|
IV.
I guess I don’t need to tell you all that when you start a new team, the first thing you need is players! Los Rojos were no different. Rather than making us – it’s funny, but even after all these years, I still think of Rio Hondo as my team – rely on signing up amateur players, the Liga set up a draft. 21 picks from the other teams, who were allowed to ‘protect’ 15 of their own players. And it wasn’t like the drafts you’ve had here either – remember, we only had rosters of 21 players (plus a few reserves). There weren’t many top players to be had!
You know, maybe I should tell you a little about the first three seasons of the Liga before I get on to the players that my father chose for the first Rojos team. I didn’t see any of those games, but I still knew what was happening. I spent enough time with papa Inglés listening to games on the radio.
So, that first season, back in the winter of 1942-43. It’s funny, of the two Centenera clubs, Los Metros have always had more money and more fans. But they’ll always have to live with being beaten to the first Liga Nacional title by their brothers. Atlético won, and Los Metros came last! It still riles the Metropolitanos fans even now!
In fact things were very close. Progreso only came second by a single game, and even Los Metros were only 7 games behind. Atlético’s star player that year was a guy called Miguel Rentería. He hit 12 homeruns and got 44 runs batted in. He became a real celebrity for a time.
The next year, amazingly, Atlético came last. Even though they had the same players. I guess things were still so close, but it was a big surprise to everyone. The team who did win in 1943-44 were Club Orientales. They had their pitcher Aurelio Gómes to thank. My father always found it funny – in the 1942 season he had 11 losses and only 2 wins, but in 1943 he went 13-6!
Club Orientales had finished 5th in 1942-43, and then in 1944-45 they finished last. And guess who were on top? Atlético. Again. Funny that. They beat Los Metropolitanos by 3 games. San Rodrigo only won 21 games – that was the worst record in the league yet…
|