Back to the St Louis Cardinals Newsfeed

Ortiz: Alcantara breaks the language barrier

Carnitas and guacamole were the only words Sandy Alcantara would have recognized if he had even bothered to look at the Chipotle menu. His English skills were so limited, though, he didn’t waste time looking at the menu.

The Cardinals’ rookie righthander knew only one English word when he arrived from the Dominican Republic two years ago, and it was a simple two-letter greeting. Hi.

His English vocabulary was so limited two years ago with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals, he gave up any hope of being able to order his own food. He merely repeated his teammates’ orders and ate what they preferred.