A cattle rancher with properties outside Houston and also in his hometown of Aguadulce, Panama, MLB free agent Carlos Lee may not know where he is headed to play for the 2013 season. Yet he does know that home is where the heart is, and right now Panama is his immediate destination for the upcoming World Baseball Classic Qualifier at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City beginning with host Panama’s opening game against Brazil on November 15th and culminating with the live
MLB Network televised WBC Qualifier Final on November 19th at 5 PM (PST). Home Sweet Home Panama will be Lee’s final outpost when he decides to gracefully retire at the end of his celebrated Major League Baseball career. “When I’m finished, I’m planning to go back home,” Lee said. “I’m from Panama. It’s pretty safe and nice there.”

Although 36-year-old Carlos Lee was last seen wearing a Miami Marlins uniform after a 2012 midseason trade, he has always been a fan favorite from early on in his career while playing for Chicago White Sox (1999-2004), Milwaukee Brewers (2005-2006), Texas Rangers (2006) and Houston Astros (2007-2012). White Sox TV announcer Ken “The Hawk” Harrelson–who witnessed firsthand Lee’s 2004 28-game hitting streak, which broke the franchise record and surpassed Rod Carew’s 25-game record for a Panamanian player–knew that the three-time MLB All-Star (2005-2007) and two-time Silver Slugger (2005 & 2007) was a special player and coined him “El Caballo”.

Despite his place in the White Sox records book, many think of Lee as a lifetime Texan. As the cleanup hitter for Houston, he drove in 100 or more runs in three of his five Astro seasons, averaged 26 homers and hit over .300 three times. Carlos Lee would rather be known for his comparison to Texas ranching icon Nolan Ryan–not for his seven no-hitters, 27 major league seasons, the all-time strikeout record, or his 324 wins–but rather for Ryan’s 2011 Golden Spur Award, which recognizes leadership and exceptional service to the ranching industry.

“El Caballo” lives up to his nickname as the owner of Slugger Ranch in Texas, where he raises prize-winning Brahman, and nine ranches in his native Panama. Lee instantly won credibility with his 2006 Brahman Grand Champion at the largest Brahman show in the world at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Two years later, he donated $25,000 and over 300 bales of hay to support Texas ranchers whose properties were ravaged by Hurricane Ike.

Growing up around his grandfather’s passion for cattle ranching, Lee is now passing down his love for baseball and cattle breeding to his own son, Carlos Alejandro. Jim Williams of V8 Ranch said of Lee: “Carlos is not only a good baseball player, but he’s also the most progressive breeder in Panama as far as importing top genetics. He probably knows the pedigree and bloodlines of his cattle like a sportscaster would know about statistics.”

Whether it’s the playing of the game of baseball, the breeding of cattle and quarter horses, or the roping of calf, Lee wants to leave behind the family legacy of being among Panama’s best. Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who was born in 1945 on a train in the city of Gatún–in what was then known as the Panama Canal Zone–currently holds the honorary title of Panama’s best all-time hitter. So it’s only appropriate that the country’s best–including “El Caballo” Carlos Lee–will be playing in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier under Panama’s legendary manager
Roberto Kelly against Brazil, Colombia and Nicaragua at Panama City’s Rod Carew Stadium beginning November 15th. While handicappers are betting on
five days of modified double-elimination competition, insiders will be banking on plenty of horsepower from “El Caballo” Carlos Lee–who plans to lead Panama
from gate-to-wire en route to the WBC Winner’s Circle.