¡Viva el béisbol!

[English_Ray]

I.

Mis hermanos!

Come, gather round! Let me tell you the story of béisbol. My story of baseball. I have much to tell. I've lived baseball all my life, after all.

Goodness, where are my manners? You don't even know who I am, do you? My name is Xavier. Xavier Inglés – Xavi to my friends. And we are all amigos here, are we not?

I'm not from round here, you know. Just moved to America a little while ago to enjoy my retirement. My baseball story isn't from your Major League. It’s from my home. From Escondida.

What do you mean you've never heard of Escondida? You've heard of Cuba, haven't you? Dominica? Haiti? Then why not Escondida?

Fine, no worry. I'll tell you all you need to know. In fact, I’ve probably got an old map lying round here somewhere to help you get your bearings. Here we go:

Full Size

That's my home. It's a few hundred miles south of here, right in the middle of the Caribbean. Beautiful place. You should visit when you get the chance. We're all very friendly! And we love béisbol…

Country Factfile:
Name: Escondida
Language: Spanish

Population: 515,301
Area: appx 1000 square miles

Capital/Largest City: Centenera (pop: 102,054)

Currency: Escondidan Dollar
National Day: Día de la Libertad, 10th October

Please forgive me for the Google Translate-level of Spanish that is likely to pepper this thread...

[English_Ray]

II.

Anyway, the story starts when I was just 9 years old. Actually, the story of Escondidan baseball starts three years before that, but my story begins in the summer of 1945. And it starts with my father.

Ramón Inglés was his name. He was a great ballplayer. Really great. But of course there was no money in it for him when he was young. He worked all day out in the fields and swung his bat whenever he could grab a break. He played for one of the local amateur teams – I don't recall which. He was the star player – he was known around the island even. But he never made a penny from his playing.

He was only 32 when the LNE – the Liga Nacional de Escondida – started its first season. The first season of professional baseball on the island. But my father had no chance to play in it. He had injured himself on the farm the year before, and his playing days were behind him. It must have been a terrible thing for him to deal with. He loved playing baseball, and now the chance was there to make a living doing what he loved, he couldn't take it. But he never complained. Never said a bad word about his luck. My mother always told me that he never doubted that things would work out for the best. I don't think I could have had that kind of faith.

But where was I? Oh yes, the summer of 1945. When the world was finally on its way to finding some long-overdue peace. The war had never reached Escondida in fact – we try our best to stay hidden from the world's complications. Not that we don't have our own from time to time of course!

So, the LNE was preparing to begin its fourth season of play that winter, when Señor Lara (the founder, and first Director of the Liga) announced that they would be letting two extra teams play in the new season.

I should explain – in 1942 the Liga had begun with 6 teams: Los Metropolitanos from Centenera; Atlético, also from Centenera; La Cruz Luchadores; Progreso Tabaqueros; Club Orientales from San Rodrigo; and the Tahón Leones. They’d played 60-games each of the next three winters, and the island had fallen in love. It’s funny how paying the star players a few dollars and charging people a few cents to watch makes baseball seem better somehow – but it did. And it does...

[Tigers84]

I'm loving this! Can't wait to read more!

[Tyke]

^^^^ What he said!

[Tigers84]

I think I'm leaning towards rooting for the Luchadores from La Cruz!!! I wonder if they wear Luchadore masks when they play!?

[rferry]

Viva Atletico. Beat those Metropolitanos!

[English_Ray]

Originally Posted by Tigers84

I'm loving this! Can't wait to read more!

Originally Posted by Tyke

^^^^ What he said!

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by Tigers84

I think I'm leaning towards rooting for the Luchadores from La Cruz!!! I wonder if they wear Luchadore masks when they play!?

Remember, there are two more teams to come yet. Not to mention the hero of our story (well our hero's father...)

Originally Posted by rferry

Viva Atletico. Beat those Metropolitanos!

I don't think I am giving too much away if I say there is some early good news on that front...

[English_Ray]

III.

How does all this involve my father you ask? Ah yes, I was just getting to that.

Well Señor Lara decided that with the Liga being such a great success, they should let some more teams start to play. I don’t know exactly how they decided, but it ended up with one team going to Villardondiego down on the west coast, and the other to little Rio Hondo up in the hills of Betancuria. The Villardondiego Tropicales and Los Rojos of Rio Hondo.

Now, the Rio Hondo team were owned by a gentleman called Martin García, who just so happened to be an acquaintance of our family. I wouldn’t go so far as to say we were friends – he was a wealthy businessman and, while my father ran a successful farm, we just didn’t walk the same roads as him. Still, we knew him well enough. He had grown up with my grandfather in the little village of Cazorla. And he knew that papá Inglés knew baseball.

I don’t recall where I was when Sr García came to call that day. Perhaps I was at school. Or more likely out causing trouble with my brother and our friends. But I sure remember when I got home. Father was beaming from ear to ear, and my mother, bless her, could not contain her excitement when I walked in. We were moving to Rio Hondo, she said. Papá had a new job. A béisbol job.

I’m not sure what his ‘official’ job title was. Nowadays, he’d be called the general manager. Back then, he was known simply as El Jefe. My father. In charge of a real baseball team. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was!

Hey, you know I think I have a picture of my father from just not long after he got the job. Would you like to see it? Yes, here we are. This is him in 1945. Hard to believe, but I remember things so clearly still…

[goroyals]

Viva los rojos! Or something like that. KUTGW.

[English_Ray]

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…

[English_Ray]

V.

Right, where were we? Oh yes, that first Rio Hondo team.

For a boy who had grown up in Cazorla, Rio Hondo was an amazing place. Cazorla had maybe a hundred people living there – many of whom worked on my father’s farm. Rio Hondo had more than 7000 people. And, apart from my family, I knew none of them. I remember even now how huge it seemed to me, and always bustling with people. (Though boy was I in for a shock the first trip we made to Centenera!)

My father would take me and my little brother along to the ballpark whenever there was a practice on – and to games, of course – and let us go down to the field. We got to know the players quite well. I’ve lost count of how many baseball players, baseball men I’ve known in my life now, but I still look at those guys, the first Rojos, as heroes. I was a little kid and these men were my baseball team. That’s how I saw it, anyway.

My biggest hero of all was a guy called Alonso Pérez. I had a jersey of my own, that papá got made for me, and I had a big red number 7 on the back. I wanted to be just like Alonso Pérez. He must have been 35 that first year – about the same age as my father. He’d played three seasons for La Cruz – parts of them at least. He’d been more of a backup player there, but he went straight into our team playing centerfield and hitting in the middle of the order. He was a good player, but more than that he was a good man. He always took the time to have a game of catch with me and my brother, or to ask us about our schoolwork. So few players are like that these days.

Then there was our third baseman, Javier Galván. He was only 25, and had been playing for Progreso. He was our star player really – he was the second player my father picked in the draft (he chose a 16 year-old catcher – a ‘prospect’ – first of all), and he already had 180 hits and 75 RBI in three seasons of Liga play. We also had a number one pitcher, Jorge Marrero. He was just 19, and playing in his first season, but he already had this sort of quiet confidence about him.

Who else was there? Well, our other pitchers were Dinis Daddi and Plinio Cintra. Then we had Ánibal Tamargo at catcher – he was a lot of fun – and his backup Leonardo Cordero. At first base was Luis Hidalgo. He was another guy playing his first season in the LNE. And there was Martín Tovar at second and Tony Correa at shortstop. They both had lots of experience – Tovar at La Cruz, and Correa for Los Metros. Then with Pérez in the outfield were Roger Downey, Dani Pacheco and Armando Segura.

There were other backups and relief pitchers as well, of course, but those were the main guys that made up our team.

The man my father appointed to be the ‘on-field’ manager was called Alfredo Esparza. He was 50, and had managed one of the Rio Hondo amateur teams for many years. I never really got to know him that well – not as well as I knew the players, certainly. He preferred to keep himself to himself, working away in his office while the coaches and my father oversaw practice…

[Big Six]

This story looks like it will br a lot of fun. I especially like the team logos and the map of Escondida.

Count me in. I'm a fan.

[English_Ray]

Originally Posted by Big Six

This story looks like it will br a lot of fun. I especially like the team logos and the map of Escondida.

Count me in. I'm a fan.

Thanks Big Six, glad to have you on board.

[English_Ray]

VI.

A little time before the start of the 1945 season, my father, Esparza and a few of the players made the trip over to Centenera for some kind of event. I think it was mostly meetings about changes to the schedule, rules questions and things of that sort. (They decided on an 84-game schedule for the 1945-46 season, by the way.)

While they were there they had some pictures taken for the new baseball cards. The Liga always issued new baseball cards every year, you know. Not like here though. They sent them to the teams to give out free to the fans that went to games. I used to love them. I still have most of mine from every season since then.

They also took a group picture to use for some advertising for the Liga. It had one player from each team in it, all together at the Parque Centrale. My father brought back a copy of the picture for me. I got every single one of the players to sign it over the course of that season. It must be worth something now!

Let me tell you who each of the people in the picture is – they’re some of the best players from the early days of the LNE. And I saw them all play!

The Rojos player in the picture is Alonso Pérez, who I’ve already told you about. Just behind him is Atlético’s Domingo García. He was a lefty hitting catcher, 25 years old in 1945. He had a .308 hitting average through his first three seasons, and he was brilliant behind the plate. Then there’s Los Metros’ Arturo Gonzáles. He was 32, and a big hitting outfielder. In 1943 he had 60 RBI – the season record at the time.

The next man is José Silva. He was La Cruz’s star pitcher. He was only a little fellow, maybe 5’9, but he could throw the ball like nothing else. A big fastball and a biting curve. He’d won 29 games in three years, and had an ERA of just 2.25. Amazing.

Also amazing was Juan Enríquez. He’d been drafted by Villardondiego from Tahon. It was the biggest surprise of the draft – Enríquez had hit 13 homeruns in 1944, equalling the early record. Even though he didn’t hit for much average, he was a thrill to watch – when he hit the ball, it really flew.

The Club Orientales player in the picture is Jaime Ruíz. He played rightfield in San Rodrigo, and he could really hit. A .290 average in three seasons and 26 homeruns. He played a big part in Club Orientales winning the LNE in 1943-44.

Jorge García was the best player on the Tahón team. He was a big, burly pitcher, only 23 but he’d already started 58 games for the Leones. His record was only 22-24, but that team hadn’t been good in the early days. Last, but definitely not least, is the Tabaqueros’ Felipe Medina. He was the star of the show in Progreso. They loved his crafty pitching, and the numbers he put up. 26 wins, 5 shutouts, 189 strikeouts…

[English_Ray]

VII.

The first time I ever visited Centenera was on Saturday 1st December 1945. Opening Day. Of the season, and for the Rio Hondo Rojos. I remember it like it was yesterday.

I guess you’ve never been to Centenera. You really should. It’s a wonderful city. Even back when I was small, it was a sight to behold – so modern and new compared to the shambling towns in the tropical south and the compact little settlements among the hills back home in the east. It’s set at the very end of the big bay we call la Boca del Cielo, looking out towards Santa Madrona island, and the Caribbean beyond.

At the centre of town is La Casa Grande – the home of El Presidente. I can’t really describe the scale of it – it’s bigger than my house. It’s bigger than any house. I swear as a boy when I first saw it, it seemed bigger than the whole of Cazorla! And it sure is grand. It’s surrounded by huge grounds, and then they in turn are surrounded by a huge park – Parque Centrale. That’s where Los Metros had built their stadium – many people took that to mean that Los Metros were El Presidente’s team.

Now Rio Hondo had a population of about 7,000 people as I said. The Parque Centrale stadium had a capacity of over 10,000. And it was full to bursting that lunchtime when the teams came out to get the season started.

Not only was this the first professional baseball game I’d ever been to, it was the first game I’d watched where there had been any kind of crowd. And what a crowd! More people than I had ever seen. I sat up in the stand behind home plate with my father and my brother, and tried to take it all in. It was a bit scary, actually. I was sat there, nine years old, with my little red cap on, surrounded by thousands of shouting Centerera fanatics. Not that they caused any trouble of course – us Escondidans are passionate about our baseball, but we’re not crazy!

I think I’ve told you already that Los Metros finished last in 1942. But they were third in ’43 and second in ’44, so they were a good team, and we were a new squad playing our first game. The Metropolitanos faithful were expecting a walkover.

They started well, too – they were 5-0 up by the fourth inning. But we’d been getting a few hits, and we finally scored our first ever run in the seventh. Then we got one in the eighth as well. And in the ninth, something amazing happened.

Ánibal Tamargo led off by poking a single through into right. Then Esparza sent Armando Segura up to hit in place of the pitcher. He belted the ball all the way to the centerfield wall, and he flew round the bases. When he stopped, he’d ended up on third, and the score was 5-3. Next up was our lead-off hitter, Tony Correa. He worked the count all the way full I think, then knocked one into opposite field for a double. 5-4.

Roger Downey singled, and Dani Pacheco popped out. Then it was Javier Galván’s turn. Strike. Ball. Ball. Then he made contact. It flew out towards left, way over the fielder’s head. Over the fence and out of sight. I’d never seen a hit like it. 3 runs! 7-5! My brother and I were jumping around shouting and dancing. We were getting some looks I can tell you! Two small happy boys in red, amidst a sea of green. My father kept his cool of course, but he must have been beaming inside.

Everything after that was just a blur. I was too excited to focus on the last half inning. But I sure do remember that we won. Los Rojos had beaten Los Metros. We had beaten them!

Looking back, I can see it was just one game. One game in a season of dozens and a history of thousands. But at the time, it was so much more than that…