He Is a Real Traveling Man : Pepperdine First Baseman Has Competed in Cuba, Canada, Japan and the United States as a Member of Team USA

It was hot in Havana last week. Real hot.

And humid. Real humid.

How hot and humid was it?

Well, it was so hot and humid that Dan Melendez’s Pan American Games’ medal faded from gold to silver to bronze.

Melendez, a former St. Bernard High standout who begins his junior year at Pepperdine on Monday, was the first baseman for the U.S. baseball team in the recently concluded Pan American Games. Before the competition began, the United States appeared to have a lock on a silver medal and was no less than an even-money bet for the gold. But the team wound up staggering to the finish, needing a 15-inning victory over the Dominican Republic to win a bronze medal. Cuba won the competition and Puerto Rico was second.

“It was just a combination of the heat and the long schedule we played,” Melendez said. “We weren’t sharp because we were tired.”

But Melendez isn’t ready for a rest just yet. Saturday night, he will represent the United States again in the International Baseball Assn. World All-Star game at Dodger Stadium. However, this time the world is coming to Melendez: He’ll take a freeway, not a flight, to the game.

“I’m real excited,” Melendez said. “I’m really looking forward to playing at home, before my friends.”

In the six weeks prior to the Pan Am Games, home was a foreign concept for Melendez. In fact, most everything was foreign for Team USA, which played 27 games in such far-flung places as Japan, Canada and Cuba.

“We traveled a lot,” Melendez said. “There were times when we woke up at 4 in the morning, then played a game that night. It just wore us out.

“We started off (the Pan Am Games) 5-0 and things were going pretty well. Then we ran into a lot of problems and we were fortunate to finish the tournament 7-1.”

The team then scored only three runs in 24 innings in the medal round. Melendez and Pepperdine teammate Steve Rodriguez were not immune to the effects of fatigue. Rodriguez had one hit in his final 15 at-bats, watching his Pan Am average drop 101 points to .256. Melendez, who had three home runs in the qualifying round, failed to get a hit in the medal round, slumping from .367 to .297.

“It was real disappointing because we felt we were one of the best teams there,” Melendez said. “Everyone, even the fans and the Cuban people, were looking forward to us meeting the Cubans for the gold.”

That wasn’t the only important showdown that never took place in Havana: The Pan Am Games ended before Team USA’s two undefeated whiffle-ball teams had a chance to play.

“We had a draft and everything,” said Melendez, whose team finished 3-0 to win a share of the title. “If we played a night game, we’d come back and start the whiffle-ball tournament at 10 or 11. If we had a morning game, we’d play whiffle ball in the afternoon.

“We played on the basketball courts right outside our rooms. Even the coaches would come by and watch.”

No medals were awarded in whiffle ball, of course, but the ones Team USA received in baseball were presented by President Fidel Castro, the man who helped popularize the Cuban version of “The Wave.”

“We were watching the other events in our rooms and some of the guys began to notice that he was presenting a lot of the medals,” Melendez said. “So we began to wonder if he would give us our medals too.”

He did. Which gave 20-year-old Melendez the chance to shake hands with someone most Americans know only from newspaper photos.

“He’s a big guy,” Melendez said. “He was wearing green fatigues and an army hat and he’s got a big beard. He looks pretty much like he does in the pictures.”

Castro’s country, however, bears little resemblance to any pictures Melendez remembers seeing.

“Everything is so dirty and there’s so much poverty,” he said. “But the people are so happy and so enthusiastic.”

In comparison to how most people in Havana live, Melendez said the oft-criticized athletes’ dorms “were not that bad.”

The cafeteria was also a little better than advertised, offering a variety of food. Moreover, each dorm room had a refrigerator, although Melendez said the staple of the U.S. baseball team was stored at room temperature.

“We took Pepto-Bismol each night,” he said. “And we brought our own water with us. We drank a lot of bottled water.”

The Pan-Am Games marked Melendez’s second visit to Cuba this summer. In July, his run-scoring double broke a 1-1 tie and started the United States on its way to a 6-1 win in Santiago de Cuba. The victory was the second in three games for the United States and gave the visitors their first series victory over Cuba since Castro took power in 1959.

The significance of the game was initially lost on the U.S. players, but not on their hosts.

“We didn’t realize it at the time,” Melendez said. “But when it happened, they made a big deal out of it.”

Melendez’s family roots were planted in Mexico, but he speaks no Spanish. Nonetheless, he said communicating with his Cuban rivals was not difficult. In fact, friendships between opposing players was not uncommon.

“Those guys are great guys,” Melendez said. “Our rivalry is very much a friendly rivalry. We don’t hate them or anything and they don’t hate us.”

The U.S. and Cuban teams even traveled together during the July series. One frequent topic of conversation was the case of pitcher Rene Arocha, who defected during an earlier visit by the Cuban team to the United States.

“Most of the (Cubans) said if that’s what he wanted to do, it was OK with them,” Melendez said. But if Arocha’s former teammates were supportive, few appeared to be envious.

“I didn’t get the impression (others) would do it,” Melendez said of the defection. “They’re like stars there. Baseball is very big.”

Big perhaps, but not overly lucrative. A member of the Cuban national team receives a government stipend of about $400 a month, about a third of what Melendez figures to make in meal money alone should he someday reach the major leagues.

Which, of course, he would someday like to do.

Two years ago, Melendez turned down an offer from the Baltimore Orioles, who drafted him out of St. Bernard in the seventh round of the 1989 June amateur draft. But he says he’ll sign if given the opportunity in June.

“I wasn’t ready to play then,” Melendez said. “I wasn’t strong enough. (But) I’ve started to think a little more about pro ball. If everything works out, I’ll probably sign. This is probably my last summer doing this.”

For Melendez, “doing this” means representing his country in international play. Two summers ago, after competing in the U.S. Olympic Festival, Melendez batted .500 in seven games and was the named the tournament’s most valuable player for leading a U.S. team to the world junior championship in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

A year later, following a six-week exhibition tour, he was the last player cut from Team USA before the Goodwill Games and amateur world championships. A roster spot wasn’t a concern this year since Melendez was the only true first baseman invited to play for the national team.

“I really wasn’t nervous,” he said with a smile. “I knew I’d make it.”

But while Melendez may rightly argue that he’s worn more red, white and blue than Uncle Sam, he’s also the first to admit he hasn’t done so solely for patriotic purposes. His long-term goal has been to play professionally and he expects the exposure he has received playing for Team USA will help.

“I think Team USA gets the most publicity of any of the (summer) leagues,” Melendez said. “We face some pitchers who could come over and play pro ball right away. We wouldn’t be facing anyone tougher if we were playing in the Cape Cod League or somewhere else.”

At least one pro scout agrees.

“They’re playing against some pretty good competition,” said George Genovese, a veteran scout with the San Francisco Giants. “Particularly against the Cuban team. As long as a kid is out there playing in those kinds of tournaments, he’ll be scouted.”

But while Genovese promised Melendez that he will draw a crowd next spring--”He’ll be a kid who will definitely be watched,” he said--another talent evaluator was less effusive.

“He’s the kind of guy where you have to wonder where he’s gonna play if he doesn’t play first base,” said the scout, who asked that he not be identified. “He’s a below-average runner and he has no power. You can’t really have guys at the corners without power.

“He’s a fine player, but his lack of power is a real concern. He’s a fine hitter. But can he do that with a wooden bat?”

It may be a while before that final question is answered. Even if Melendez decides to leave Pepperdine after the coming season, it is unlikely he will take a swing with a wood bat until the spring of 1993. By finishing in the top four at the Pan American Games, the United States is assured a berth in next summer’s Olympic Games. Tryouts for the U.S. team are scheduled Nov. 1-10 in Homestead, Fla., and Melendez is one of 56 players who will be competing for a roster spot. (Pepperdine teammate Rodriguez has also been invited.)

If he makes the team and plays in Barcelona next summer, Melendez’s professional baseball debut may be delayed a year. But whether he’s wearing the hand-me-downs of a major league club in a minor-league city, or the red, white and blue of Team USA, Melendez is sure he will be doing the same thing next summer he has done every summer since his sophomore year in high school: “Just playing ball,” he says. “It’s fun.”