play is not Betancourt's fault because he should not even be on a major league roster, especially considering he currently has a 55 OPS+ and is hitting .164 since May 1. However, he is on a major league roster and it just so happens it is that of my favorite team. I do not like this one bit because he's bad at what he's paid to do. (In his defense, he deserves kudos for some game winning hits this season).

Conclusion

The story of Yuniesky Betancourt is a great one. I'm happy he's made the most of his opportunities and in a very real way he's an inspiration to us all. With that said, I'm counting the days until he no longer plays for the Milwaukee Brewers.