Luchy Guerra cried the day the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Franklin Gutierrez to the Indians.

Guerra, the Los Angeles Dodgers' assistant director for international player development, had a soft spot for the minor leaguer who was traded in 2004 for the talented and troublesome Milton Bradley. In the second half of this season, Gutierrez took over as the Indians starter in right field, hitting .266 with 13 home runs in 271 at-bats.

"I remember coming from church that particular Sunday morning that he was traded, and you couldn't help but have a tear come to your eye," Guerra said. "He's a special kind of kid, one you always knew would be a leader. I've had probably 5,000 minor leaguers in the past 15 years, and I hate to differentiate. But he's one of those kids who holds a special place in my heart."

Although Gutierrez, 24, has had a slow start this postseason, batting.200 with five strikeouts in the four games against New York in the ALDS, he's mature enough to battle his way through his offensive woes and his great defense is a con stant.

It's what attracted former major-league pitching great Camilo Pascual when he was scouting in Venezuela in 2000.

"He looked very good," recalled Pascual, who pitched for the Indians in 1971. "He has all the tools. He was a tremendous defensive player at that time.

"At 17, compared to the other players at that age, he was way ahead of the rest of the guys. At that time, he was a year or two away.

"He was the player of the year for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization the year before they traded him. But they thought at that time [Bradley] was ready to help the major-league team right away. Unfortunately, we lost a very good player."

In 2003, after batting .287 with 24 home runs with Vero Beach (Class A) and Jacksonville (AA), Baseball America called Gutierrez the Florida State League’s most exciting player and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ best power hitter. It ranked him the fourth best major-league prospect in the FSL. The Los Angeles Dodgers thought so highly of him that they refused to include him in a deal that would have brought Richie Sexson from Seattle.

But the Indians persuaded them to part with him for Bradley. Although the deal included a Los Angeles Dodgers player to be named later — who turned out to be Andrew Brown — Gutierrez was the reason the Indians wanted to make the deal.

“We had very strong scouting reports on him,” said Indians assistant general manager Chris Antonetti. “The reports were that he was a very good defender in center field with above-average bat speed and a lot of tools. He had the ingredients to hit, hit for power. He ran well and was an above-average outfielder. He was coming off a good year at Vero Beach, and we thought he was a guy who had a lot of potential.”

Gutierrez batted .302 in Class AA Akron in 2004 and was named the third-best prospect in the Indians organization by Baseball America. In 2005, his numbers dipped a bit in Akron and AAA Buffalo as the Indians tried to get him to be more selective at the plate. It seemed to pay off as he batted .422 in his last 14 games in Akron and then hit .341 in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Current Buffalo manager Torey Lovullo had Gutierrez in Akron and Buffalo. “Defensively, he was off the charts,” Lovullo said. “He always played very aggressively at every outfield position and had a strong and accurate throwing arm. That was really never the issue.

“All young players have to learn they have to have a consistent approach, a consistent swing plane. He just lacked a consistent set-up. We tinkered with balance points and stances and he finally seemed to gravitate to where you see him today.

“At times I felt like maybe he was trying to do too much. Early on in that first season, he looked like he was really trying to impress us to get a call to Triple-A. It was all coming. It was just a matter of time. But this year it was obvious to all of us in player development that he was ready for the next step.”

Gutierrez, who started playing baseball as an 8-year-old pitcher in Caracas and grew up idolizing major-league countryman Andres Galarraga, admitted getting traded and starting over was difficult.

“I was preparing to go to Double-A when I received a call and told me I had been traded,” he said. “That was tough for me. I didn’t know what to do.

“[The Indians] wanted more from me. They wanted me to work a little more on certain things, so that’s what I did. It’s not really frustrating. It makes you stronger.

“I improved a lot of things. I figured out how to hit and make more contact. I got into the game a little more. That was part of the maturing of a player. That’s why I think I’m here. I deserve to be here because I worked really hard.”

No one doubted that he would do whatever was necessary to succeed.

“You knew he was pursuing his dream,” said Guerra, who met Gutierrez when he was 17. “He had very clear in his mind what he wanted to do and where he was going. That’s what struck me about him. He was very focused.”

Buffalo General Manager Mike Buczkowski also was impressed with Gutierrez’s focus and maturity. When Gutierrez failed to get his driver’s license on the first try, he immediately set about trying to correct his mistakes so he could try again as soon as possible. It was the same on the field.

“I think he was determined, just like with the driver’s license,” Buczkowski said. “It was a goal of his, and he was going to get it done.”

Even though Gutierrez has been gone from the Los Angeles Dodgers for more than three years, Guerra said she remains in touch.

She has a bond with him, and with other young foreign players coming to the U.S. for the first time. Years ago, she came from the Dominican Republic to attend the University of Maryland.

“I can identify a lot with what they go through when they first come to the States,” said Guerra, who will attend Gutierrez’s wedding this winter in Venezuela, where he will marry the daughter of former major leaguer Luis Salazar, now a Los Angeles Dodgers coach.

“I always talk to them about the three Ds in my life: desire, determination and discipline. I think he epitomizes those three Ds.”

 

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