Edición Especial Más Allá del Diamante. Final Temporada I
Efraín Zavarce y Más Allá del Diamante regresan en esta Edición Especial con un recuento de lo mejor durante la 1era Temporada.
Zavarce hizo un recuento de los mejores momentos de sus respectivas conversaciones con tres grandes del beisbol venezolano: Ozzie Guillén, Bob Abreu y el “Rey” David Concepción.
Así despedimos el 2024. ¡Qué lo disfruten!
Presentado por Sella Tu Parley. En Sella tu Parley compartimos tu pasion por el deporte, Apuestas Deportivas, Hipicas, loterias y mucho mas
#MADD #SellaTuParley #Venezuela #Beisbol
Efraín Zavarce y Más Allá del Diamante regresan en esta Edición Especial con un recuento de lo mejor durante la 1era Temporada.
Zavarce hizo un recuento de los mejores momentos de sus respectivas conversaciones con tres grandes del beisbol venezolano: Ozzie Guillén, Bob Abreu y el “Rey” David Concepción.
Así despedimos el 2024. ¡Qué lo disfruten!
Presentado por Sella Tu Parley. En Sella tu Parley compartimos tu pasion por el deporte, Apuestas Deportivas, Hipicas, loterias y mucho mas
#MADD #SellaTuParley #Venezuela #Beisbol
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SportsTranscript
00:00:00Learn one thing in life.
00:00:02No dead people get whacked.
00:00:04Nowhere.
00:00:06If you get to be a manager once,
00:00:08or if Virgil,
00:00:10don't let anyone convince you.
00:00:12No one!
00:00:14I'm really privileged.
00:00:16I'm privileged to have a group of young people
00:00:18who listen, have fun,
00:00:20which is what I'm looking for here.
00:00:22To have fun.
00:00:24When you see a player,
00:00:26one of these guys whacking,
00:00:28there's no correction you want to make.
00:00:30Look, I think the most important part
00:00:32in all of this is communication.
00:00:34Morgan ends up
00:00:36tightening the nut
00:00:38of this great machine,
00:00:40and when I come back
00:00:42in the year 74,
00:00:44with this season trunk,
00:00:46we tighten this nut
00:00:48very tight.
00:00:50Bench is considered
00:00:52the best receiver in the history of the
00:00:54major leagues by many.
00:00:56When I put this
00:00:58standing in front of the home plate,
00:01:00nothing happened.
00:01:02I would have been surprised.
00:01:04Friends of Baseball Play,
00:01:06for me it is a great pleasure to accompany you
00:01:08once again in a last installment
00:01:10beyond the diamond,
00:01:12in what means the end
00:01:14of this great project,
00:01:16with which we were able to get to know,
00:01:18off the field, the personalities
00:01:20of our Venezuelan baseball.
00:01:22In this year 2024,
00:01:24we had the privilege
00:01:26of having luxury guests.
00:01:28Each of them opened
00:01:30their doors to us in order
00:01:32to revive those memories
00:01:34that made them become
00:01:36great idols
00:01:38of our baseball.
00:01:40Our first great memory of this year
00:01:42was with Ozzy Guillén, a manager
00:01:44who achieved the unthinkable,
00:01:46to lift the champion title with Sharks
00:01:48of the Guaira, and thus put an end
00:01:50to a streak without titles in the LBVP
00:01:52that lasted for 38 years
00:01:54and ended with the first
00:01:56Caribbean crown for the franchise.
00:01:58Let's see a little
00:02:00of what our conversation
00:02:02with this great Venezuelan manager was.
00:02:22But if you're going to fall,
00:02:24you don't lean back, you lean
00:02:26on what's next to you, or in front of you.
00:02:28And that stuck with me,
00:02:30and well, look,
00:02:32I don't know why men are ashamed
00:02:34to say that my house
00:02:36is run by my wife.
00:02:38I mean, I don't know if it's machismo,
00:02:40or...
00:02:42giving yourself the things
00:02:44that aren't. I'm not ashamed that my house is run by my wife.
00:02:46And after my wife,
00:02:48Adela is in charge,
00:02:50who is barely 5 years old.
00:02:52Your granddaughter.
00:02:54Yes, of course.
00:02:56If it's not Ibi and Adela,
00:02:58where is your grandmother?
00:03:00What time does she arrive?
00:03:02Why are you here?
00:03:04Why didn't you come to pick me up?
00:03:06These are things that, really,
00:03:08God gave that gift to women,
00:03:10to what have become good women,
00:03:12with good terms, good thoughts,
00:03:14love.
00:03:16I think love doesn't exist without respect.
00:03:18Men, wow, that's great.
00:03:20No, no, we've had ups and downs,
00:03:22ups and downs,
00:03:24in our marriage.
00:03:26But the respect that I have for my wife,
00:03:28the affection,
00:03:30there's a word,
00:03:32the admiration
00:03:34that I have for her,
00:03:36is something quite difficult to achieve.
00:03:38And in our profession,
00:03:40it's not easy
00:03:42to have
00:03:44a good mother,
00:03:46a good grandmother,
00:03:48a woman who cooks,
00:03:50a scout,
00:03:52the one I cry to in bed,
00:03:54the one I laugh at in bed,
00:03:56the one I laugh at...
00:03:58When we become champions,
00:04:00the first word is, we did it.
00:04:02We did it. I didn't make it.
00:04:04We did it.
00:04:06The team did it, but we're living it as a family.
00:04:08And that word filled me up a lot,
00:04:10to say that we did it,
00:04:12because if it's true,
00:04:14there's no doubt, that was the perfect word
00:04:16at that moment when we were congratulating each other.
00:04:18Is it true that you met at a bus stop?
00:04:20Yes, sir.
00:04:22Ask her.
00:04:24No, look, I was going to Guarena,
00:04:26I was finishing the practice
00:04:28of Los Tiburones de la Guaira,
00:04:30I was 16, 16,
00:04:3216, 17.
00:04:34And at the New Circus stop,
00:04:36if you went out of New Circus,
00:04:38there were the,
00:04:40we called them, the pirates.
00:04:42I was in the line first,
00:04:44and the line of the pirates,
00:04:46there were like 200 people,
00:04:48because it was cheaper,
00:04:50and the fastest cars arrived.
00:04:52When she was getting on,
00:04:54I saw her,
00:04:56she was very pretty,
00:04:58to be from our town, from Guarena,
00:05:00from Menca de León, and I said,
00:05:02this girl with heels, from Menca,
00:05:04what happened here?
00:05:06And I said, look, get in here,
00:05:08and those people started,
00:05:10ah, cool,
00:05:12my girlfriend, we were there,
00:05:14and I had 10 bolívares,
00:05:1610 bolívares, 5 to go down,
00:05:18and 5 to go up to the practice of Los Tiburones,
00:05:20that they give us in the viatico every day.
00:05:22I invite her to a party,
00:05:24and she says, no, I have a party in that place,
00:05:26that I was talking to a girlfriend I had,
00:05:28I mean, I was also aware of K.L.,
00:05:30I mean, this guy is very pretty to be with this crazy ugly thing.
00:05:32And I said, it was your girlfriend,
00:05:34but she didn't know.
00:05:36No, nobody knew, it was me.
00:05:38And I said, wow,
00:05:40so she arrives,
00:05:42and the girls were dressed in blue jeans,
00:05:44we were from the neighborhood,
00:05:46and she arrives always elegant,
00:05:50and I kiss her,
00:05:52I mean, hello my love,
00:05:54and I kiss her on the mouth,
00:05:56I don't know if she was
00:05:58crazy or she liked it,
00:06:00for me it was that she liked it,
00:06:02not that I depressed her,
00:06:04because if she didn't tell me,
00:06:06I would have put her in the music room.
00:06:08So we go dancing,
00:06:10and that's where the game got messed up.
00:06:14From a kiss,
00:06:16to now,
00:06:18I tell her, girl, you're so pretty,
00:06:20and the guys didn't stop you,
00:06:22because you fell in love with the ugliest guy in the group.
00:06:24Look, talking about money,
00:06:26talking about the baseball industry,
00:06:28talking about negotiating,
00:06:30Pedro Padron Panza,
00:06:32who I unfortunately did not know personally,
00:06:34he is attributed many things,
00:06:38most of them good, and others maybe not,
00:06:40not so many, not necessarily bad,
00:06:42but he has always been said,
00:06:44for example, that he was a difficult guy with money,
00:06:46that he was stingy,
00:06:48I understand that you have a lot to thank him,
00:06:50and I have heard you say
00:06:52that not only you,
00:06:54but you as a family,
00:06:56give me examples of things
00:06:58in which Pedro Padron Panza
00:07:00has helped you, has been important,
00:07:02gestures.
00:07:04Pedro Padron Panza was not stingy,
00:07:06he was not stupid,
00:07:08he was not stupid,
00:07:10because he was a man who worked all his life,
00:07:12when you work every day,
00:07:14and someone comes
00:07:16to flirt with you,
00:07:18he was not stingy,
00:07:20apart from not being stupid,
00:07:22he was not an easy guy,
00:07:24he was a businessman,
00:07:26he was not a businessman,
00:07:28he was a businessman,
00:07:30if we are going to talk about Perucho,
00:07:32we are going to have to talk about a lot of things,
00:07:34look, Perucho,
00:07:36I got married,
00:07:38and
00:07:40I lived in Menca with my in-laws,
00:07:42Perucho puts me
00:07:44in his house,
00:07:46in an apartment he had in Macuto,
00:07:48he says, here it is, go there,
00:07:50move in with your wife,
00:07:52and that's it, no problem,
00:07:54I move to my apartment, I get excited,
00:07:56the first time I get out of Guarena,
00:07:58look, there is the beach,
00:08:00when I get to the stadium,
00:08:02I see Ivy crying, what happens?
00:08:04No, I want to go home,
00:08:06and then,
00:08:08when you get used to
00:08:12eating ice cream from the fridge,
00:08:14tetas,
00:08:16ice cream,
00:08:18with Kool-Aid,
00:08:20and they give you an F,
00:08:22the F ice cream makes you,
00:08:24you know, I want to go again to eat,
00:08:26Ivy, I think,
00:08:28and she was a little girl,
00:08:30we moved, the day I needed
00:08:32the car, Perucho gave it to me,
00:08:34my first house,
00:08:36a car, do you remember what car it was?
00:08:38It was a Century,
00:08:40Century truck,
00:08:42brand new,
00:08:44and then I said, well, this is for my wife,
00:08:46but I want a car for myself, and they gave me a Fiat
00:08:48Mirafiori, brown,
00:08:50I was going to pay for it, obviously Perucho was not so stupid,
00:08:52he said,
00:08:54this is the car I'm going to have in the future,
00:08:56in his mind,
00:08:58right?
00:09:00Perucho did something that
00:09:02I appreciate the most,
00:09:04apart from his friendship with my wife
00:09:06and my children,
00:09:08and his support, obviously,
00:09:10I was desperate to
00:09:12move to Guarena,
00:09:14Ivy was pregnant,
00:09:16I lived with my mother-in-law,
00:09:18it was not a nuisance for them,
00:09:20but it was a nuisance for me,
00:09:24I told him, hey,
00:09:26I'm going to buy a house
00:09:28in Guatire,
00:09:30and no one wanted to lend me,
00:09:32I don't know how much,
00:09:3436,000 bolivars,
00:09:36I think it was,
00:09:3833,000 bolivars,
00:09:40I asked some people,
00:09:42Perucho says, what's wrong with you?
00:09:44No, I want to do this,
00:09:46take your money,
00:09:48in training,
00:09:50I saved,
00:09:52at that time the dollar was 4.30,
00:09:54I saved,
00:09:56and I went to pay Perucho,
00:09:58thank you, no, don't worry,
00:10:00thank you,
00:10:02and from there I met
00:10:04Peruchito, and I think
00:10:06thanks to Perucho,
00:10:08in many ways,
00:10:10my life is what it is,
00:10:12my wife's life is what it is,
00:10:14in my office,
00:10:16not my office,
00:10:18the office of the March,
00:10:20I have the photo,
00:10:22I have a small photo of my three grandchildren,
00:10:24my four grandchildren,
00:10:26and I have a photo of Perucho,
00:10:28in front, when the pitch is going to come out,
00:10:30that's what Perucho means to me.
00:10:32Before coming here,
00:10:34I looked in the Chicago Tribune archive,
00:10:36and it says,
00:10:38before the game,
00:10:40Ozzy told me, I'm going to win the game
00:10:42for you,
00:10:44it's not easy for a 21-year-old
00:10:46in his first season in the big leagues,
00:10:48to speak like that, in that way,
00:10:50with that confidence.
00:10:52When I got to the team,
00:10:54I got on the plane,
00:10:56I don't know where I was going to get on,
00:10:58I don't know,
00:11:00I was here,
00:11:02on the first flight,
00:11:04you sit here,
00:11:06and my chest came out,
00:11:08I said, well,
00:11:10my first flight was going to be
00:11:12with the Chicago White Sox,
00:11:14I sat there,
00:11:16you don't have to look for anything back there,
00:11:18not the bathroom,
00:11:20nothing, what's back there,
00:11:22they're not your friends, they're teammates,
00:11:24I turned around, people were drinking,
00:11:26like now,
00:11:28when you want to urinate,
00:11:30you let me know,
00:11:32ok, I'm going to urinate,
00:11:34in the first class,
00:11:36there was a text in Russian,
00:11:38I was going to urinate,
00:11:40that's how I had all the flights,
00:11:42and I saw it as normal,
00:11:44talking about football with him,
00:11:46sometimes he didn't want to talk,
00:11:48he was in his own life,
00:11:50he liked jokes,
00:11:52I was bored there,
00:11:54it was difficult,
00:11:56it was so uncomfortable,
00:11:58so,
00:12:00I stayed, but I learned,
00:12:02I learned to be a leader,
00:12:04I learned to play baseball,
00:12:06I learned to tell the players
00:12:08the good things,
00:12:10because the players think
00:12:12they're your friends,
00:12:14I learned who your real friends are,
00:12:16in the ball,
00:12:18I said, this crazy guy,
00:12:20he doesn't let me do anything,
00:12:22but he was taking care of me,
00:12:24he was a professional.
00:12:34When you became aware,
00:12:36you started to realize
00:12:38you had a special talent,
00:12:40to play baseball,
00:12:42especially to play shortstop,
00:12:44which is such a demanding position,
00:12:46so demanding, complex.
00:12:48A very nice anecdote,
00:12:50Ernesto Aparicio told me,
00:12:52obviously those who don't know
00:12:54who Ernesto Aparicio is,
00:12:56Luis' uncle,
00:12:58I was walking in Los Teques,
00:13:00terrible terrain,
00:13:02obviously,
00:13:04and they give me a roll
00:13:06and break my mouth,
00:13:08nine points,
00:13:10I go home,
00:13:12that was a Saturday,
00:13:16and on Wednesday,
00:13:18we had practice,
00:13:20and I went to practice
00:13:22with my mouth full of cherries,
00:13:24and he says,
00:13:26you're going to play in the big leagues,
00:13:28I'm a kid,
00:13:30why do they tell you
00:13:32you're going to play in the big leagues,
00:13:34because another guy
00:13:36takes his face off,
00:13:38and you let him hit you,
00:13:40or you're going to play in the big leagues,
00:13:42or you're going to be an animal.
00:13:44That guy helped me a lot,
00:13:46because my childhood was not strong,
00:13:48but not pleasant,
00:13:50and he was the one who
00:13:52grabbed me and supported me,
00:13:54but that day I said, wow,
00:13:56but I started to want the ball,
00:13:58or to give it responsibility,
00:14:00when Osvaldito was born,
00:14:02I was in triple A,
00:14:04in triple A,
00:14:06when my first son was born,
00:14:08I said, wow,
00:14:10this is the only thing I know how to do in my life,
00:14:12I don't know how to do anything else,
00:14:14let's get into this,
00:14:16and that's when I started to improve,
00:14:18not as a player,
00:14:20God gave me that ability,
00:14:22but to bring all the ability
00:14:24that God gave you there,
00:14:26to what you're going to have here,
00:14:28because a lot of players are saying it today,
00:14:30and the people of Los Tiburones,
00:14:32I tell them, look,
00:14:34everyone has a tool,
00:14:36but there is a tool that is not given,
00:14:38which is the ability
00:14:40of a player,
00:14:42a man who plays in the league,
00:14:44and he doesn't hit himself,
00:14:46nor in practice,
00:14:48and he gets to the league,
00:14:50because your hands have to be,
00:14:52at that time it was a phenomenon,
00:14:54that guy is the one who had the opportunity
00:14:56to see Chelo,
00:14:58but at that time,
00:15:00Alex González,
00:15:02and that other territory,
00:15:04we agreed,
00:15:06because, wow,
00:15:08Vizquel,
00:15:10and I respect him,
00:15:12but the one I saw,
00:15:14the one I liked the most,
00:15:16was Alex González.
00:15:18What is the difference you see,
00:15:20for example, now that you name Omar,
00:15:22the difference between Alex and Omar,
00:15:24for example?
00:15:26Omar did things that Omar didn't do,
00:15:28and Omar did things that Alex didn't do.
00:15:30Alex had a better range,
00:15:32a better arm,
00:15:34a guy who was too astute in the solo,
00:15:36and Omar was born,
00:15:38blessed by God,
00:15:40with the hands he had.
00:15:42If you teach a kid,
00:15:46you can't teach a kid to play solo
00:15:48like Vizquel did,
00:15:50because he did the opposite
00:15:52of what you did.
00:15:54Vizquel played the role
00:15:56with his feet closed.
00:15:58The ball he had to catch
00:16:00was someone else's.
00:16:02He was born blessed by God.
00:16:04It was so natural,
00:16:06so natural,
00:16:08wow.
00:16:10It was something,
00:16:12seeing him was something different,
00:16:14but he was a bullfighter
00:16:16with a soft mule.
00:16:18He was a guy with a range,
00:16:20with an arm, with a head.
00:16:22Alex did a lot of things
00:16:24that Vizquel didn't do.
00:16:26Vizquel never had Alex's range.
00:16:28Obviously, Vizquel,
00:16:30that kind of bullfighter
00:16:32that you saw him play,
00:16:34because he was the one who passed
00:16:36the soft mule,
00:16:38the difficult plays,
00:16:40you didn't see Vizquel saying,
00:16:42wow, what a play,
00:16:44and you were solo,
00:16:46and you said, no,
00:16:48what a play for you,
00:16:50so rhythmically,
00:16:52so natural.
00:16:54And my hero,
00:16:56my hero,
00:16:58in the best, David Concepcion.
00:17:00When you decided to go out
00:17:02to Monticulo to talk to a pitcher,
00:17:04not to get him out,
00:17:06but to talk,
00:17:08I ask you specifically
00:17:10about Ricardo Pinto.
00:17:12I saw that he threw
00:17:143-2, 4-ball,
00:17:16and the guy who threw the spliffing,
00:17:18I said, wow,
00:17:20he's pushing the ball,
00:17:22he's trying to throw it,
00:17:24he pushes it to get it out.
00:17:26When I got there,
00:17:28I asked him,
00:17:30are you ok?
00:17:32He said, no, no,
00:17:34good play, daddy,
00:17:36good play,
00:17:38you gave me the words
00:17:40that I don't like to hear.
00:17:42Why?
00:17:44Because if I make a bad move,
00:17:46and I have my mind,
00:17:48I can sleep at night.
00:17:50The bad thing is,
00:17:52when they convince you,
00:17:54and things go the other way around,
00:17:56that doesn't go away,
00:17:58why did I do it,
00:18:00why did I get convinced?
00:18:02And I told the pitchers,
00:18:04there was Escobar,
00:18:06there was Rocchio,
00:18:08I said, if you manage
00:18:10once,
00:18:12don't let anyone convince you,
00:18:14you're going to sleep well,
00:18:16that's how you make mistakes.
00:18:18Acuña said he was going to play
00:18:20in the Caribbean Series,
00:18:22the final, Ron Robbins,
00:18:24and we know that
00:18:26he didn't play in the postseason.
00:18:28But many of us didn't understand
00:18:30why he stopped playing.
00:18:32How did you find out
00:18:34that he wasn't going to play anymore?
00:18:36What happened there?
00:18:38I didn't know that Acuña
00:18:40said he was going to play
00:18:42because I'm not stupid,
00:18:44I'm an illusionist,
00:18:46I make up illusions.
00:18:48I told my wife,
00:18:50by the way, I have to get ready
00:18:52for when Acuña says it's over.
00:18:54Now,
00:18:56one thing Acuña did
00:18:58was respect his team,
00:19:00respect me as a player,
00:19:02and he gave 100%,
00:19:04I don't know, he played before I got there,
00:19:06before I was here,
00:19:08and when I got there,
00:19:10it's not that he plays,
00:19:12it's the way he plays,
00:19:14it's the other way around.
00:19:16And I have a very nice anecdote,
00:19:18the day there was a problem,
00:19:20that they beat him,
00:19:22that they told him everything,
00:19:24I don't know what fanatic they were,
00:19:26any fanatic,
00:19:28I saw him get angry,
00:19:30I was in Chicago,
00:19:32it was the first time I met him,
00:19:34he was here in Venezuela,
00:19:36I met him personally,
00:19:38I called Acuña,
00:19:40I called him because I played with him,
00:19:42I sent him a message,
00:19:44I said,
00:19:46I respect you,
00:19:48but learn one thing in life,
00:19:52no one gets beaten,
00:19:54anywhere.
00:19:56When you were a little player,
00:19:58no one knew who you were,
00:20:00when you were a horse,
00:20:02remember that you are a hero for us
00:20:04for a few seconds,
00:20:06but you will be a demon for the next 10 days,
00:20:08so don't let this get to you,
00:20:10because I lived it,
00:20:12I lived it with Miguel,
00:20:14in Venezuela they don't whistle
00:20:16because it's not worth anything,
00:20:18it's 4-0,
00:20:20but when Acuña hits you,
00:20:22the expectations are too high,
00:20:24learn that,
00:20:26and I hope that advice has stayed with him
00:20:28for the rest of his life,
00:20:30because no one lies to their mother
00:20:32if you are not famous.
00:20:34Thank you very much,
00:20:36it was very kind of you.
00:20:38It's an honor,
00:20:40and when people see you here,
00:20:42they will cry,
00:20:44because I'm a true fan,
00:20:46the ball gives me fame,
00:20:48and headaches,
00:20:50but thank you Acuña,
00:20:52I'm proud to be here,
00:20:54and I hope it happens again.
00:20:56Having been received by Osvaldo Guillén
00:20:58at his home in Caracas,
00:21:00just at such a special moment,
00:21:02the few days of having crowned
00:21:04the sharks,
00:21:06not only for the first time
00:21:08in almost 40 years at the LVVP,
00:21:10but also for the first time
00:21:12in the history of the Caribbean series
00:21:14with the Guaira sharks,
00:21:16represented a lot for us,
00:21:18and I'm sure
00:21:20that the vast majority of you
00:21:22also enjoyed this conversation enormously.
00:21:26For baseball fans in Venezuela,
00:21:28there are many names that marked
00:21:30this generation in particular.
00:21:32However, what Bob Abreu achieved
00:21:34with Leones del Caracas,
00:21:36as well as in the major leagues,
00:21:38is something worth admiring,
00:21:40to highlight.
00:21:42Even after retiring as a professional
00:21:44player, he continues to give a lot
00:21:46to this discipline with his academy,
00:21:48Bob Abreu Baseball Academy 53,
00:21:50which is in San Diego,
00:21:52Carabobo State,
00:21:54and in which he received us.
00:21:56Let's remember part of our conversation
00:21:58with El Comedulce.
00:22:00I've been a perfectionist person,
00:22:02I've always liked the right things,
00:22:04doing them well,
00:22:06if not, I don't do them.
00:22:08And the academy's project
00:22:10was in this way,
00:22:12that is,
00:22:14to do something
00:22:16with some facilities
00:22:18where all my guys,
00:22:20that's how I call them all,
00:22:22are well.
00:22:24In the course
00:22:26of my career
00:22:28in minor leagues,
00:22:30in the major leagues,
00:22:32I learned a lot.
00:22:34I learned
00:22:36how to lead
00:22:38a...
00:22:42not an academy,
00:22:44but how to lead
00:22:46the development process
00:22:48of a player.
00:22:50So, that included
00:22:52also in the facilities,
00:22:54where you stay,
00:22:56how you stay,
00:22:58what you do, what you have,
00:23:00what you don't have,
00:23:02the food, for me,
00:23:04the food is the most important part
00:23:06in all of this.
00:23:08And that was what was created
00:23:10in the whole academy.
00:23:12Something was done
00:23:14with details,
00:23:16one by one,
00:23:18I want the dormitories
00:23:20to be like this,
00:23:22with four people in the dormitory
00:23:24of the same age,
00:23:26the dining room
00:23:28to be a dining room
00:23:30where they feel comfortable,
00:23:32where they can,
00:23:34regardless of what they are eating,
00:23:36they can talk
00:23:38to each other at the same time.
00:23:42The part of the gym
00:23:46is a part that, for me,
00:23:48is paramount
00:23:50in strengthening the athlete.
00:23:54The cage, right?
00:23:56If you see it, there are three cages,
00:23:58so I can practice three exercises
00:24:00with several groups.
00:24:02All of this was
00:24:04designed
00:24:06for what is sought
00:24:08in the development of an athlete.
00:24:10And all of this
00:24:12leads you
00:24:14to do things well.
00:24:16Otherwise, I'm not going to do them.
00:24:18You're not a coach,
00:24:20you're not here all the time,
00:24:22even when you spend a lot of time here.
00:24:24But surely,
00:24:26when you see a player,
00:24:28one of these guys,
00:24:30hit,
00:24:32maybe you want to make some correction.
00:24:34And there, I think of two things.
00:24:36First, for someone
00:24:38who, apparently,
00:24:40made it so easy for him to hit,
00:24:42one remembers Bob Abreu
00:24:44to play,
00:24:46and everything seemed
00:24:48to be very simple
00:24:50to see Bob Abreu play,
00:24:52especially to hit.
00:24:54Obviously, you had a special gift.
00:24:56Can a person
00:24:58with special gifts for something
00:25:00as difficult as hitting,
00:25:02as is your case,
00:25:04be a good
00:25:06hitting instructor?
00:25:08Is that easy for you?
00:25:10Look, I think the most important part
00:25:12and the answer is communication.
00:25:14How do you transmit
00:25:16to young people in the simplest way
00:25:18the techniques
00:25:20and what they can do.
00:25:22I'm not going to
00:25:24teach them
00:25:26how I hit.
00:25:28Okay?
00:25:30I teach them
00:25:32how to attack the ball,
00:25:34what they can do to pass over the plate,
00:25:36where to look,
00:25:38the angles, the points of attack.
00:25:40But,
00:25:42the way I had to think
00:25:44is difficult,
00:25:46because I'm not going to tell them
00:25:48to feel comfortable hitting with two strides.
00:25:50If it's different here,
00:25:52here you have to attack.
00:25:54Exactly. I felt comfortable.
00:25:56Here, it's attacking.
00:25:58If they hit you there,
00:26:00attack them right away.
00:26:02But,
00:26:04the communication with them
00:26:06is really pleasant.
00:26:08I'm really privileged.
00:26:10I'm privileged to have
00:26:12a group of young people
00:26:14who listen, have fun,
00:26:16which is what I'm looking for here,
00:26:18to have fun.
00:26:20This is not a job for them.
00:26:22This is a sport
00:26:24that they like.
00:26:26They like to play baseball.
00:26:28You have to have fun
00:26:30in what you like to do.
00:26:32I try to make them have fun
00:26:34and learn more
00:26:36about the technique, the angles,
00:26:38how to attack, how to do all the little things
00:26:40in the batting part.
00:26:42So that they
00:26:44can do it pleasantly.
00:26:46And from there,
00:26:48everything else starts to flow.
00:26:50And that pleasant way
00:26:54through which you try
00:26:56to teach, to instill,
00:26:58do you think it also helps you
00:27:00so that those guys don't feel intimidated
00:27:02because it's Bob Abreu,
00:27:04one of the best baseball players in the history
00:27:06of this country, who is teaching them.
00:27:08Have you started to think about that?
00:27:10Look, I'm going to answer you
00:27:12this way.
00:27:16I get here
00:27:18and they see me at the beginning as Mr. Abreu.
00:27:20Mr. Abreu, how are you?
00:27:22Look, Mr. Abreu.
00:27:24That started the first week.
00:27:26After that,
00:27:28what happened, Bob?
00:27:30I'm just a guy.
00:27:32Don't worry, we're friends.
00:27:34We're friends.
00:27:36So they ask me, what happened, Bob?
00:27:38And from time to time,
00:27:40I start to bat with them.
00:27:42I don't just bat with them,
00:27:44I start to bat with them to teach them
00:27:46how to do things
00:27:48and to compete with them.
00:27:50They've beaten me twice.
00:27:52To put the ball in a certain place
00:27:54and we make bets.
00:27:56What do they want to eat?
00:27:58Some ask for pizza,
00:28:00others ask for
00:28:02Chinese rice,
00:28:04they love Chinese rice.
00:28:06So, I have fun with them
00:28:08and they have fun with me
00:28:10and the competition is that they have to beat me.
00:28:12Okay?
00:28:14But I want
00:28:16all of this to be playful,
00:28:18to be very
00:28:20playful
00:28:22between us.
00:28:24And they feel,
00:28:26nowadays, we're friends.
00:28:28Sometimes we play cards.
00:28:30We play cards.
00:28:32We haven't played
00:28:34Minotaur yet, but we play cards.
00:28:36And they say, come on,
00:28:38I have fun with them.
00:28:40They have fun.
00:28:42So, I try to make them feel
00:28:44some pressure.
00:28:46Like, no, I can't say this.
00:28:48No, no, they say whatever they want
00:28:50and we adjust
00:28:52during the process.
00:28:54Do you choose
00:28:56the players that come here?
00:28:58You're the one who has the last word.
00:29:00I have the last word.
00:29:02At least when we do tryouts,
00:29:04I need to see them
00:29:06on the field.
00:29:08The swing,
00:29:10the execution they're going to do,
00:29:12how they do it, how they run,
00:29:14what is their attitude.
00:29:16That's it.
00:29:18Why?
00:29:20Because for me, that's the most important part.
00:29:22And then I take them
00:29:24to the second step,
00:29:26which is to do all their physical exams
00:29:28to know how they are,
00:29:30how their growth is going,
00:29:32how their diet is going,
00:29:34all that kind of stuff.
00:29:36Those are the steps to follow.
00:29:38I thank my dad.
00:29:40I thank my mom.
00:29:42Because the foundations
00:29:44of the home I have,
00:29:46my foundations,
00:29:48all my values of home
00:29:50are what you see
00:29:52today of my person.
00:29:54Nothing has changed.
00:29:56If I was going to get
00:29:58my grades up, my dad
00:30:00would lower them quickly.
00:30:02It wouldn't take long.
00:30:04My dad, on the one hand,
00:30:06and if you passed my dad's
00:30:08test, my mom would wait for you.
00:30:10Two tests
00:30:12that you wouldn't be able to pass.
00:30:14They would put you in your place quickly.
00:30:16That's why I tell you
00:30:18I wouldn't have
00:30:20done the same.
00:30:22I would have kept working,
00:30:24focusing on what I wanted,
00:30:26get to the big leagues,
00:30:28be a star in the big leagues,
00:30:30look for the top,
00:30:32everything, everything, everything.
00:30:44What did you learn
00:30:46from Andrés Reiner that you are
00:30:48applying now?
00:30:50And I'm not talking about
00:30:52baseball specifically,
00:30:54but about what you are
00:30:56telling me now, about values,
00:30:58how to face life situations.
00:31:00Look, I apply everything.
00:31:02Because he was our mentor.
00:31:04Not for me.
00:31:06For all of us who were
00:31:08in that layer of the Astros of Houston.
00:31:10Melvin Mora, Freddy Garcia,
00:31:12Joan Santana,
00:31:14Roberto Petaguin, Raúl Chávez,
00:31:16Richard Hidalgo.
00:31:18What did you learn from Andrés Reiner
00:31:20that you are applying now?
00:31:22And I'm not talking about
00:31:24baseball specifically,
00:31:26but about what you are
00:31:28telling me now, about values,
00:31:30how to face life situations.
00:31:32Look, I apply everything.
00:31:34Because he was our mentor.
00:31:36Not for me.
00:31:38For all of us who were
00:31:40in that layer of the Astros of Houston.
00:31:42Melvin Mora, Freddy Garcia,
00:31:44Joan Santana, Roberto Petaguin,
00:31:46Raúl Chávez, Richard Hidalgo,
00:31:48El Tapón Hernández.
00:31:50I'm short,
00:31:52but I know the list is long.
00:31:54And we all had him
00:31:56as a father.
00:31:58If he said to the right,
00:32:00we went to the right.
00:32:02To the left, he went to the left.
00:32:04Without asking.
00:32:06Because we knew he gave us
00:32:08the best advice.
00:32:10But one thing is
00:32:12the technique of debating,
00:32:14of advising and all that.
00:32:16And another thing is
00:32:18applying
00:32:20the values,
00:32:22the foundations.
00:32:24Andrés Reiner.
00:32:26What Andrés Reiner taught me
00:32:28is what I do with my young people too.
00:32:30Nobody is more than nobody.
00:32:32Regardless of the talent
00:32:34they have, I treat them all
00:32:36equally.
00:32:38I advise everyone equally.
00:32:40Okay?
00:32:44I try to give the best
00:32:46to everyone equally.
00:32:48Okay?
00:32:50And when they feel bad about something,
00:32:52come here, let's talk.
00:32:54Tell me and I'll help you.
00:32:56And they're always
00:32:58there listening.
00:33:00They ask me things and I'm
00:33:02at their disposal.
00:33:04As I said at the beginning, we're friends.
00:33:06We get along well
00:33:08and we have excellent communication.
00:33:10That's what Andrés Reiner had.
00:33:12Communication with his players
00:33:14was essential.
00:33:16Caracas was very different
00:33:18to those changes.
00:33:22Did you feel you were in different companies?
00:33:24Was the treatment different?
00:33:26Tell me about each of those stages.
00:33:28The treatment was different.
00:33:30Oscar Prieto's
00:33:32at the time was
00:33:34different because
00:33:36at some point
00:33:38he had
00:33:40communication with his players.
00:33:42Okay?
00:33:44And at some point
00:33:46a player was missing
00:33:48or was doing something wrong.
00:33:50You knew he was upset
00:33:52because he was passing by
00:33:54and if you...
00:33:56You knew he was upset.
00:33:58And he would call
00:34:00the player,
00:34:02and he would perform a show in front of no one.
00:34:04And he would say,
00:34:06look, this happened, this happened,
00:34:08it won't happen again.
00:34:12Then when he bought Cisneros,
00:34:14Gustavo,
00:34:16it was different too.
00:34:18But in a good way with
00:34:20Mr. Ariel Pratt,
00:34:22an excellent sports manager.
00:34:26In fact, there's a run
00:34:28where I leave on the field
00:34:30and he raised his hands
00:34:32and he was in the home plate.
00:34:34He was celebrating with us.
00:34:36There was an excellent empathy.
00:34:38The third stage
00:34:40where Ávila came in
00:34:42was not as pleasant
00:34:44as
00:34:46the other two.
00:34:48Why?
00:34:50There were some disagreements
00:34:52about the way of treating
00:34:54the player
00:34:56that one was not used to.
00:34:58In theory,
00:35:00I can do this job
00:35:02that I do.
00:35:04I don't do this by chance.
00:35:06Since I was a child
00:35:08I wanted to be a sports journalist
00:35:10specialized in baseball and I enjoy this a lot.
00:35:12You were talking about privileges
00:35:14at the beginning of the interview.
00:35:16For me it is a privilege to be here
00:35:18talking to you.
00:35:20In theory, I can do this until I'm 70
00:35:22or more if my head allows it.
00:35:24In the case of baseball,
00:35:26it's not like that.
00:35:28In the case of high-level sportsmen,
00:35:30it's not like that.
00:35:32I suppose that,
00:35:34especially in your case,
00:35:36because you were not only
00:35:38a professional baseball player,
00:35:40you were not only in the Major League,
00:35:42but you were one of the best in the Major League
00:35:44of its time,
00:35:46to the point that you are
00:35:48in the tickets for the
00:35:50Cooperstown Hall of Fame.
00:35:52To see
00:35:54that your conditions
00:35:56tell you that you can't go on
00:35:58because that happens to everyone.
00:36:00I suppose that has to be
00:36:02very hard because you retire
00:36:04although
00:36:06old, probably.
00:36:08Relatively.
00:36:10To play baseball, but not for life.
00:36:12You retire very young for life.
00:36:14Emotionally,
00:36:16how do you prepare
00:36:18to say goodbye
00:36:20to an activity
00:36:22that you love so much and in which
00:36:24you are so outstanding and has given you so much?
00:36:26How was that process?
00:36:28Wow.
00:36:30You ask another excellent question.
00:36:34Strong.
00:36:36Because
00:36:38you are only 40 years old.
00:36:40You are young.
00:36:44You have to accept
00:36:46yourself,
00:36:48your life, your person.
00:36:50Look yourself in the mirror and say,
00:36:52you are not the same.
00:36:54The swing
00:36:56does not take the speed you need.
00:37:00You have the responsibility of a fanatic.
00:37:02And when I talk about fanatics,
00:37:04and I will always involve them a lot,
00:37:06because they deserve the best show.
00:37:08They deserve the best of you.
00:37:12Because if they
00:37:14whistle at you,
00:37:16they pay a ticket
00:37:18to see the best of you.
00:37:20To see the best
00:37:22of a game.
00:37:24And there are fanatics who support you.
00:37:26But you have to give
00:37:28the best to them.
00:37:30You have to accept
00:37:32that the skills
00:37:34have diminished.
00:37:36That you no longer run the same.
00:37:38The swing, the speed,
00:37:40as I said, is not the same.
00:37:42The new generation
00:37:44a 97 or 98
00:37:46for them is normal.
00:37:48In our time
00:37:50you threw hard.
00:37:52Yes, you were a guy
00:37:54wow, he throws 98.
00:37:56Not now.
00:37:58Now it's normal, 97 or 98.
00:38:00I see it normal because everyone
00:38:02throws 97 or 98.
00:38:04Now there is one from Oakland throwing
00:38:06100, 101, 102.
00:38:08When you saw Chapman in Cincinnati
00:38:10throw that years ago.
00:38:12It's normal.
00:38:16Accepting it is hard.
00:38:18It's hard.
00:38:20Because you say later,
00:38:22ok, what are we going to do?
00:38:26I'm young, 40.
00:38:28You have to retire.
00:38:30There are offers
00:38:32from coaches.
00:38:34But you don't want to.
00:38:36Because
00:38:38it's like, for me,
00:38:40I didn't want that.
00:38:42I had to accept that
00:38:44yes, it's time
00:38:46to say goodbye.
00:38:48It hits, but hard.
00:38:52Because you stop doing what you love.
00:38:54What you enjoy.
00:38:58And you do it well.
00:39:00So saying goodbye to that,
00:39:02it hits a lot.
00:39:06How grateful was it to talk to Bob Abreu
00:39:08and relive his best moments
00:39:10as a footballer
00:39:12and realize that baseball
00:39:14is still running through his veins.
00:39:16Now as director of this
00:39:18academy that promises
00:39:20to give new great leagues
00:39:22to Venezuelan baseball.
00:39:24And if we talk about great figures
00:39:26of our baseball,
00:39:28the one with whom we had the opportunity
00:39:30to talk, to meet
00:39:32in this first season
00:39:34of Beyond the Diamond,
00:39:36we must not mention
00:39:38who is known as King David.
00:39:40But for me, he is
00:39:42the idol of idols.
00:39:44Because great figures,
00:39:46great references in the history
00:39:48of our baseball,
00:39:50such as Osvaldo Guillén
00:39:52or Omar Vizquel,
00:39:54had him as their hero.
00:39:56We refer, of course,
00:39:58to the great David Concepción,
00:40:00who received us
00:40:02on his farm, a special place
00:40:04where tranquility is breathed,
00:40:06peace, serenity.
00:40:08And in that beautiful environment,
00:40:10we had a conversation
00:40:12that we enjoyed a lot
00:40:14and that surely
00:40:16all of you will want to remember.
00:40:18And that attachment
00:40:20to discipline,
00:40:22that which you call
00:40:24being straight,
00:40:26where did you learn it?
00:40:28Well, I learned it from my father.
00:40:30My father was a person
00:40:32I can say that
00:40:36a little bit
00:40:38straight, difficult.
00:40:40Your father made a living
00:40:42driving a truck, I understand.
00:40:44He was one of the first Cumareños
00:40:46who had a truck.
00:40:48A trailer truck.
00:40:50In the Cumares
00:40:52they planted a lot of yams,
00:40:54and
00:40:56one of the people
00:40:58who knew the capital
00:41:00because he carried
00:41:02his product,
00:41:04he didn't plant it,
00:41:06he transported it
00:41:08to Caracas,
00:41:10to the Antimano market.
00:41:12And then, well,
00:41:14he became a fanatic
00:41:16of yams in Caracas.
00:41:18Of the brewery first, I understand.
00:41:20Of course, of the brewery.
00:41:22Of the team of all of us
00:41:24who are here right now, except me.
00:41:26David,
00:41:28didn't you grow up
00:41:30as a fan of the lions
00:41:32because of your father?
00:41:34You know that you always want to
00:41:36go against your father.
00:41:38Your father always wants you to go
00:41:40this way, and you go that way.
00:41:42When I was in
00:41:44Cumares de la Costa,
00:41:46at the time I lived
00:41:48six years in a row,
00:41:50I discovered a trunk
00:41:52that looked like the one
00:41:54of my father.
00:41:58It was a place where
00:42:00no one came in.
00:42:02I don't know why no one came in.
00:42:04It was two houses.
00:42:06It was a house
00:42:08where no one came in,
00:42:10but it was ours.
00:42:12And one day I went in,
00:42:14and I saw a trunk,
00:42:16I saw a trunk,
00:42:18I saw a trunk,
00:42:20I saw a trunk,
00:42:22I saw a chest, a mask,
00:42:24I saw a chest, a mask,
00:42:26a chingala,
00:42:28and I saw a uniform that I didn't know what it said.
00:42:30It was from
00:42:32Caracas brewery.
00:42:34And my father had there, I don't know,
00:42:36five shirts,
00:42:40ten pants,
00:42:42which was the easiest thing to give away.
00:42:44And so I asked,
00:42:46no, it's a professional team
00:42:48called Caracas brewery,
00:42:50but I still didn't understand
00:42:52what it was,
00:42:54because I was very young,
00:42:56until I got to Maracay.
00:42:58I started studying in Maracay,
00:43:00elementary school.
00:43:04The Valencia industrial team
00:43:06opened up,
00:43:08so my father,
00:43:10when he played Caracas in Valencia,
00:43:12he took me there.
00:43:14So I started becoming a fan of
00:43:16the Valencia industrial team,
00:43:18which is the opposite of my father.
00:43:22So we were...
00:43:24And it was a good team.
00:43:26Of course, we were champions,
00:43:28and everything.
00:43:30So we were at that point,
00:43:32my father and I, he was from Los Leones,
00:43:34I was from the Valencia industrial team.
00:43:36And so,
00:43:38until I became a professional,
00:43:40I was a fan of the industrial team,
00:43:42until the industrial team was over.
00:43:44Now, your father,
00:43:46although he liked baseball a lot,
00:43:48as he just told us,
00:43:50he wasn't very convinced
00:43:52about his idea
00:43:54of being a baseball player.
00:43:56Is that true, David?
00:43:58But after that, no.
00:44:00He wanted me to study,
00:44:02until I, like everyone else,
00:44:04went to play baseball in Caracas.
00:44:06I didn't get a job in Caracas
00:44:08because I was too skinny,
00:44:10I didn't hit the ball,
00:44:12and I returned to Maracay.
00:44:16And I studied at night
00:44:18and started working at the bank in Caracas.
00:44:22I played for the Cadáver team,
00:44:24the first time I played for Juvenil,
00:44:26after I played for Juvenil,
00:44:28I went to Caracas
00:44:30to play double-A.
00:44:32I didn't get a job because
00:44:34I had a very slow bat,
00:44:36you know how it is,
00:44:38how the owners of the teams
00:44:40and the stadiums are.
00:44:42But actually, they didn't want me.
00:44:46Now, it's known
00:44:48who signed David Concepción,
00:44:50Wilfredo Calviño.
00:44:52Correct.
00:44:54Now that you're telling me
00:44:56about your days in Caracas,
00:44:58for the pretext,
00:45:00the intention of wanting to become
00:45:02a professional baseball player
00:45:04and the tests you did,
00:45:06what I particularly don't know
00:45:08is who saw you
00:45:10and told you,
00:45:12you don't look good for this.
00:45:14Napoleon Reyes.
00:45:16That day,
00:45:18I filled it all,
00:45:20I threw it,
00:45:22they put me in second
00:45:24because I was second base.
00:45:26I did the job,
00:45:28but I put
00:45:30about 15 lines
00:45:32for the dugout,
00:45:34I didn't give the ball
00:45:36to the ugly area.
00:45:38So,
00:45:40well, we finished
00:45:42and the guy told me,
00:45:44you look good,
00:45:46I like you,
00:45:48but go to Maracay
00:45:50and get some shots
00:45:52to get stronger.
00:45:54I went to Maracay
00:45:56with my head
00:45:58up and down.
00:46:00The National Youth Club
00:46:02in Caracas,
00:46:04the next year,
00:46:06I was lucky enough
00:46:08to go to Caracas.
00:46:10They saw me play in Caracas
00:46:12and when I came back,
00:46:14they signed me.
00:46:16I don't know where they saw me
00:46:18or where I was sitting
00:46:20or anything.
00:46:22All I know is that they went to my house
00:46:24to sign me.
00:46:26Before that,
00:46:28I had gone to
00:46:30Fonso Chico Garraquel
00:46:32to sign me with
00:46:34the New York Mets
00:46:36because he was the head of the Mets.
00:46:38My dad,
00:46:40as a joke,
00:46:42didn't break the contract
00:46:44that I had signed
00:46:46for the Cincinnati Robots.
00:46:48Chico Garraquel
00:46:50went crazy.
00:46:52Of course, he was a fan of
00:46:54El Cerro del Cerro.
00:46:56What a shame,
00:46:58I would have signed
00:47:00for the Cincinnati Robots.
00:47:02That was in 1967?
00:47:04Correct.
00:47:06You went directly to Tampa?
00:47:08Yes.
00:47:10What impact did
00:47:12being so young
00:47:14leave Venezuela
00:47:16have on you?
00:47:18Suddenly,
00:47:20under those conditions,
00:47:22just to come to the United States
00:47:24to start a professional career?
00:47:26I didn't come because
00:47:28an Italian man
00:47:30who didn't speak Spanish
00:47:32got me.
00:47:34He was a woman
00:47:36from Caracas,
00:47:38in Tampa.
00:47:40A Spanish woman
00:47:42who had never been to Venezuela.
00:47:44That street is called Caracas.
00:47:46I said,
00:47:48where do you come from?
00:47:50He said,
00:47:52I'm from Venezuela,
00:47:54but I feel like going there
00:47:56because I'm alone,
00:47:58I don't speak English,
00:48:00I don't have any English-speaking
00:48:02friends.
00:48:04I spoke Spanish,
00:48:06I saw what she was doing,
00:48:08I said, don't go,
00:48:10you have a future,
00:48:12stay here.
00:48:14The Spanish woman
00:48:16would give me food,
00:48:18I cried a few times
00:48:20when I passed by.
00:48:22I stayed.
00:48:24I got myself
00:48:26a Fran Potera
00:48:28and an Infile,
00:48:30in Tampa.
00:48:32They saw me and hugged me.
00:48:34They said, no, you're wrong,
00:48:36you're an athlete,
00:48:38stay there.
00:48:48What position
00:48:50did you get to?
00:48:52What position did you get to in Tampa?
00:48:54Second base.
00:48:56They called me a pastor.
00:48:58They signed four.
00:49:00They signed Virgilio Mata,
00:49:02Pablo Bello,
00:49:04Franklin Moreno,
00:49:06who is still alive.
00:49:08At the same time,
00:49:10living abroad as a teenager
00:49:12in a country whose language
00:49:14was not your own,
00:49:16how did you feel
00:49:18about your life
00:49:20in the field of play?
00:49:24Also considering
00:49:26that step as a second baseman.
00:49:28They were two different things.
00:49:30Something I didn't know
00:49:32and something I knew but wanted to learn.
00:49:34I didn't speak English,
00:49:36I didn't know
00:49:38the customs of that country.
00:49:40But I liked to play baseball
00:49:42and they played it
00:49:44just like here.
00:49:46One home and three bases,
00:49:48two lines next to each other.
00:49:50It was baseball.
00:49:52So I tried
00:49:54to surpass myself
00:49:56and do the best I could
00:49:58because that's what I came to do.
00:50:00I came to play baseball.
00:50:02I defend myself when I leave the stadium.
00:50:04And the following year,
00:50:06you returned to the United States.
00:50:08I returned to Tampa.
00:50:12I had a little more confidence
00:50:14playing here in Venezuela.
00:50:16Before I left,
00:50:18I played in Venezuela.
00:50:20Because I inaugurated
00:50:22a second base in the Tigres de Aragua
00:50:24on the first day.
00:50:26That was my great luck.
00:50:30I inaugurated here,
00:50:32I inaugurated in Tampa on the first day
00:50:34and they put me to play here in Maracay.
00:50:36After those two years,
00:50:40things opened up.
00:50:42I played double-A
00:50:44and triple-A
00:50:46that same year.
00:50:48I went to
00:50:50the training camp
00:50:52for the big leagues in the 70s
00:50:54with four men.
00:50:56Fran Doffy,
00:50:58Willie Wurlow,
00:51:00De Rocher, and David Concepcion.
00:51:04So I said,
00:51:06four men,
00:51:08I'm sure I'll go
00:51:10down.
00:51:12David, how did you find out
00:51:14that you were going to Cincinnati?
00:51:16Well, that's another story.
00:51:18It's a dilemma.
00:51:20At the time,
00:51:22on the last day,
00:51:24they put a big container
00:51:26there.
00:51:28And you saw
00:51:30their suitcases,
00:51:32one inside and one outside.
00:51:34One inside and one outside.
00:51:36Until the last day,
00:51:38they didn't tell you
00:51:40that you were going.
00:51:42On the last day,
00:51:44there were five of us.
00:51:46They sent the five of us to triple-A
00:51:48and they let me go.
00:51:50Tony Perry called me and said,
00:51:52Flaco,
00:51:54El Manatee wants to talk to you
00:51:56at the office and he wants me to go.
00:51:58So,
00:52:00he said,
00:52:02I'm taking you
00:52:04to Cincinnati.
00:52:06He said he was
00:52:08taking you to Cincinnati.
00:52:10And that he was
00:52:12going to play a lot.
00:52:14He said, look,
00:52:16if it's possible,
00:52:18I'll give you a chance to play.
00:52:20Well,
00:52:22when I left, my suitcase wasn't there anymore.
00:52:24Everything was ready.
00:52:26The train
00:52:28from the
00:52:30room manager knew that I was going.
00:52:32But he didn't pack my suitcase
00:52:34until the last minute
00:52:36so that I could be mortified.
00:52:38And you were anxious, I guess.
00:52:40There were a lot of players
00:52:42at the base.
00:52:44They would take the suitcase
00:52:46out of his suitcase
00:52:48because it was low.
00:52:50And the manager himself
00:52:52thought that he was going to be the team.
00:52:54David,
00:52:56especially with
00:52:58respect to life,
00:53:00to the day-to-day
00:53:02of a great league,
00:53:04what differences did you notice
00:53:06that caught your attention
00:53:08from the first few weeks
00:53:10with the Cincinnati Reds
00:53:12to what you had experienced
00:53:14during the two previous years
00:53:16in the United States
00:53:18being in minor leagues?
00:53:20You could eat a little better.
00:53:22You could order
00:53:24whatever you wanted in a supermarket.
00:53:26Before,
00:53:28the salary was not enough.
00:53:30Anyway,
00:53:32in major leagues,
00:53:34the salary was $7,000 a year.
00:53:36In the 1970s.
00:53:38I found out
00:53:40on the internet that I was a journalist.
00:53:42I got married
00:53:44earning $7,000
00:53:46in 1972.
00:53:48And there was a strike
00:53:50that I had to hand over the car.
00:53:52And my wife
00:53:56had a strike for 51 days.
00:53:58I don't know what she would think.
00:54:00I got married
00:54:02with this guy
00:54:04who is starving here.
00:54:06We were for a cause.
00:54:08We had 51 days
00:54:10of strike to get
00:54:12the amount of money
00:54:14people earn today.
00:54:16We were justifying free people.
00:54:18And that's why
00:54:20we went on three strikes.
00:54:22I took the three strikes
00:54:24for these guys who earn
00:54:26a lot of money today.
00:54:28Maybe they haven't read it or seen it.
00:54:30And it is that from that season
00:54:32and despite that injury
00:54:34that he suffered shortly before
00:54:36the star game.
00:54:38What I want to know
00:54:40because it wasn't
00:54:42only in 1973
00:54:44but his average was
00:54:46above $2.80
00:54:48in 10 campaigns
00:54:50from that 73.
00:54:52What happened?
00:54:54What made him
00:54:56such a good striker
00:54:58considering what had happened
00:55:00in previous seasons?
00:55:02Why such a radical change?
00:55:04For the better, of course.
00:55:06It's like a winter ball.
00:55:08Remember that in the two years
00:55:10that I was bad,
00:55:12in the United States I played regularly
00:55:14here in Venezuela.
00:55:16And I went to the spring training
00:55:18and I broke this hand.
00:55:20This finger that I turned back
00:55:22and I couldn't grab the bat.
00:55:24And that bothered me
00:55:26until the following year.
00:55:28But I played because
00:55:30I like to play baseball.
00:55:32I become a good
00:55:34striker, I go to the
00:55:36spring training, I look good
00:55:38and I start to hit
00:55:40in the 73, I was destroying
00:55:42the league.
00:55:44I had a campaign for 100
00:55:46pushed races.
00:55:50I don't know if I'm going to hit
00:55:52over 300 but I'm sure
00:55:54I'm going to hit more than 280.
00:55:56And that was more or less what
00:55:58happened in the following years.
00:56:00Yes, I hit 305,
00:56:02301
00:56:04in those 10 years.
00:56:06In 1972
00:56:08Joe Morgan
00:56:10came to Los Rojos
00:56:12of Cincinnati,
00:56:14who by then was a very good
00:56:16striker with the
00:56:18Houston Astros.
00:56:20But from that year
00:56:22he becomes
00:56:24a superstar.
00:56:26And you as a team
00:56:28obviously also improve
00:56:30Los Rojos of Cincinnati.
00:56:32I think he
00:56:34helped me a lot
00:56:36in my
00:56:38recovery.
00:56:40I wanted to ask you that.
00:56:42Because I saw him so small
00:56:44and that he could do
00:56:46so many things.
00:56:48Because Morgan was small.
00:56:50Maybe he was a little
00:56:52taller than me.
00:56:54So I said,
00:56:56why can't I do it?
00:56:58He helped me.
00:57:00He said,
00:57:02let's practice.
00:57:04You can be a good
00:57:06second base, a good shortstop.
00:57:08Let's go, let's go.
00:57:10He talked
00:57:12to me mostly about baseball.
00:57:14And
00:57:16the 1973 season started
00:57:18and he was on the team.
00:57:20He's one of those who
00:57:22regrets that I got injured.
00:57:24So
00:57:26Morgan
00:57:28finished
00:57:30tightening
00:57:32the nut
00:57:34of this great machine.
00:57:36And when I came back
00:57:38in 1974
00:57:40with this season trunk,
00:57:42we tightened
00:57:44this nut very tight.
00:57:46And from then on
00:57:48until
00:57:501978
00:57:52we had
00:57:54a spectacular season.
00:57:56Bench is considered
00:57:58the best receiver
00:58:00in the history of the
00:58:02big leagues by far.
00:58:04It's always a subjective issue because
00:58:06there's Ivan Rodriguez, Carlton Fitch,
00:58:08who was a better receiver at that time.
00:58:10But Carlton Fitch
00:58:12as a receiver wasn't better than
00:58:14Bench. You can compare
00:58:16him to Bench.
00:58:38He had the tools.
00:58:40He called the game well.
00:58:42He had a very good
00:58:44arm.
00:58:46And he was
00:58:48holding the ball.
00:58:50At the time
00:58:52when I put
00:58:54my foot in front of the base
00:58:56of the home plate, no one passed.
00:58:58And that
00:59:00came first than the ball.
00:59:02That
00:59:04would have surprised him.
00:59:08And he was
00:59:10a good batter.
00:59:12He was always good.
00:59:14He was opportunistic.
00:59:16He hit
00:59:18more than 300 home runs.
00:59:20In 1989
00:59:22when
00:59:24the Pete Rose scandal
00:59:26and his bets
00:59:28happened, did that surprise you?
00:59:30I was surprised
00:59:32that he was betting on the team.
00:59:34But I always
00:59:36knew that he was betting
00:59:38until a fly
00:59:40would
00:59:42stop at that table.
00:59:46That was
00:59:48how he was.
00:59:50It was a disease.
00:59:52He couldn't get rid of it at his age.
00:59:54He was born
00:59:56in front of
00:59:58a racetrack.
01:00:00And his father
01:00:02worked at the racetrack.
01:00:04And the boy
01:00:06was watching horse races, betting,
01:00:08all that.
01:00:10But it surprised me.
01:00:12And I think
01:00:14the other day I was talking to Tony
01:00:16Pérez, and I said,
01:00:18Atanasio,
01:00:20we were sitting
01:00:22there
01:00:24that day,
01:00:26and he said,
01:00:28I think that game is over.
01:00:30Why? Tell me about that game.
01:00:32Because we were sitting there
01:00:34and Atanasio was the coach
01:00:36and I was the bench.
01:00:40And I think
01:00:42it was in Cincinnati.
01:00:44And they were beating him
01:00:46and
01:00:48he wasn't moving at all.
01:00:50And I said,
01:00:52Atanasio, what happened to him?
01:00:54He couldn't get rid of it.
01:00:58We didn't tell him
01:01:00what happened
01:01:02until he broke
01:01:04the problem.
01:01:06You, as a member
01:01:08of the Gran Maquinaria Roja,
01:01:10as a person
01:01:12close to you for all the years
01:01:14you lived with Pete Rose,
01:01:16do you regret
01:01:18that fact?
01:01:20I regret it for him, but
01:01:22I give him all the fame for his shots.
01:01:26He won.
01:01:28Those shots were not given to him.
01:01:30To be able to buy
01:01:32a hit, you have to buy
01:01:34at least 8 shots.
01:01:38Even if they give you a bomb,
01:01:40sometimes they give you a bomb and you fly.
01:01:44I mean the suspension,
01:01:46the sanction.
01:01:48Yes, that's why.
01:01:50I give it to him as a beating.
01:01:52His suspension, I don't know.
01:01:54He's at an age
01:01:56where he should be forgiven.
01:01:58I wanted to ask you that.
01:02:00Do you think
01:02:02it's enough?
01:02:04Yes, he's at an age
01:02:06where he should be forgiven
01:02:08so that he can go
01:02:10to Copertano
01:02:12and cry and say
01:02:14everything he did,
01:02:16the good and the bad.
01:02:18A lot of people are going to see him.
01:02:20The tickets will be sold out
01:02:22that day.
01:02:24Would you go to see him?
01:02:26If you invite me, yes.
01:02:28And with that,
01:02:30we end this recap
01:02:32of the first season of
01:02:34Más Allá del Diamante.
01:02:36Not without wishing you
01:02:38a Merry Christmas
01:02:40and a prosperous 2025
01:02:42when we will meet again
01:02:44in a second season.