Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rico Maceteros make MCYSA summer tournament their home away from home

Puerto Rico’s Luis Alvarado managed the first international team at the McHenry County Youth Sports Association’s Summer International Championships in 1994 and won the 15U title in 1998.

Alvarado’s team, the Puerto Rico Maceteros, has been a regular and popular fixture at the tournament, which takes place across two weekends in Crystal Lake and Woodstock, ever since.

Wherever Alvarado goes, there’s always someone stopping him to say a quick hello when they recognize the Puerto Rican team hat or jersey.

“We come back because of the good level of competition, but the first reason is how the people of Crystal Lake receive the Puerto Ricans,” Alvarado said. “It’s the best. The last 10 years, we don’t visit other [tournaments]. We don’t go to [other] cities. The Maceteros only visit Crystal Lake.”

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Since the tournament’s inaugural year in 1993, MCYSA has regularly hosted international teams from Puerto Rico, Japan, Brazil and Mexico and, more recently, the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Canada, Russia, Lithuania and Aruba.

Last year, the Maceteros were the only international team to compete because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, there are eight international teams representing Puerto Rico, Japan and Mexico, along with 19 out-of-state teams from Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri and California.

The Maceteros arrived Wednesday with a contingent of about 90 players, coaches and family members.

They will compete in both sessions at this year’s tournament in each of the 11U, 13U and 15U levels. The first session started Friday and runs through Monday, and the second session goes from Thursday to July 24.

Although it’s not always possible for the Maceteros to participate every year, they weren’t going to miss this year’s tournament, Alvarado said. In some years, they have to raise as much as $50,000 to go.

“Two years in a row is not easy for us,” Alvarado said. “We work very hard to come here.”

Alvarado was inducted into the MCYSA Hall of Fame in 2006, an honor he calls one of proudest accomplishments of his career. Alvarado threw out the first pitch at last year’s opening ceremonies.

MCYSA Board President John Streit said Alvarado and the Maceteros always are a big hit.

“He’s always just so excited to be here, and we’re equally excited to have them here,” Streit said. “Everybody wants to play the international teams. They can go to a lot of other tournaments, and the facilities are a lot fancier – they’ve got all-turf complexes and electronic scoreboards – but where else do you get a chance to play somebody from outside the United States?

“Teams find that to be unique, and the kids get a big kick out of it. There’s a lot of interaction between the kids.”

Alvarado’s son, Luis, won the tournament as a player in 1998 and returned years later as a manager with another team and won, giving the father-and-son combination a total of three championships at the 15U level.

MCYSA’s popularity and high level of competition is well known in Puerto Rico. Heliot Ramos, a top prospect in the San Francisco Giants organization, played in the tournament in 2016.

When Alvarado tells others that his teams have won two 15U titles at the tournament, they act surprised.

“I know people in Puerto Rico who prepare selections to come play with the best players and don’t win,” Alvarado said. “It’s very, very high level here.”

Although players from opposing teams don’t always speak the same language, there is a common ground.

“Teams [from] Crystal Lake, we have a good relationship with their players,” Alvarado said. “I look at my players, I ask them, ‘[What are they] talking about? What language?’ But I know. It’s [a] baseball language.”

During previous stays, the Maceteros have went on trips to downtown Chicago, Six Flags Great America and Cubs, White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers games. Alvarado said his players are all big fans of Michael Jordan.

But Alvarado appreciates his time in Crystal Lake the most.

“One time, I need a fungo bat for practice, and I visit the store in Crystal Lake,” Alvarado said. “ ‘You’re the coach of the Puerto Rican team? What do you need?’ I go to pay, and [they said] no. You are [the] manager of the Puerto Rican team.’ ”