EL PITCHER QUE NUNCA FUI/ THE PITCHER I NEVER WAS [Spa - Eng]

What can I tell you Hivers, When baseball was my absolute passion (in my unforgettable childhood) and the glove was part of my body, another vital organ; I imagined myself as the best pitcher of all, the most dominant in the world, a kind of Johan Santana in his prime when injuries didn't pressure his talent, reaching the triple crown of pitching in 2006 with: 19 (wins), 2.77 (ERA) and 245 (strikes out) or like the Dominican Juan Marichal who before pitching would raise his left leg above his head, which the gringos would later call a "windup," this legend would pave the way for many Latin pitchers in Major League Baseball.

I remember once playing in San Francisco de Asís I tried to imitate the movement of the Mexican Fernando Valenzuela, which consisted of the following: before throwing, look up at the sky, but it turns out that the opposing batters hit me cleanly; Valenzuela "El Toro" was the revelation of the pitching world in 1981, he took almost everything defending the Los Angeles Dodgers uniform; he was the Rookie of the Year, the Cy Young and also won three games in the postseason, nobody would forget the feat of that Mexican.

He dreamed of being on the list of those pitchers who managed to conquer a no-hitter (No Hit No Run) game, as Wilson Alvarez did on August 11, 1991 when he tied up the Baltimore Orioles batters in his second start in the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox, then came Aníbal Sanchez (September 6, 2006 playing for the Marlins), Carlos Zambrano (September 14, 2008 playing for the Chicago Cubs), Santana (June 1, 2012 playing for the New York Mets) Felix Hernandez (August 15, 2012 playing for the Seattle Mariners); But that game on August 15 of King Felix Hernandez turned out to be totally perfect, thus being the first Venezuelan so far to achieve such a difficult feat.

*Photo from the Family Album, with the Ex-Villacurano Professional Baseball Player William Castillo (Who has already passed away)

Who can forget that game in which, due to an umpire's erroneous decision, Armando Galarraga couldn't officially enjoy being the second Venezuelan on the list of perfect players? Galarraga will never forget that June 2, 2010. They say that the umpire would admit his mistake after the game, with tears in his eyes. It's important to note that the first Latino to achieve a perfect game was Nicaraguan Dennis Martínez (on July 28, 1991, with the Montreal Expos).

I also dreamed of being a pitcher for my eternal team: the Tigres de Aragua. I dreamed of being in the rotation and sharing the time with all those greats: Richard Garcés, Juan Carlos Pulido, Víctor Moreno, Horacio Estrada, Rosman García (Thank you for everything you gave to the Tigres de Aragua, we will continue to remember you here). Pitching is an art that seduces you, it is a responsibility that is assumed with great courage, a pitcher cannot be a coward; concentration must be profound; there you are on the mound, depending on your team but above all on your ability to place the pitches where they should go, you must study each batter; that's how it is, the pitcher must be an observer, he must have the memory of an Elephant, try to make as few mistakes as possible and trust his teammates, because he must never forget that Baseball is a team sport, defeat belongs to everyone and not just one, just as victories are collective.

Many children dream of being pitchers, I was one of them, I couldn't achieve it, I'm here sitting at a computer writing the Daily Battles and reviewing the news where they tell us that Robert Suárez reached 40 saves, new faces appear, who come to give that certification that Venezuela is not only a Factory of good shortstops or hitters, also of pitchers, the scientists of baseball.

I continue grabbing my glove and ball, imagining myself as the pitcher I never was