[BirdWatcher]

So something I've been enjoying the past few days is looking at the history of the WPK so far and seeing where the players come from- in terms of nation of origin.

Of course the vast majority were born in the U.S.A. but it's great fun to see the nations that have been represented in the WPK thus far by just a few players, or even just one.

Among the countries that have only sent a single player to the WPK:
-Austria (the great retired reliever Benni Herregger)
-Brazil (current Detroit Falcons starting pitcher Lancarote Serr)
-The British Virgin Islands (AA first baseman Ellis McNally in the Milwaukee organization, who has had a few cups of coffee in the WPK)
-Chile (slugging Detroit veteran right fielder Roberto Camacho)
-China (32-year old right fielder Tin-jong Wang, currently in AA in the San Francisco organization but who has played parts of 5 WPK seasons, though most recently in 1972)
-Honduras (retired left fielder Melvin Martinez, who played in only 18 WPK games for Seattle between the 1966 and 1968 seasons)
-Suriname (Barry Baars, a second baseman who won a Gold Glove for his play with Seattle in 1974 but is currently in AAA)


There have been two Germans in the WPK- both starting pitchers: former Denver Brewer Volker Kuhn who retired in 1973, and current Charlotte knuckleballer Lienhart Brown, who was drafted 1st overall in the 1969 draft after playing collegiately at Oral Roberts University.

There have been two South Africans, both now retired after having short and undistinguished careers.

There have been three players out of the Netherlands, two of them now retired. Relief pitcher Denis Van der Vegt probably has had the most significant big league career of the three and he retired in 1977 having compiled a big league record of 5 wins, 13 losses, 8 saves, and a 6.41 ERA, having pitched parts of 5 seasons for the San Antonio Keys. If you want to call that pitching.

There have also been three players out of Aruba and they have acquitted themselves quite a bit better. Among them is starting pitcher Reece Vaughan who has amassed 187 career WPK wins and has an outside chance of making the Hall of Fame (unlikely). And while Joost Poot, who at one time was in the Brewers organization, is now playing at single A at the age of 28, the speedy defensive specialist did win a Gold Glove award in 1973 as the starting center fielder for the Los Angeles Spinners. He played for L.A. for a good portion of 4 seasons. The third, 38-year old Derrick Opdam, who is currently pitching in AAA, only has appeared in 19 games at the WPK level, but with a career ERA of 2.83 and WHIP of 1.18 he certainly can be proud of his accomplishments.

Of the 9 WPK players from Australia, Jeremy Brigatti of the Brooklyn Aces has been by far the most significant. A 3-time All-Star and 2-time Gold Glover, Brigatti has amassed 37.2 WAR in his 8+ years as a big leaguer, has led the league in stolen bases 4 times and has 407 career stolen bases with 176 times caught trying.

Out of 29 Canadian WPK players, retired starting pitcher Art McMartin (45.5 WAR) and current Columbus left-handed starter and 2-time SJL Pitcher of the Year Jim Norris are the most significant.

Colombia has been represented by 9 players in the WPK with the best former Brewers left-handed starting pitcher Daniel Torres, who twice led the MGL in ERA.

Four players have represented Costa Rica in the WPK, none significant enough to mention.

Cuba has had 19 WPK players, several of whom have been quite good but probably the best thus far is retired starting pitcher Manny Carvajal, who put up 40.9 WAR in just over 10 seasons in the WPK before retiring in 1976.

Curacao has sent 7 players to the WPK- the most notable is retired outfielder Akke Holierhoek, who retired in 1976 with 15.8 WAR over roughly 10 seasons.

I didn't bother to count how many natives of the Dominican Republic have played in the WPK, but it's a pretty high number. Among them are many greats and at least 1 or 2 future Hall of Famers. The most sure HOF'er of the Dominican players is third baseman Jesus Casiano. Retired starting pitcher Chris Hernandez should also get some HOF votes, though he will likely fall a bit short. And the same could likely be said of Jose Santos, though Santos, with his tremendous reputation and 2 Pitcher of the Year awards, may end up enshrined in Dubuque eventually.

Among the 29 Japanese players who have graced the WPK, Denver ace Sadahige Kawasaki has thus far had the best career and teammate Sekien Hamasaki is probably number 2 on that list.

Twenty two players from Mexico have been WPK players. The best, at least by WAR, thus far is retired starting pitcher Manny Nieto, but certainly in terms of impact and name recognition you can't beat Eduardo Obando.

Nicaragua has sent just 6 players to the WPK, and by far the best is Leo Gavilla, the long-time team Captain for the mighty Columbus Whalers, who has a Gold Glove and 2 All-Star appearances but more importantly 4 championship rings to show for it. In his nearly 13 big league years he has put up 42.4 WAR.

Panama has 8 players who have played in the WPK, but one of them-Jesus Hernandez- is among the biggest stars in the game and an almost sure Hall-of-Famer.

Thirty three Puerto Ricans have hit the WPK, none with greater impact then retired starting pitcher Danny Estrada, who pitched for Philadelphia and Detroit in his 11 year big league career, being named an All-Star 4 times and winning 2 Gold Glove awards.

South Korea has seen 11 WPK players, but former Brewers ace and future first ballot Hall of Fame starting pitcher Cheol-han Lee is by far the best of the lot.

Taiwan has sent 13 players to the WPK and nearly half of them have been pretty impactful. Outfielder Ju-au Ju, who has led the league in home runs 4 times, been an All-Star 7 times, and a Silver Slugger the same amount, and won the MGL MVP award in 1977, is the most significant. Philly's superstar second baseman Xiao-mei Mah still has some years though to try to catch up.

And last, but certainly not least, Venezuela. Again, like the Dominican Republic, the number of WPK players from this country is large enough that I didn't bother counting them. Among them are sure Hall of Famer Felix Lopez and another center fielder who is building a strong case for the Hall in Lazaro Lowndes. Frank Hernandez won the SJL MVP award in 1965 and probably would have been a candidate for the Hall had he not already been 31 years old when the league was formed. The recently retired Antonio Sosa is a possible Hall of Famer, though he will likely fall a bit short. And Brooklyn first baseman Danny Salvador has been quite an impact player as well. Among Venezuelan born pitchers, Joel Travino, also a Brooklyn Ace, set the WPK single season strikeout record last season. And let's not forget Denver catcher Zacarias Martell, who has put together a nice little career.