"Any time you have a significant number of your nationals moving abroad and coming back and forth as they do in the Dominican Republic or retiring there, it makes sense to have a new model or a new level of representation, which I think will be good for over there and over here, " said State.

WSJ: Living in New Jersey, Elected to Serve Far Away

More important, Valdespin said he learned to play that way as a child in the Dominican Republic, where people play baseball with a different sort of panache than they do in the U.S. Valdespin is still adjusting.

WSJ: N.Y. Mets: The Zany World of Jordany Valdespin