Happy Birthday Joakim Soria!

by Freneau on May 18, 2009 12:56 AM EDT in Kansas City Royals News

On this date in 1984, in Monclova Mexico, Joakim Soria was born.

Little did his parents know, but some 26 years later, he'd be managed by a man who would call him "Jack" and that most people would casually refer to him as "the Mexicutioner". Had they known these things, that May day, God only knows what they might have thought awaited their newborn son.

Perhaps his rise to glory could happen only in America, as they say. There remains as well a certain cartoonishness surrounding his fame about which the same might be said.

Under team control until 2014, in just three short seasons Soria has gone from Rule V obscurity to one of the most feared closers in the game.

It took little time for Soria to move up to third on the team's all-time saves list, though we might have to wait awhile for another chance to update the standings:

Royals All-Time Saves Leaders

Jeff Montgomery- 304
Dan Quisenberry- 238
Joakim Soria- 66
Doug Bird- 58
Roberto Hernandez- 54

It isn't the same watching a Royals game without the possibility of a Soria appearance, and the faster our man returns from injury, the better.

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Can't wait to get "Jack" back!

Let’s hope Cruz can hold down the fort in the mean time. Here is the question…when Soria gets back…who goes? Ponson, Hernandez, Hochevar?? I’m still hoping Hoch can get it going and help us out… I would have to say it will be Hernandez.

by Clearly Ambiguous on May 18, 2009 2:06 AM EDT reply actions

well, if Aviles and Pena are still out, hernandez is staying, so it all depends.

"I can resist everything but temptation." - oscar wylde

by cfizzle on May 18, 2009 3:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Speaking of Aviles...is he going to the DL?

Or…is he just getting some additional time off to get things straight? Wondering if the forearm is the real issue…

by Clearly Ambiguous on May 18, 2009 3:30 AM EDT up reply actions

One thing about "Jack"

He’s from a middle-class family (the traditional family profession is dentistry) in Monclova, a comparatively well-off city near the Texas border. He’s been to school and all that, and he speaks good English. The far north of Mexico is the wealthiest part of the country, and it’s got a lot of connections to the US. They get American TV and are constantly exposed to American culture. I would imagine that Jack is somewhat Americanized, and doesn’t mind being called “Jack.”

I know nothing about internal locker-room dynamics, but I would imagine Jack has more in common with the American players on the Royals rather than with the Dominicans / Venezuelans / whatever, who are generally from poor families and undereducated, don’t speak much English, and don’t get as much US influence as far north Mexico does.

Finally, one thing. Latin American societies are generally a good deal more racist than the US, especially socially. Soria is either white or a light mestizo, unlike most Latin players, who are black or dark mestizo (exception: Americans of Cuban descent, who mostly descend from the white Cuban middle class, who were largely second- or third-generation immigrants from Spain. Most of the black folks stayed on the island.) In LatAm, it’s prestigious to be connected to Europe or the US. So I don’t imagine Soria minds getting an American nickname from his manager.

It's pronounced Poo-ZHOLS in Catalan.

by Juancho on May 18, 2009 4:40 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs

I'll simply strongly recommend this post

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by Matt Klaassen on May 18, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions

sure

although unless Hillman knew about all these subtle points (not sure how the dark-skinned guys are more racist plays in) and they motivated him to Americanize his name, I’m not sure how they matter more than pointing out a happy coincidence

of course hillman likely had nothing of the sort on his mind, he just went with something easier to say, which is pretty effing lame if you ask me

by Freneau on May 18, 2009 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions

easy

I just thought it was an insightful post

I think “Jack” is a silly nickname, too

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by Matt Klaassen on May 18, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks

I wasn’t trying to imply that Soria or anyone else in particular is racist. My point is that Soria is a white suburban kid whose dad is a dentist from a town where they have paved streets, running water, shopping malls, movie theaters, high schools, and Little League teams that have uniforms and proper diamonds and all that. Just like most of us posters here on this site.

He doesn’t have very much in common with a black Dominican kid who comes from a town where they live in shacks and play ball with a stick and a rock and have a per capita income of like four thousand bucks a year, if that.

They speak very different versions of Spanish. The Mexican standard dialect is pretty close to the “international standard,” if one exists, while Dominican poor people speak a dialect that I can’t understand very well. Culturally, everything’s different. They don’t eat the same food, listen to the same music, have the same social customs. Northern Mexico is very Americanized, as well, which the DR isn’t. Everybody there who has been to school speaks at least some English.

Comparing Soria to most Dominican players is sort of like comparing the son of a dentist from Overland Park to some hillbilly from Assboink, Arkansas. That doesn’t mean people from the DR or Assboink are inferior or anything, just that they ain’t the same kind of people.

I very much doubt that Hillman knew any of this. My guess is that he automatically mentally categorizes Soria along with the American players, since he’s much more like them than he is like the other Latinos, and hung “Jack” on him as a nickname, just like we had Dougie and Grudz and Sabes and Monty and other shortened versions of long names or names difficult to pronounce.

It's pronounced Poo-ZHOLS in Catalan.

by Juancho on May 18, 2009 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions

It's not that dark-skinned guys are more racist

It’s that Latin American societies are quite racist. The whiter your skin is, the higher your social class is. Even in Brazil, the place where they probably handle black-white relations the best (they’re not that good about relations with the Amazonian Indians, many of whom wind up prematurely dead), a common saying is “Marry white,” meaning that to climb the social scale, you need to marry someone lighter than you.

In Argentina, where everybody’s either white or light mestizo, the well-off white folks of Buenos Aires (descendents of 1880s-1920s immigrants from Europe mixed with the existing white middle and upper classes) refer to the light mestizos, who are working-class and often from the country, as “cabezas negras,” or “black heads.” That’s because they have black hair, which middle-class folks from BA do not have.

It's pronounced Poo-ZHOLS in Catalan.

by Juancho on May 18, 2009 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions

interesting...

although whether he minds it or not, I still think Hillman’s calling him “jack” sounds stupid

though I guess its better than Joakim-y or something

by Freneau on May 18, 2009 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions

I think the should call him 'Kim (pronounced like Keem)

The he could be “Keemie”

Either that or Mr. Rogers.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by Matt Klaassen on May 18, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Good stuff

I don’t know much other than from seeing them on TV, but Soria seems to talk to Juan Cruz a lot.

And we all know he is tight with Greinke, who “saved his life” on Royals Insider.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 18, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions

You're right about:

It isn’t the same watching a Royals game without the possibility of a Soria appearance

No matter where you stand on the starter/closer argument, the 7th and 8th innings are a lot more fun to watch when you know Soria’s closing the game out in the 9th.

by hippdoghipp on May 18, 2009 9:45 AM EDT reply actions

Happy Birthday, Soria

Is his Irish cousin still in the Royals’ system?

Great reliever. Hope he gets well soon.

That said… Most valuable 2008 Royals according to FanGraphs WAR (signiificantly updated by them since the last offseason posting about this):

Gil Meche 4.8
Zack Greinke 4.7
Mike Aviles 4.4
David DeJesus 2.7
Alex Gordon 2.6
Ramon Ramirez 1.8
Kyle Davies 1.8
Mark Grudzielanek 1.7
Luke Hochevar 1.7
Joakim Soria 1.5

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by Matt Klaassen on May 18, 2009 11:17 AM EDT reply actions

for the record, I think he was a bit more valuable than that, I have him at 2.3 WAR last season, and RamRam at 2.5

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by Matt Klaassen on May 18, 2009 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions

Ram Ram (and mostly Nick Green) blew the game against the Mariners yesterday, btw

by Freneau on May 18, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions

I take it back

Retroactivley deduct 1.5 WAR from Ramirez’s 2008.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by Matt Klaassen on May 18, 2009 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions

if not more.

that pretty much justifies the trade (although i was a fan of the trade at the time and still am)

by benfunke on May 18, 2009 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions

On the Royals game yesterday

Ryan Lefebvre remarked how little Soria has been needed while he’s been injured. I think he said there have only been two games that have been save opportunities in the last three weeks (I think yesterday was the third).

So doesn’t that kinda illustrate how less important a closer is than another good starting pitcher?

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 18, 2009 12:06 PM EDT reply actions

If nothing else it calls into question the usage of closers

and points to the “fireman” role as being most important.

by AxDxMx on May 18, 2009 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions

I enjoy the comfort

of knowing if the scrub middle reliever manages to get out the 1 out, bases loaded 7th inning jam, and another reliever manages to get through the eighth, Soria will lock down the 9th.

by PopeSoria on May 18, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes you are correct

Could I also add; It can also be the types of games Royals have been in since Soria has been injured. That plays into not just how good your SPs or MR is, but also your offense. If you can’t keep it close there is no save opportunity, also if you blow people away…

But I agree it is great to have a lock down closer, but it is equally as important to have at least 2-3 solid set up men.
It seems those middle innings as well are usually at a higher level of importancel. (ie you can’t win in the 9th if you’re already giving up runs since the SP was yanked…..or it just makes it harder to win)

by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on May 18, 2009 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Closer Value

It pains me that we have had a few high leverage situations in the 7th and 8th inn where our best pitcher out of the pen is sitting because he has too clearly defined a role with too many variables that have to be in place to use him. Would you rather hand the ball to Soria with 2 guys on in a tie game in the 7th? Or with a relatively low leverage 3 run lead in the ninth? “Peace of mind” issues aside, I think there is little doubt where the fire is put out and the game is decided.

if you have equitable arms out of the pen, than saving the best for last isn’t a losing option. But following baseball rule of thumb when you don’t have the personnel is questionable at best.

Granted this is from a mediocre college player and a fan with just 2 cents to give. That said, bring back the fireman!

by mcaster24 on May 18, 2009 3:48 PM EDT reply actions