\u00c2\u00a0Inicios de octubre de 1970 desplegaba varias p\u00c3\u00a1ginas de suspenso para mis 9 a\u00c3\u00b1os de hiperkinesia desbordada. Haber seguido los juegos del Mundial de F\u00c3\u00batbol por televisi\u00c3\u00b3n y el Campeonato Nacional Juvenil de B\u00c3\u00a9isbol en el estadio de Cuman\u00c3\u00a1, encend\u00c3\u00ada toda la fruici\u00c3\u00b3n de mi expectativa ante la Serie Mundial de aquel a\u00c3\u00b1o. Toda esa curiosidad galopaba en paralelo con el reto de la tabla de dividir y la regla de tres que significaba el cuarto grado. La maestra In\u00c3\u00a9s llenaba el aula con su conocimiento transparente y su pedagog\u00c3\u00ada que saltaba entre los pupitres. Cualquier asomo de miedo a las matem\u00c3\u00a1tica me lo borr\u00c3\u00b3 en el primer instante que escuch\u00c3\u00a9 su voz. Me hab\u00c3\u00ada tocado el turno de la tarde, por lo cual deb\u00c3\u00ada estar atento en mis juegos y correr\u00c3\u00adas por calles y ca\u00c3\u00b1averales de regresar a casa antes de mediod\u00c3\u00ada.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0En los peri\u00c3\u00b3dicos hablaban de la Gran Maquinaria Roja de Sparky Anderson, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tany Perez y compa\u00c3\u00b1\u00c3\u00ada. Sus contincantes eran los Orioles de Baltimore de Earl Weaver, Dave McNally, Miguel Cuellar, Jim Palmer, Frank Robinson, Paul Blair y un tercera base que llamaban \u00e2\u20ac\u0153la aspiradora humana\u00e2\u20ac\u009d: Brooks Robinson.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Mientras terminaba del almorzar escuchaba los comentarios de Carlos Tovar Bracho a trav\u00c3\u00a9s de Radio Caracas Televisi\u00c3\u00b3n. Estaba por comenzar otro juego de la Serie Mundial. Trataba de comer lo m\u00c3\u00a1s lento posible para ver si me daba tiempo de ver el comienzo del juego. Ten\u00c3\u00ada esperanzas de que metieran a jugar a David Concepci\u00c3\u00b3n. Pap\u00c3\u00a1 me hacia observaciones para que apurara la comida porque ya era casi la una de la tarde.\u00c2\u00a0 Cuando pas\u00c3\u00a9 por el comedor aprovech\u00c3\u00a9 que pap\u00c3\u00a1 se meti\u00c3\u00b3 en la oficina y me escond\u00c3\u00ad detr\u00c3\u00a1s de un pilar. Por Cincinnati lanzaba Gary Nolan. Por los Orioles creo que lo hacia Palmer o McNally. Pap\u00c3\u00a1 empez\u00c3\u00b3 a llamarme y yo a girar alrededor del pilar. Lee May entr\u00c3\u00b3 a la caja de batear y meti\u00c3\u00b3 un ca\u00c3\u00b1onazo por toda la almohadilla que se desvi\u00c3\u00b3 hacia la zona de foul varios metros detr\u00c3\u00a1s de tercera base.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Pap\u00c3\u00a1 tuvo que ir a contestar el telef\u00c3\u00b3no. Broooks Robinson lleg\u00c3\u00b3 hasta el fondo del abanico en la zona de foul. Succion\u00c3\u00b3 la pelota con el guante de rev\u00c3\u00a9s y cuando parec\u00c3\u00ada que se iba a quedar con la misma en la mano ante el empuje de May hacia primera, ha soltado un disparo por encima del hombro que atraves\u00c3\u00b3 el cuadro interior para vencer a May justo en el momento que iba a hacer contacto con el primer saco. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00a1Que barbaridad de jugada amigos. Muy pocos terceras base pueden hacer ese tiro y hacer el out!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, dijo Tovar Bracho . En el fondo la narraci\u00c3\u00b3n en ingl\u00c3\u00a9s: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What a magnificent play. This guy is really fabulous at the hot corner. The Orioles will have to make him a statue\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. May no pod\u00c3\u00ada creer que el \u00c3\u00a1rbitro hubiese cantado el out. Trat\u00c3\u00b3 de reclamar pero luego vio hacia el dugout y se fue con la cabeza gacha.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Pap\u00c3\u00a1 me agarr\u00c3\u00b3 por el brazo y me llev\u00c3\u00b3 hasta el port\u00c3\u00b3n del porche. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ya es la una y media y todav\u00c3\u00ada est\u00c3\u00a1s aqu\u00c3\u00ad \u00c2\u00bfQu\u00c3\u00a9 sabes t\u00c3\u00ba si la maestra est\u00c3\u00a1 haciendo un examen?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Empec\u00c3\u00a9 a caminar con la mirada en el piso. En la esquina de Clemente me percat\u00c3\u00a9 que no me hab\u00c3\u00adan dado el dinero de la merienda. Sin embargo con el genio que ten\u00c3\u00ada Pap\u00c3\u00a1, prefer\u00c3\u00ad seguir rumbo a la escuela. Aquella jugada de Brooks Robinson bien val\u00c3\u00ada el rega\u00c3\u00b1o y hasta quedarme sin merienda en el recreo escolar. Todo el trayecto lo pas\u00c3\u00a9 simulando atrapar una pelota sobre la orilla de la acera y lanzando a primera por encima del brazo. Al entrar al aula la maestra In\u00c3\u00a9s pasaba la lista. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfVienes llegando y est\u00c3\u00a1s muerto de risa?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Disculpe maestra es por algo que vi mientras ven\u00c3\u00ada para ac\u00c3\u00a1\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
Alfonso L. Tusa C.<\/p>\n
English translation<\/p>\n
The beginning of October, 1970, displayed some pages of suspense for my 9 years of total hyperkinesia. I had followed the Mexico \u00e2\u20ac\u212270 Soccer World Cup on TV and the Juvenile Champioship of Baseball in the stadium of Cuman\u00c3\u00a1, Venezuela. So, I was avid to watch the World Series. All that curiosity ran together with the challenge of beginning the fourth grade in the elementary school. The teacher In\u00c3\u00a9s filled the classroom with all her knowledge and pedagogy. Any possibility of experiencing scare about math, she erased it the first time I heard her voice. I had classes in the afternoon, therefore I had to be\u00c2\u00a0 careful about my games around the streets and sugar cane plantations. I had to be at home before noon.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0The papers talked about the Big Red Machine of Sparky Anderson, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tany P\u00c3\u00a9rez and Co. Their rivals were the Baltimore Orioles of Earl Weaver, Dave McNally, Miguel Cuellar, Jim Palmer, Frank Robinson, Paul Blair and a third baseman called the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153human vacuum cleaner\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Brooks Robinson.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0As I finished eating my lunch I listened to the Carlos Tovar Bracho comments\u00c2\u00a0 through the TV broadcast. It was about to begin another game of the World Series. I tried to eat the slowest to see if I had time to watch at least the beginning of the game. I had expectations that Sparky Anderson would\u00c2\u00a0 put David Concepcion to play in that game. Dad told me to hurry up because it was almost one o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122clock in the afternoon. When I passed through the living room, Dad went into his office. I hid behind one of the pillars in the living room. Gary Nolan was the pitcher for Cincinnati. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure about the Orioles hurler but I suspect that could have been Palmer or Cuellar. Dad started to call me and I began to spin around the pillar. Lee May came into the batting box and hit a tremendous shot over third base that deviated to the foul zone behind the hot corner.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Dad had to answer a telephone call. Brooks Robinson moved to the bottom of the horn in the foul zone. He suctioned the ball with the glove backhanded and when it seemed he would have to stay with the ball in his bare hand, because May was running like a train to first base, he sent and over the shoulder throw through the infield to put May out just at the moment he was going to touch first base. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What an immense play friends. Just a few third basemen can perform that throw and make the out!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, said Tovar Bracho.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0At the bottom of the broadcast it could be listened the English teller:\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What a magnificent play. This guy is really fabulous at the hot corner. The Orioles will have to make him a statue\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. May couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe that the umpire had ruled the out. He tried to complain but then he saw to the dugout and left with his face on the chest.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Dad took me by the arm and led me to the porch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gate. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s half past one and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still here \u00c2\u00bfHow do you know if the teacher isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doing a test?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0I started to walk with my gaze on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0At Clemente\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s corner I knew I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the money for the snack in the school. I decided to keep going because Dad was very upset. That play of Brooks Robinson had more value than any snack I could have in the school. As I approached to the school, I performed like a third base man fielding a ball on the edge of the sidewalk and throwing it to first base over the shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0When I arrived at the classroom, teacher In\u00c3\u00a9s asked me: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why are you smiling?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Excuse me teacher. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because of something I saw while coming here\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
Alfonso 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":"
Inicios de octubre de 1970 desplegaba varias p\u00c3\u00a1ginas de suspenso para mis 9 a\u00c3\u00b1os de hiperkinesia desbordada. Haber seguido los juegos del Mundial de F\u00c3\u00batbol por televisi\u00c3\u00b3n y el Campeonato Nacional Juvenil de B\u00c3\u00a9isbol en el estadio de Cuman\u00c3\u00a1, encend\u00c3\u00ada toda la fruici\u00c3\u00b3n de mi expectativa ante la Serie Mundial de aquel a\u00c3\u00b1o. Toda esa curiosidad galopaba en paralelo con el reto de la tabla de dividir y la regla de tres que significaba el cuarto grado. La maestra In\u00c3\u00a9s llenaba el aula con su conocimiento transparente y su pedagog\u00c3\u00ada que saltaba entre los pupitres. Cualquier asomo de miedo a las matem\u00c3\u00a1tica me lo borr\u00c3\u00b3 en el primer instante que escuch\u00c3\u00a9 su voz. Me hab\u00c3\u00ada tocado el turno de la tarde, por lo cual deb\u00c3\u00ada estar atento en mis juegos y correr\u00c3\u00adas por calles y ca\u00c3\u00b1averales de regresar a casa antes de mediod\u00c3\u00ada.<\/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":[11534,1946,11535,5269,5992,289,5181,6167,6232,11538,1766,3107,9787,5640,1850,11533,1928,11537,11536,11539],"class_list":["post-8458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-almorzar","tag-brooks-robinson","tag-campeonato-nacional","tag-cincinnati","tag-dave-mcnally","tag-earl-weaver","tag-frank-robinson","tag-gary-nolan","tag-hot-corner","tag-humana","tag-jim-palmer","tag-johnny-bench","tag-orioles-de-baltimore","tag-paul-blair","tag-pete-rose","tag-radio-caracas","tag-sparky-anderson","tag-suspenso","tag-tany","tag-ya"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8458\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}