Andujar Appreciated by Villanueva

Though not old enough to have actually seen Joaquin Andujar pitch in person, Carlos Villanueva was still very familiar with the former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher.

“He’s a guy who brought a lot of joy–my dad always mentioned him.,” said Villanueva before Tuesday’s game. “He was definitely one of the great ones we had, so it’s sad to hear about his passing.”

Andujar passed away Tuesday at the age of 62 after suffering from complications caused by diabetes.

Villanueva was born in Santiago, a nearby municipality of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, which is where Andujar was from. Often described as the Cardinals “insurance policy” in the bullpen, Villanueva understands what Andujar meant by his description of being “One Tough Dominican”.

“I don’t think it has to be with a Dominican tough…it’s just such a different process, players coming from the Dominican and here,” Villanueva explained. “Here it’s from Little League to Peanut League or whatever to high school to college and all that. It’s so organized. But we’re thrown into the fire. Most of the kids back home don’t even go to school. Their school is a ballpark and you play everyday, all day, all year round, since you’re five years-six years old. We see it as maybe our only way out–way out of the country, way out to a better life for us and our family. Here a lot of guys dream of making, but for different reasons–for the most part. So for us, it’s implanted since we’re very young that you have to be tough.

“And it’s also the macho culture of the Caribbean,” added Villanueva. “Our grandfathers, and our great-grandfathers–you have to be tough, tough it out, there’s no crying, no complaining. I was raised a little bit like that and obviously it helps a lot when you go through the ups and downs of this game, which it’s more downs than ups. You hope for the middle ground more but definitely the way that we are raised and were bred to be that way–it doesn’t work for everybody, but I know for me, the times that I’ve been, this crazy ride that I’ve been on, times that I’ve needed kind of reach back for a little more of that mental strength, you go back to those times of and just remember how incredibly blessed and lucky you were just to make it out of the country, and then make it through the minor leagues, and then make it for a long time here. It definitely eases a little bit when you have those struggles.”

With his outing on Tuesday, Villanueva has now made thee appearances of 3+ innings out of the bullpen this season.

photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports