Esa ma\u00c3\u00b1ana de octubre nada me deten\u00c3\u00ada en ruta hacia la librer\u00c3\u00ada de Cumanacoa. En la esquina de Clemente le probaban los frenos a un Mustang, ni siquiera volte\u00c3\u00a9 cuando el mec\u00c3\u00a1nico pis\u00c3\u00b3 el acelerador y luego dej\u00c3\u00b3 una marca humeante de neum\u00c3\u00a1ticos sobre el pavimento. Los muchachos de la calle Las Flores jugaban una pelotica de goma y les faltaba un jugador. Se sorprendieron cuando segu\u00c3\u00ad caminando cada vez m\u00c3\u00a1s r\u00c3\u00a1pido bajo las trinitarias de la escuela Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Luis Ramos. En la plaza Montes varios grupos intercambiaban barajitas, me llamaron pero segu\u00c3\u00ad mi camino hasta detenerme frente al mostrador de vidrio. Pedro Luis sali\u00c3\u00b3 detr\u00c3\u00a1s de un estante. Pasaron varios segundos, la imagen del pitcher con el uniforme azul y naranja de los Mets reson\u00c3\u00b3 en mis ojos con el t\u00c3\u00adtulo: Tom el terrible. Pedro Luis toc\u00c3\u00b3 el filo de la revista. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfQuieres el Sport Gr\u00c3\u00a1fico?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Todav\u00c3\u00ada le\u00c3\u00ada a la distancia la forma como Tom Seaver agarraba la pelota. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Si, si, por favor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
En la tarde comenzaba el segundo juego de la Serie Mundial. Todo apuntaba a que los superpoderosos Orioles de Baltimore le ganar\u00c3\u00adan a los Mets. Y luego de aquel jonr\u00c3\u00b3n de Don Buford y de la victoria 4-1 todo se\u00c3\u00b1alaba que se cumplir\u00c3\u00adan los pron\u00c3\u00b3sticos.<\/p>\n
Los Mets hab\u00c3\u00adan empezado la temporada con una marca no muy distinta de sus primeras 7 temporadas. Pero luego empez\u00c3\u00b3 a gestarse el car\u00c3\u00a1cter del equipo. Ganaron 11 juegos seguidos. Jerry Koosman recuerda, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 A partir de ah\u00c3\u00ad empezamos a tener m\u00c3\u00a1s confianza en nosotros. En los \u00c3\u00baltimos 121 juegos tuvieron marca de 82-39\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153La gente nos llamaba los Milagrosos Mets, pero pienso que \u00c3\u00a9ramos m\u00c3\u00a1s que un simple milagro. Los Mets del \u00e2\u20ac\u212269 eran un grupo de jugadores j\u00c3\u00b3venes que madur\u00c3\u00b3 en el momento preciso, y logr\u00c3\u00b3 acoplarse. Adem\u00c3\u00a1s cont\u00c3\u00a1bamos con una agaradable mezcla de veteranos que nos ayud\u00c3\u00b3 mucho\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, explica Ron Swoboda, jardinero de aquellos Mets.<\/p>\n
De regreso a casa tropec\u00c3\u00a9 varias veces con los postes, ca\u00c3\u00ad en varios huecos de la v\u00c3\u00ada, discut\u00c3\u00ad con varias personas por estar a punto de chocar con ellas. Pero nunca apart\u00c3\u00a9 la mirada de las hojas de la revista. Las fotos del estaff de pitcheo: Seaver, Koosman, Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan, Ron Taylor, Cal Koonce, Tug McGraw. Ni de una entrevista de Ed Kranepool: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Quiz\u00c3\u00a1s no ten\u00c3\u00adamos los mejores bateadores, pero \u00c3\u00a9ramos s\u00c3\u00b3lidos en la defensa. Y ten\u00c3\u00adamos muy buen pitcheo. Esa era nuestra verdadera fuerza\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Tambi\u00c3\u00a9n hab\u00c3\u00ada un recuadro con una se\u00c3\u00b1a del equipo que para m\u00c3\u00ad dec\u00c3\u00ada mucho. Ganaron 9 juegos con pizarra de 1-0. Tres de ellos en extrainning, uno ante Bill Singer y los Dodgers, otro ante Juan Marichal y los Gigantes. Como broche de oro el 12 de septiembre le ganaron un doble juego a los Piratas con la anotaci\u00c3\u00b3n m\u00c3\u00adnima.<\/p>\n
Una muestra de la qu\u00c3\u00admica de esos Mets es el juego que le ganaron 4-3 a los Cardenales de San Luis y Steve Carlton a\u00c3\u00ban cuando este ponch\u00c3\u00b3 19. Swoboda bate\u00c3\u00b3 dos jonrones de dos carreras.<\/p>\n
A mitad de temporada lleg\u00c3\u00b3 Don Clendenon y en 72 juegos bate\u00c3\u00b3 .252 con 12 jonrones y 37 empujadas. Un aporte muy importante que luego fue rematado con una maravillosa Serie Mundial.<\/p>\n
El rostro angelical de Marisabel mientras sal\u00c3\u00ada de su casa, me hizo trastabillar en el filo de la acera. Casi me fui de bruces hacia el pavimento al tiempo que la muchacha escond\u00c3\u00ada la sonrisa entre sus manos. Con el cuerpo a\u00c3\u00ban doblado empec\u00c3\u00a9 a retomar el paso, mis ojos saltaban entre Marisabel y otro p\u00c3\u00a1rrafo de Sport Gr\u00c3\u00a1fico: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A mediados de agosto los Mets estaban a nueve y medio juegos de los Cachorros de Chicago. En sus \u00c3\u00baltimos 50 juegos los \u00e2\u20ac\u0153milagrosos\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ganaron 39 y terminaron la temporada 8 juegos encima de los Cachorros\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
Por toda la calle \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Las Flores\u00e2\u20ac\u009d escuch\u00c3\u00a9 un silbido y varias voces tan tenues que parec\u00c3\u00adan a kil\u00c3\u00b3metros de distancia. En ese momento ya hab\u00c3\u00ada cerrado la revista. Todav\u00c3\u00ada lamentaba no haber podido ver completo el primer juego del play off ante los Bravos de Atlanta. Pap\u00c3\u00a1 lleg\u00c3\u00b3 de un viaje a Caripe y me llam\u00c3\u00b3 para que lo ayudara a bajar unas naranjas y varios coliflores. Despu\u00c3\u00a9s estuvimos ordenando unas cajas en la oficina. Cuando regres\u00c3\u00a9 al televisor, s\u00c3\u00b3lo escuch\u00c3\u00a9 que los Mets hab\u00c3\u00adan ganado el primer juego 9-5. Esa tarde no pude ver el juego, antes de acostarme escuch\u00c3\u00a9 que los Mets hab\u00c3\u00adan ganado 2-1.<\/p>\n
Dos d\u00c3\u00adas despu\u00c3\u00a9s, luego de salir desencajado de un interrogatorio de biolog\u00c3\u00ada, Santiago y Juan me dijeron que estuvieron silb\u00c3\u00a1ndome y gritando por toda la calle para decirme que hab\u00c3\u00ada examen oral. Lo \u00c3\u00banico que me reanim\u00c3\u00b3 fue que al llegar a casa, empezaba el tercer juego de la Serie Mundial. Carlos Tovar Bracho narraba emocionado el jonr\u00c3\u00b3n de Tommie Agee para darle la delantera 1-0 a los Mets. En el cuarto inning con hombres en los \u00c3\u00a1ngulos y dos outs, Elrod Hendricks solt\u00c3\u00b3 un batazo peligroso a las profundidades del left-center field, Agee corri\u00c3\u00b3 a todo lo que daban sus piernas y tom\u00c3\u00b3 la pelota con el guante de rev\u00c3\u00a9s sobre la pared. Tovar Bracho ahogaba los comentarios en medio de sus recuerdos de la venida de Agee a jugar en la liga venezolana con el Magallanes. En el s\u00c3\u00a9ptimo inning, con las bases llenas y 2 outs, Paul Blair destap\u00c3\u00b3 una l\u00c3\u00adnea a lo m\u00c3\u00a1s rec\u00c3\u00b3ndito del right-center field que amenazaba barrer las bases. Agee corri\u00c3\u00b3 y extendi\u00c3\u00b3 el guante hasta alcanzar la pelota en la zona de seguridad donde se desliz\u00c3\u00b3 y mantuvo la pelota en su guante. La emoci\u00c3\u00b3n de Tovar Bracho, y la victoria 5-0 de los Mets me hicieron olvidar el momento dif\u00c3\u00adcil en la escuela.<\/p>\n
Los Mets terminaron ganando la Serie Mundial. Completaron el milagro con victorias 2-1 y 5-3 en los juegos 4 y 5. Esa victoria me hizo revisar varios Sport Gr\u00c3\u00a1fico y peri\u00c3\u00b3dicos de casi tres meses atr\u00c3\u00a1s. El hombre hab\u00c3\u00ada llegado a la luna. Y los Mets ganaron la Serie Mundial. Hab\u00c3\u00ada que sentarse a esperar que pasaba en la Liga Venezolana, porque esas eran las condiciones que algunos fan\u00c3\u00a1ticos hab\u00c3\u00adan impuesto para que Magallanes ganara el campeonato.<\/p>\n
English Translation<\/strong><\/p>\n That October morning I strode unstoppable in route to the Cumanacoa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (Venezuela) bookstore. At Clemente\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s corner they were testing the breaks of a Mustang. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even looked back when the mechanic man pushed down the accelerator and right afterwards a smoking spot covered the pavement with a layer of tire. The kids of Las Flores street played baseball with a rubber ball and needed one more player. They got surprised when I kept striding each time faster under the trinitarias bushes of the Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Lu\u00c3\u00ads Ramos elementary school. At the Montes square some groups of boys exchanged baseball cards. They called me. But I followed my way until stopping in front of the bookstore\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s counter. Pedro Luis came from behind a stand. After a few seconds, the image of the pitcher with the pinstripe uniform blue, white and orange, exploded in my eyes with the title: Tom the terrific. Pedro Luis touched the border of the magazine. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do you want the Sport Gr\u00c3\u00a1fico?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I was still looking at the way Tom Seaver gripped the ball. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah, yeah, please\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n That afternoon would take place the second game of the World Series. All the analysts pointed at the supermighty Baltimore Orioles to win the series. After that home run of Don Buford and the win 4-1 in the first game, everything seemed like it was a matter of days to see the Orioles getting the crown.<\/p>\n The Mets had started the season with almost the same record of its first 7 seasons. But then, the team began to create its own character. They won eleven games in a row. Jerry Koosman remembers. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153After that streak we began to believe that we could win\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. In the last 121 games they had a record of 82-39.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153People called us the Miracle Mets, but I think that we were more than just a simple miracle. The Mets of \u00e2\u20ac\u212269 were a bunch of young players that got to maturity in the right moment and could play as a team. Besides that we had a nice group of veteran players that helped us a lot\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, explains Ron Swoboda, an outfielder of those Mets.<\/p>\n Coming back home, I bumped many times against the street poles. I fell down at a lot of holes at the street. I argued with some people because I almost clashed against them. But I never took apart my eyes from the magazine. The pictures of the pitching staff: Seaver, Koosman, Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan, Ron Taylor, Cal Koonce, Tug McGraw. Nor from an interview with Ed Kranepool. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Maybe we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the best hitters, but we had a great defense. And we had outstanding pitchers. That was our real strength\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. There was a box with some stats that meant a lot for me . Those Mets won 9 games with a 1-0 score. Three of them in extra inning. One before Bill Singer and the Dodgers, other before Juan Marichal and the Giants. As the ending point, the September 12th, they beat the Pirates in a doubleheader, the scores were both 1-0.<\/p>\n Another sample of the chemistry in that team is the game where they defeated Steve Carlton and the St. Louis Cardinal 4-3, no matter Carlton struckout 19 Mets. Swoboda hit two two-run homers.<\/p>\n Don Clendenon arrived at midseason and in 72 games hit for .252 with 12 homers and 37 RBI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. A very important contribution that he later confirmed with a magnificent World Series performance.<\/p>\n The pretty face of Marisabel coming out from her home, made me almost fell down from the border of the sidewalk. The girl hid his smile behind her fingers. I started to recover my walking pace with my body still bent. My eyes still bounced between Marisabel and another page of Sport Gr\u00c3\u00a1fico. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153At mid Agust the Mets were nine and a half games behind the Chicago Cubs. In their last 50 games they won 39 and finished 8 games above the Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n While striding on the Las Flores street I heard a whistle and some weak voices that seemed very far away. By that moment I had closed the magazine. I still regretted for not seeing the whole first game of the National League Championship Series before the Atlanta Braves. Dad arrived from a trip to Caripe, Venezuela., and called me to help him to get out some oranges and lettuce from the automobile. Afterwards we spent some time ordering several boxes in his office. When I went back to the TV set, I only heard that the Mets had won the first game 9-5.<\/p>\n That afternoon I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see the game. Before going to bed I heard the Mets had defeated the Orioles 2-1.<\/p>\n Two days later, after coming out very upset from a biology oral test, Santiago and Juan told me they were whistling and shouting at me all the Las Flores street long, to tell me about that oral test. The only thing that cheered me up was that just when I arrived home, it was starting the third game of the World Series. Carlos Tovar Bracho narrated very excited the Tommie Agee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s home run to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning, with men on first and third and two outs, Elrod Hendricks hit a shot deep to left- center field, Agee ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He made a backhanded snow cone catch and saved at least 2 runs. Tovar Bracho mixed his comments with his memories of the times when Agee played in the Venezuelan Winter League with the Magallanes Navigators. In the seventh inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Paul Blair sent a line drive to deep right-center field. At the last minute the wind grabbed the ball. Agee extended, dove for the ball, snared the sinking liner, slid onto the warning track and rolled over. The ball was in his glove. The emotions of Tovar Bracho and the Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 victory 5-0 made me forget about the difficult moment in the school.<\/p>\n The Mets won the World Series. They completed the miracle by beating the Orioles 2-1 and 5-3 in the games 4 and 5. That victory made me review several Sport Gr\u00c3\u00a1fico magazines and newspapers from almost three months before. Man had arrived to the moon. And the Mets won the World Series. It was time to sit down to see what would happen in the Venezuelan Winter League, because those were the conditions some fans had called first to take place for the Magallanes Navigators winning of the championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","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-1560","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