INDIANAPOLIS -- Cuban baseball fans call Victor Mesa 'El Loco,' meaning 'the crazy one.'
Opponents have other names for him, most of them unprintable.
Mesa, the leadoff hitter and chief intimidator for the Cuban national team, is a first class 'hot dog,' a slang term used to identify someone whose style comes across as arrogant. As they once said about Reggie Jackson, there is not enough mustard on earth to cover this guy.
'Some people don't like my style,' said Mesa, 'but it's the way I've always played. When I first started with the national team nine years ago, they thought I was a clown. Now they know I'm just playing hard.'
Mesa, who wears black high-top shoes and more colorful leggings then his teammates, will sprint from the on-deck circle to the batter's box and heckle the pitcher when he is at the plate. He will prance around the base after a hit, or instead of running back to his dugout behind the plate, he'll run across the pitcher's mound and say something to the opposing pitcher.
If he doesn't like a call, he might jump in the air and start arguing with the umpire. He's always jabbering, especially to the opposing pitcher and catcher.
In a recent games against a U.S. team, the flamboyant Mesa -- who sometimes rolls his sleeves up to his shoulder showing off his muscular arms -- took a pitch inside, jumped back, then flexed his arms and rolled his shoulders as if to say, 'Hey, try that again.'
Mesa's antics did not go unnoticed by the U.S. team on its recent five-game tour in Cuba.
'If this wasn't international baseball, I'd probably stick one right under Victor Mesa's nose,' said U.S. pitcher Gregg Olson. 'The guy is a little too cocky. If nothing else, I could bring one high inside. Then I'd just throw up my hands real apologetic and say, 'Oh Victor, so sorry.''
Bob Nykyforchyn, an American umpire who went to Cuba to work the series, knows Mesa well, having worked international games and serving as an interpreter for the Cuban team on its U.S. tour last year.
'Mesa is definitely the catalyst of the Cuban team,' Nykyforchyn said. 'He's the center of attention at the plate and when he's in the field, he's also the guy yelling in from the outfield -- yelling at his own pitcher.
'He's like a boy with his hands caught in the cookie jar. There are times when you want to get mad at him, but you really can't. He has the arrogance of a guy like Reggie Jackson, except he's even more outgoing about it.'
But Nykyforchyn quickly adds that Mesa is a 'super nice guy.'
His ability on the field is unquestioned. The 27-year-old center fielder has a good arm, hits with power and has great speed. Every time he is on base, he is a threat to steal. He reportedly is the country's top base stealer when playing for his provencial team in La Millas.
He is a favorite among the Cuban fans where baseball is the country's national sport. Mesa has helped Cuba to four straight world championships and will try to help Cuba win its seventh Pan American title.
Mesa, who said he supports his wife and child by teaching physical education, said he does not follow the major leagues in the U.S.
'I'm very happy in Cuba,' he said, 'and I love playing baseball.'
