La noticia del avi\u00c3\u00b3n en el aeropuerto de Maracaibo hab\u00c3\u00ada estallado en nuestra habitaci\u00c3\u00b3n. Felipe y Jes\u00c3\u00bas Mario hablaban de un juego entre Venezuela y Puerto Rico luego de la temporada 1967-68. Sus voces emerg\u00c3\u00adan entrecortadas por la humareda del impacto. Isa\u00c3\u00adas L\u00c3\u00a1tigo Ch\u00c3\u00a1vez subi\u00c3\u00b3 al mont\u00c3\u00adculo por los venezolanos. Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Palillo Santiago hizo lo propio por los bor\u00c3\u00adcuas.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Venezuela se fue adelante con cuatro carreras en el primer inning. En el tercer inning Julio Morales solt\u00c3\u00b3 imparable. \u00c3\u0081ngel Luis Alcaraz fall\u00c3\u00b3 con elevado a la derecha. Roberto Clemente la rod\u00c3\u00b3 por las paradas cortas y se ejecut\u00c3\u00b3 el dobleplay.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Felipe se qued\u00c3\u00b3 mirando las manchas marrones que hab\u00c3\u00adan dejado las filtraciones de agua en la platabanda. En esa misma superficie donde clav\u00c3\u00b3 los ojos en la oscuridad para ver el terreno de juego a trav\u00c3\u00a9s del sonido de un radio transistor. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153En el sexto el L\u00c3\u00a1tigo se recuper\u00c3\u00b3 despu\u00c3\u00a9s de aceptar sencillo al centro de Alcaraz. Domin\u00c3\u00b3 a Clemente<\/p>\n
con elevado a manos de C\u00c3\u00a9sar Tovar. Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Luis Calero se ponch\u00c3\u00b3. Julio Gotay entreg\u00c3\u00b3 el \u00c3\u00baltimo out con rodado al campocorto\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0En el octavo Alcaraz solt\u00c3\u00b3 imparable. El L\u00c3\u00a1tigo domin\u00c3\u00b3 a Clemente con rodado por segunda base para forzar a Alcaraz. Al final Venezuela gan\u00c3\u00b3 5-1. Isa\u00c3\u00adas lanz\u00c3\u00b3 completo. Enfrent\u00c3\u00b3 35 bateadores, 1\u00c2\u00a0 carrera limpia, 10 imparables, 6 ponches, 1 boleto. Santiago sali\u00c3\u00b3 derrotado.<\/p>\n
En el clubhouse los periodistas entrevistaron a Clemente: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Roberto Mu\u00c3\u00b1oz tiene un mundo en la pelota. Pero el L\u00c3\u00a1tigo tiene m\u00c3\u00a1s variedad de lanzamientos\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Felipe escarb\u00c3\u00b3 las hojas de una revista Sport Gr\u00c3\u00a1fico en busca de m\u00c3\u00a1s juegos del Latigo. Jes\u00c3\u00bas Mario sac\u00c3\u00b3 su mazo de barajitas y las pas\u00c3\u00b3 presuroso hasta encontrar a un pitcher haciendo el wind up en los jardines del estadio Universitario. Yo todav\u00c3\u00ada me imaginaba entrando a un estadio donde el L\u00c3\u00a1tigo levantara la pierna izquierda hacia el cielo y metiera un cambio de velocidad en la mascota del receptor.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Alfonso L. Tusa C.<\/p>\n
English translation<\/p>\n
The news of the plane crash at the Maracaibo Airport had exploded in our bedroom. Felipe and Jes\u00c3\u00bas Mario talked about a game between Venezuela and Puerto Rico after the 1968-69 season of the Venezuelan winter league. Their voices came out trembling because of the impact from the fact. Isa\u00c3\u00adas L\u00c3\u00a1tigo Ch\u00c3\u00a1vez climbed the mound for the venezuelan team. Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Palillo Santiago did the same for the puertorricans.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Venezuela took the lead with four runs in the first inning. In the third frame Julio Morales hit a single. \u00c3\u0081ngel Luis Alcaraz was out in a fly to right field. Roberto Clemente hit a grounder to short stop and a double play ended the inning.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Felipe kept glancing at the brown spots left by the water filtrations on the ceiling of the room. The same surface where he fixed his eyes to see the ballpark through the sound of a little radio. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the sixth frame, El L\u00c3\u00a1tigo recovered after allowing a base hit to center field of Alcaraz. Then he made out Clemente in a fly to Cesar Tovar. Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Luis Calero got a struckout. Julio Gotay was the last out with a grounder to short stop\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0In the eighth inning, Alcaraz hit a single. El L\u00c3\u00a1tigo made Clemente to hit a grounder to second base and Alcaraz was out there. At the end Venezuela won the contest 5-1. Isa\u00c3\u00adas pitched a complete game. 35 batters, 1 earned run, 10 hits, 6 struckouts, 1 walk. Santiago got the loss.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0In the clubhouse the journalists talked to Clemente: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Roberto Mu\u00c3\u00b1oz has a great fastball. But el L\u00c3\u00a1tigo has more variety in his deliveries\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Felipe passed the pages of a Sport Gr\u00c3\u00a1gfico magazine looking for more games where el L\u00c3\u00a1tigo had pitched. Jes\u00c3\u00bas Mario took out his collection of baseball cards and spread it over his bed until he found a pitcher executing his wind up in the outfield of the estadio Universitario in Caracas. I still imagined myself attending a game where el L\u00c3\u00a1tigo raised his left leg to the sky and threw a change of speed to the catcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mitt.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Alfonso L. Tusa C.<\/p>\n
Alfonso\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work has been featured in Venezuela\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s daily newspaper, El Nacional and in the magazine Gente en Ambiente, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s collaborated on several articles for newspapers, including the daily paper Tal Cual. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also written three books and biographies for SABR\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s BioProject.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" La noticia del avi\u00c3\u00b3n en el aeropuerto de Maracaibo hab\u00c3\u00ada estallado en nuestra habitaci\u00c3\u00b3n. Felipe y Jes\u00c3\u00bas Mario hablaban de un juego entre Venezuela y Puerto Rico luego de la temporada 1967-68. Sus voces emerg\u00c3\u00adan entrecortadas por la humareda del impacto. Isa\u00c3\u00adas L\u00c3\u00a1tigo Ch\u00c3\u00a1vez subi\u00c3\u00b3 al mont\u00c3\u00adculo por los venezolanos. Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Palillo Santiago hizo lo propio por los bor\u00c3\u00adcuas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13594,13586,13585,123,13584,7091,13580,13581,12743,13588,7096,13583,13589,13582,13590,13587,2368,13592,5011,13591],"class_list":["post-12851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-alf","tag-calero","tag-clemente-roberto","tag-clubhouse","tag-imparable","tag-imparables","tag-julio-gotay","tag-julio-morales","tag-las-hojas","tag-las-manchas","tag-los-jardines","tag-marrones","tag-octavo","tag-palillo","tag-periodistas","tag-pierna","tag-roberto-clemente","tag-santiago","tag-segunda-base","tag-transistor"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t