Leonel Vinas and Hank Steinbrenner (Charles Wenzelberg)
When hard-throwing curveball artist Leonel Vinas graduated last year from Freeport HS, the only team that came calling was a ruthless Long Island gang.
Vinas was all set to sign up with the hooligans until Yankee owner Hank Steinbrenner offered him a chance to pitch for Hank’s Yanks, the summer team he sponsors.
Yesterday, the 19-year-old right-hander realized his dream — signing a $1,500 minor-league contract with the Bronx Bombers.
Vinas’ luck began to change when a friend introduced him to Ray Negron, a Yankee adviser, who then introduced the player to Steinbrenner.
“At the beginning of the year I wasn’t doing anything but being in the streets, and then a friend introduced me to Ray, and Ray introduced me to Hank,” Vinas said.
“They told me, ‘You have a chance to be a Yankee.’ I didn’t believe it, I didn’t think it was true. But as the season went on it got bigger and bigger and here we are now, my dream come true.”
Steinbrenner’s father, George, had rescued Negron from the streets when he caught the young man spray-painting graffiti on the side of the old Yankee Stadium in 1973.
Following a summer in which Vinas, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, went 12-0 with a 1.12 ERA, the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder got a chance to work out in Tampa for scouting director Damon Oppenheimer and VP of player personnel Billy Connors.
“He throws 88 to 91 miles per hour, has a good change-up and pretty good curveball,” Oppenheimer said. “It will have a lot to do with what he does. We will see how he competes.”
There is no avoiding how long the odds are for Vinas to reach the major leagues.
But if he begins to have doubts, he only has to talk to his new hitting coach, Johnny Rodriguez. Rodriguez made it from high-school ball in The Bronx to the major leagues after not being drafted out of high school.
Rodriguez is ready for his first year as a hitting coach in the Yankee system for the Gulf Coast League’s Tampa team, where Vinas will be assigned.
Team officials insist Vinas has a legitimate shot.
GM Brian Cashman gave Vinas the same talk he gives every other player signed by the Yankees.
“This is real. He has talent,” Cashman said. “I look forward to seeing where your talent takes you. I tell all the players we sign, we are going to make sure we provide every opportunity — everything at our disposal will be given to you to see if your dream comes true.”
It sure beats the other option.
Additional reporting by George A. King III