Much\u00c3\u00adsimas ma\u00c3\u00b1anas, a veces sin terminar la tarea, agarraba la pelota de goma y me iba a jugar un \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito\u00e2\u20ac\u009d con mis amigos de la cuadra. Cuando estaba a punto de rebotar la pelota contra la pared del patio de Clemente, llegaba mam\u00c3\u00a1 y me templaba del brazo. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hasta que no termines la tarea, no hay juego de pelota\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Arrugaba los ojos. No recuerdo unas tareas que hiciera con m\u00c3\u00a1s de dedicaci\u00c3\u00b3n. Al intentar traspasar la puerta de la calle, la voz de mam\u00c3\u00a1 se engarzaba en mis tobillos. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153D\u00c3\u00a9jame ver la tarea\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Luego de una minuciosa revisi\u00c3\u00b3n, me daba su aprobaci\u00c3\u00b3n y corr\u00c3\u00ada a jugar.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Durante unas vacaciones, mis abuelos sonre\u00c3\u00adan al ver con cual energ\u00c3\u00ada pas\u00c3\u00a1bamos ma\u00c3\u00b1anas y tardes jugando \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito\u00e2\u20ac\u009d con una fruici\u00c3\u00b3n que nos permit\u00c3\u00ada ver la pelota a\u00c3\u00ban cuando el sol se dilu\u00c3\u00ada en el horizonte. Una tarde abuelo me llam\u00c3\u00b3. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfUstedes saben qui\u00c3\u00a9n fue Carrasquelito?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Pocas veces lo hab\u00c3\u00ada visto con aquella luz en la mirada, cada episodio, cada haza\u00c3\u00b1a del Chico en Grandes Ligas o en Venezuela lo hac\u00c3\u00ada sonreir y apretar las manos. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito fue el h\u00c3\u00a9roe de mi juventud\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Aquella emoci\u00c3\u00b3n de mi abuelo, la pude comprobar a plenitud la ma\u00c3\u00b1ana que tuve la oportunidad de entrevistar a Alfonso Chico Carrasquel en su casa de San Jos\u00c3\u00a9. Necesitaba su testimonio para ilustrar un cap\u00c3\u00adtulo del libro de Isa\u00c3\u00adas L\u00c3\u00a1tigo Ch\u00c3\u00a1vez. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Adelante tocayo. Todo lo que est\u00c3\u00a9 a mi alcance se lo informo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. A pesar de que en ese momento deb\u00c3\u00ada ser dializado con regularidad, el Chico siempre mantuvo ese trato jovial y cari\u00c3\u00b1oso que lo caracteriz\u00c3\u00b3 toda la vida. Hablamos del L\u00c3\u00a1tigo, del b\u00c3\u00a9isbol venezolano, de las Grandes Ligas, cont\u00c3\u00b3 algunos chistes. Hasta me encarg\u00c3\u00b3 unas morcillas cuando supo que era de Cuman\u00c3\u00a1. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Esas morcillas las disfrutaba mucho porque eran dulces y ten\u00c3\u00adan aj\u00c3\u00ad picante. Mmmmm\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. La hermana que lo cuidaba se lo qued\u00c3\u00b3 mirando con ojos de polic\u00c3\u00ada.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Cada vez que terminaba un inning de \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, el que ven\u00c3\u00ada a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153batear\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 lanzaba la pelota lo m\u00c3\u00a1s r\u00c3\u00a1pido posible contra la pared y el que iba al campo deb\u00c3\u00ada correr como loco para intentar llegarle a la pelota.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Disfruto mucho colaborando con todos los que me solicitan para hablar de b\u00c3\u00a9isbol y de la vida. Es como revivir una parte de mi existencia. Hace poco me llamaron del canal 8 para hacer una entrevista. Les dije que con gusto ir\u00c3\u00ada, pero dadas mis condiciones de salud necesitaba que me vinieran a buscar. Ellos pretend\u00c3\u00adan que me fuera pagando de mi bolsillo\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6que seguramente en Chicago si me mandaban a buscar de alg\u00c3\u00ban medio de comunicaci\u00c3\u00b3n saldr\u00c3\u00ada corriendo de inmediato. Les respond\u00c3\u00ad que s\u00c3\u00ad, como no iba\u00c2\u00a0 a hacerlo, si en Chicago sin que lo pidiera, ten\u00c3\u00ada una limusina esperando a la entrada de la casa para llevarme y traerme en cuanto terminara la entrevista. Finalmente les dije que en esas condiciones iba a ser dif\u00c3\u00adcil que los ayudara\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0El 26 de mayo de 2005, entr\u00c3\u00a9 al estadio en medio del ulular de sirenas que anunciaban la llegada de un visitante que rondar\u00c3\u00ada los alrededores del estadio Universitario por \u00c3\u00baltima vez. Con much\u00c3\u00adsimas personas en el terreno y muchas m\u00c3\u00a1s en las tribunas, comenz\u00c3\u00b3 la espera. En las carpas levantadas sobre el mont\u00c3\u00adculo estaban los familiares del Chico. Habl\u00c3\u00a9 un rato con su hermano. Domingo. Hasta que apareci\u00c3\u00b3 el f\u00c3\u00a9retro por el dugout de tercera base. El cortejo pas\u00c3\u00b3 por tercera base y fue a detenerse justo en la parte m\u00c3\u00a1s profunda del \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hueco\u00e2\u20ac\u009d entre la antesala y la segunda base. All\u00c3\u00ad donde tantas veces el uniforme n\u00c3\u00bamero 17 relampague\u00c3\u00b3 con los colores de Cervecer\u00c3\u00ada; Leones, Medias Blancas,\u00c2\u00a0 Indios, Orioles, Atl\u00c3\u00a9ticos, Pampero, Oriente y Magallanes, para\u00c2\u00a0 agarrar pelotas con el guante de rev\u00c3\u00a9s, o tomar saltarines adormecidos en la grama del cuadro, o saltar hacia su izquierda para decapitar roletazos que cantaban imparables sobre segunda. El ambiente se detuvo por segundos, sonidos de bates, pelotas y guantes mezclados con gritos de \u00c3\u00a1rbitros y tribuna, flotaban sobre la grama. Un reguero de im\u00c3\u00a1genes mezclaron los innumerables juegos donde el Chico hizo vibrar el diamante de las cuatro bases.<\/p>\n
Una tarde abuelo se acerc\u00c3\u00b3 a la pared y agarr\u00c3\u00b3 la pelota, me la dio. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153P\u00c3\u00a9gala lo m\u00c3\u00a1s duro que puedas de la pared. Me qued\u00c3\u00a9 con la boca extendida cuando not\u00c3\u00a9 como abuelo se doblaba con todo el cuerpo extendido para agarrar la pelota con la punta de los dedos.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Alfonso L. Tusa C.<\/p>\n
English translation<\/p>\n
Many mornings, while I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t finished my fifth grade homework, I grabbed my rubber ball and went to play \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with my friends from the neighborhood. When I was about to bounce the ball against the wall of Clemente\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s backyard, Mom came and took me by the arm. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t complete your homework, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not going to play any ball.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I wrinkled my eyes. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember any homework I had done with so much dedication. When I tried to go out to play, Mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice chased my ankles. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let me see your homework\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. After a very detailed review, she gave me her approval and I ran to play.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0During several vacations, my grandparents smiled while seeing how we played from early in the morning \u00e2\u20ac\u02dctil sunset the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito\u00e2\u20ac\u009d game with such a passion that we could even see the ball after the sun had dissolved into the horizon. One evening Grandpa called me. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do you know who Alfonso Chico Carrasquel was?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Very few times I saw that kind of brightness in his eyes. Each episode, each Chico Carrasquel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s achievement in MLB or Venezuela made him smile and squeeze his barehands. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito was my hero\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0I could experience my Grandpa emotions, the morning I had the chance of interviewing Chico Carrasquel in his house of San Jos\u00c3\u00a9, Caracas. I needed his testimony to illustrate better a chapter of my biography book about Isa\u00c3\u00adas L\u00c3\u00a1tigo Ch\u00c3\u00a1vez. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s go on, Buddy. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll tell you everything I know about Isa\u00c3\u00adas\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. \u00c2\u00a0Despite the fact that he was having dialysis sessions on those days, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153El Chico\u00e2\u20ac\u009d always kept that affectional and caring attitude that characterized him during all his life. We talked about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153El L\u00c3\u00a1tigo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, about Venezuelan baseball, about MLB. He said some jokes. He even asked me to get him some sausages when he knew I was from Cuman\u00c3\u00a1. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I enjoyed a lot those sausages because they were sweet and had red hot chili peppers. Mmmm.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d His sister, the one who cared about his medical diet kept looking at him like a cop.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0As soon as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito\u00e2\u20ac\u009d game inning finished, the guy who came to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bat\u00e2\u20ac\u009d threw the ball against the wall even from his defensive position at the middle of the street. That way the guy who was going to play defense should run very fast to try to reach the ball.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I enjoy a lot helping everybody who asks me to talk about baseball and life. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like living again a part of my life. Recently they called me from channel 8 here in Caracas. They wanted an interview with me. I told them that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ok with me. But since my health conditions are not the best I needed that they sent a cab to take me to the TV station. They wanted me to pay the cab. They said that if I was in Chicago I would go in a rush to the TV station. I answered that they were right. How could I say no when in Chicago they send me a limo to take me to the TV station and back home once the interview was over. Finally I told them that in those terms it was going to be very difficult for me to help them\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0On May 26th<\/sup>, 2005, \u00c2\u00a0I came into the stadium in the bulk of many sirens announcing the arrival of a visitor for his last time around the Universitario stadium. There were many people on the field and many more on the stands waiting for the visitor. The relatives of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153El Chico\u00e2\u20ac\u009d were under a tent raised around the mound. I talked for a while with his brother Domingo. Then it appeared the coffin through the third base dugout. It was carried to the deepest site of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hole\u00e2\u20ac\u009d between third and second base. There where so many times the jersey with number 17 shined with the colors of Cervecer\u00c3\u00ada, Leones, White Sox, Indians, \u00c2\u00a0Athletics, Orioles, Pampero, Oriente and Magallanes, to take the balls backhanded glove,\u00c2\u00a0 or to take weak grounders on the infield grass, or to jump to his left hand to erase grounders that had a base hit label. The air got rare for a while. The sound of bats, gloves and balls mixed with the shouts from the umpires and the stands, floated on the grass. A cascade of images drew all the games where \u00e2\u20ac\u0153El Chico\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0shook the diamond with his plays at short stop.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0One evening, Grandpa got close to the wall and took the rubber ball. He gave it to me. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hit it the hardest you can against the wall\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. I got surprised when I saw Grandpa bending to take the ball on his fingertips.<\/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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Much\u00c3\u00adsimas ma\u00c3\u00b1anas, a veces sin terminar la tarea, agarraba la pelota de goma y me iba a jugar un \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Carrasquelito\u00e2\u20ac\u009d con mis amigos de la cuadra. Cuando estaba a punto de rebotar la pelota contra la pared del patio de Clemente, llegaba mam\u00c3\u00a1 y me templaba del brazo. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hasta que no termines la tarea, no hay juego de pelota\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Arrugaba los ojos. No recuerdo unas tareas que hiciera con m\u00c3\u00a1s de dedicaci\u00c3\u00b3n.<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-14240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\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