El resonar de las chicharras llegaba entre las sombras de la una de la tarde, la voz de Carlos Tovar Bracho \u00c2\u00a0flotaba en el fondo del comedor. En el dugout de los Rojos de Cincinnati un hombre de rostro reflexivo caminaba de un lado a otro, mov\u00c3\u00ada las manos mientras miraba hac\u00c3\u00ada el mont\u00c3\u00adculo, el plato y los jardines. Mam\u00c3\u00a1 termin\u00c3\u00b3 arrastr\u00c3\u00a1ndome y s\u00c3\u00b3lo escuch\u00c3\u00a9 a Tovar Bracho decir algo sobre Sparky Anderson y la Liga Venezolana de B\u00c3\u00a9isbol Profesional.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0George Anderson naci\u00c3\u00b3 en Bridgewater, Dakota del Sur, USA un 22 de febrero de 1934. El apodo Sparky viene de cuando jugaba para los Cats de Fort Worth en la Liga de Texas AA en 1955. Jugaba su tercera temporada en el profesional y se hab\u00c3\u00ada ganado la fama de pelotero joseador, por la fiereza con que se entregaba en el campo. Luego de otra discusi\u00c3\u00b3n con un \u00c3\u00a1rbitro, el locutor radial de Fort Worth dijo \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the sparks are really flying tonight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153las chispas est\u00c3\u00a1n volando de verdad esta noche\u00e2\u20ac\u009d), sparks fue transformado en Sparky y ah\u00c3\u00ad empez\u00c3\u00b3 el apodo. Sparky fue un camarero que jug\u00c3\u00b3 1 temporada en Grandes Ligas con los Filis de Filadelfia.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0 De aquella Serie Mundial de 1970 recuerdo que para el tercer juego Sparky ubic\u00c3\u00b3 a David Concepci\u00c3\u00b3n como octavo bate y en las paradas cortas. Antes de irme escuch\u00c3\u00a9 a Tovar Bracho hablando de la vez que Anderson vino a dirigir al Magallanes en la temporada 1964-65, habl\u00c3\u00b3 de unas 13 derrotas; cuando iba a mencionar lo que pas\u00c3\u00b3 antes de la seguidilla de reveses mam\u00c3\u00a1 me remolc\u00c3\u00b3 hacia la escuela, estiraba el cuello, s\u00c3\u00b3lo escuch\u00c3\u00a9:\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6al menos\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Anderson siempre bromeaba con el titular del Cincinnati Enquirer el d\u00c3\u00ada que lo nombraron manager de los Rojos de Cincinnati a los 35 a\u00c3\u00b1os: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfSparky qui\u00c3\u00a9n?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Pero pronto empez\u00c3\u00b3 a actuar y lucir como un manager experimentado. Desarroll\u00c3\u00b3 una gran capacidad para profundizar en la estrategia del juego, en la habilidad para tratar a los peloteros y en su obsesi\u00c3\u00b3n por ganar. A veces los narradores lo llamaban \u00e2\u20ac\u0153El Capit\u00c3\u00a1n Garfio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d porque sacaba a los pitchers abridores a la primera muestra de alg\u00c3\u00ban parpadeo.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0En 1972 Sparky regres\u00c3\u00b3 a la Serie Mundial ante los Atl\u00c3\u00a9ticos, esa vez los juegos los pasaban por un canal que no se sintonizaba en la casa. Pero igual segu\u00c3\u00ada los juegos por radio. Seis de los siete juegos terminaron por una carrera.\u00c2\u00a0 Estando abajo en la Serie 3-2, Anderson \u00c2\u00a0aline\u00c3\u00b3 a Concepci\u00c3\u00b3n como campocorto y el criollo respondi\u00c3\u00b3 bateando de 3-2 con anotada y empujada, los Rojos ganaron 8-1.\u00c2\u00a0 Rub\u00c3\u00a9n Mijares me coment\u00c3\u00b3 una vez que Sparky se hab\u00c3\u00ada empe\u00c3\u00b1ado en insistir con David cuando este a\u00c3\u00ban le costaba batear en la Gran Carpa \u00e2\u20ac\u0153porque Concepci\u00c3\u00b3n es como un ciervo grande y solitario al que hay que darle tiempo de que entre en confianza para ver los saltos que es capaz de dar\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0En la mitad del s\u00c3\u00a9ptimo juego de la Serie Mundial de 1975 Tany P\u00c3\u00a9rez fue al club house a buscar algo y vi\u00c3\u00b3 a Sparky caminar de un lado a otro con las manos en la cabeza. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfTe sientes mal?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfQu\u00c3\u00a9 si me siento mal? Perdimos el juego de anoche y estamos perdiendo 3-0\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No te preocupes vamos a reaccionar\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Y lo hicieron con jonr\u00c3\u00b3n de P\u00c3\u00a9rez.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Luis Pe\u00c3\u00b1alver, uno de los pitchers del Magallanes en aquella temporada 64-65, refiere por tel\u00c3\u00a9fono: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sparky era un manager muy sensible. Siempre estaba pendiente del \u00c3\u00baltimo de los peloteros. \u00c3\u2030l mismo fongueaba en la pr\u00c3\u00a1ctica de infield. Cuando me lesion\u00c3\u00a9 el codo el sali\u00c3\u00b3 al mont\u00c3\u00adculo, le dije que no pod\u00c3\u00ada lanzar m\u00c3\u00a1s. Me dio dos palmadas en el hombro y me dijo: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry boy. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re gonna recover from this\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. No pudo ganar con aquel Magallanes pero los peloteros lo respetaban mucho porque \u00c3\u00a9l los tomaba en cuenta. Era un gran tipo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0 Cuando era un ni\u00c3\u00b1o su padre le dijo a Sparky: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No tienes que ser rico para caerle bien a las personas, esa es una de las cosas de la vida que no cuesta ni un centavo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
Gan\u00c3\u00b3 las Series Mundiales de 1976 (Cincinnati) y 1984 (Detroit) para convertirse en el primer manager en ganar Series Mundiales con equipos de ambas ligas mayores<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sparky nos ense\u00c3\u00b1\u00c3\u00b3 que jugar b\u00c3\u00a9isbol es como pintar un cuadro. Cuando un artista pinta, la pintura cambia cada vez que mueve el pincel sobre el lienzo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, dijo Kirk Gibson qui\u00c3\u00a9n jug\u00c3\u00b3 para Anderson en Detroit.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Cuando Sparky fue elegido al Sal\u00c3\u00b3n de la Fama escogi\u00c3\u00b3 la gorra de Cincinnati para su placa en homenaje a Bob Howsam el gerente general que le dio la oportunidad a un jugador de ligas menores de dirigir en las Grandes Ligas.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Otro atributo de Anderson era que siempre estaba en constante evoluci\u00c3\u00b3n, siempre hac\u00c3\u00ada movimientos en el equipo, como cuando movi\u00c3\u00b3 a Pete Rose del left field a tercera base en mayo de 1975 o cuando le dio la oportunidad a George Foster de jugar todos los d\u00c3\u00adas.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Teniamos personalidades muy distintas en aquel equipo. Sparky era capaz de entenderse con nosotros de manera individual o como colectivo. Nunca lo v\u00c3\u00ad como mi manager.\u00c2\u00a0 Lo consideraba parte de mi familia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, dijo Joe Morgan el camarero de la Gran Maquinaria Roja de los a\u00c3\u00b1os 70.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Era un individuo \u00c3\u00banico. Un personaje que sent\u00c3\u00ada gran pasi\u00c3\u00b3n y amor por el juego\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, dijo el ant\u00c3\u00adguo pitcher de los Tigres de Detroit Jack Morris.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No hay otra persona en el b\u00c3\u00a9isbol como Sparky Anderson. Le entreg\u00c3\u00b3 su vida entera al juego de pelota\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, dijo Pete Rose uno de los lideres de la Gran Maquinaria Roja.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0 Su record vitalicio de 2.194-1.834 lo mantiene como el sexto manager con m\u00c3\u00a1s victorias en la historia de las Grandes Ligas.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0 George Sparky Anderson falleci\u00c3\u00b3 este jueves 04 de noviembre de 2010 en Thousand Oaks, Calif.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Alg\u00c3\u00ban tiempo despu\u00c3\u00a9s logr\u00c3\u00a9 entender lo que dec\u00c3\u00ada Tovar Bracho aquel mediod\u00c3\u00ada en la transmisi\u00c3\u00b3n televisiva, lo de \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6al menos\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d significaba que la \u00c3\u00banica victoria de Sparky Anderson con el Magallanes fue una victoria 9-2 ante los Leones del Caracas.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0Alfonso L. Tusa C.<\/p>\n
English Translation<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0The orchestra of the crickets came through the shadows at one o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122clock in the afternoon. Carlos Tovar Bracho\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice floated at the bottom of the living room. He was broadcasting the game on TV. At the Cincinnati\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Reds\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 dugout a man of \u00c2\u00a0reflexive face strode from one place to another moving his hands while looking to the mound, the plate and the outfield. Mom finally pulled me away from the living room and I just had the chance of listening Tovar Bracho saying something about Sparky Anderson and the Venezuelan winter league.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0George Anderson was born in Bridgewater, South Dakota, on February 22nd<\/sup>, 1934. The nickname Sparky comes from his days as second baseman of the Fort Worth Cats in the Texas League AA. It was the season of 1955, his third one in the professional baseball. He had developed a reputation for his fiery brand of ball. After yet another argument with an umpire, the radio announcer said: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the sparks are really flying tonight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Sparks turned into Sparky and there began the nickname. He just played one season in the big show with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1959.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0About that 1970 World Series I recall that for the third game, Sparky lined Davey Concepci\u00c3\u00b3n up in the eighth spot and in the short stop. Before leaving for the school I listened Tovar Bracho talking about the time when Anderson came to Venezuela to manage the Magallanes team in the season 1964-65. He talked about some 13 losses. When he was going to mention what happened before the streak of losses, Mom towed me to the school. I stretched my neck and only listened: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6at least\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0Anderson was always kidding with the headline of the Cincinnati Enquirer the day he was named manager of the Cincinnati Reds, at just 35 years old: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sparky who?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But soon he began to behave and look like an experienced manager. He developed a great capability to improve his knowledge about the game\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strategy, to deal with the players the best way, to increase his obsession for winning. Sometimes the announcers called him Captain Hook because he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hesitate to take out his starting pitchers at the first sign of weakness.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0In 1972, Sparky returned to the World Series before the Oakland A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. That time I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t watch the games on TV because of reception difficulties. Anyway I followed the games on radio. Six of the seven games ended \u00c2\u00a0with an edge of one run. Trailing 3 games to 2 in the Series, Anderson started the sixth game with Concepci\u00c3\u00b3n in the short stop. The Venezuelan guy batted 2 for 3 with a run and an rbi. The Reds won 8-1. The journalist Ruben Mijares told me once, that Sparky kept trying with Concepci\u00c3\u00b3n as his regular short stop no matter his difficulties as a hitter at the beginning of his National League career \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Because Concepci\u00c3\u00b3n is like a big lone deer to whom you have to give some time to adapt in order to see the great jumps he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s capable of performing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0In the middle of the seventh game of the 1975 World Series, Tany P\u00c3\u00a9rez went to the club house to seek for some equipment and saw Sparky walking from one side to the other with his hands on his head. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Are you feeling bad?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfYou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re asking if I feel bad? We lost that game last night and now were losing 3-0\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about it. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to come back\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. And they did it inspired by a P\u00c3\u00a9rez dinger.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0Luis Pe\u00c3\u00b1alver, one of the starting pitchers of the Magallanes team in that season of 64-65 told me by phone: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sparky was a very sensitive skipper. He was always aware about the last one of his players. He in person hit with the fungo in the infield practice before the games. When I injured my elbow he went out to the mound. He patted me on the shoulder and told me: : \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry boy. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re gonna recover from this\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t win with that Magallanes team but the players respected him a lot because he talked a lot with them and was ready to help them. He was a great guy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0When he was a boy his father told him: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Being nice to people is the only thing in life that will never cost you a dime. Treat them nice and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll treat you the same.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0“Sparky taught us the scoreboard is like a painting, When an artist is painting a picture, it changes every time his brush crosses the canvas.” Said Kirk Gibson who played for Anderson in Detroit.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0When Sparky was elected to the Hall of Fame he chose the Cincinnati Reds cap to appear in his plaque as a tribute to Bob Howsam the general manager who gave a lifetime minor league player the chance of managing in the Major Leagues. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We had very different characters in that team. Sparky was able of communicating with us as individuals or as a team. I never saw him as my manager. I considered him as part of my family\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, said Joe Morgan the second baseman of the Great Red Machine of the seventies.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was one of a kind. A character who felt great passion and love for the game\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, said the former Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Morris.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t another person in baseball like Sparky Anderson. He gave his entire life to the ballgame\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, said Pete Rose one of the leaders of the Big Red Machine.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0Anderson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lifetime record: 2.194-1.834 still keeps him as the sixth manager with more wins in MLB history.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0George Sparky Anderson died this Thursday, November 4th<\/sup>, 2010 in Thousand Oaks, Calif.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0 Some time later I finally understood what Tovar Bracho was saying that afternoon through the TV broadcast, that of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6at least\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d meant that the only victory of Sparky Anderson as the Magallanes team skipper was a win 9-2 before the eternal rival the Caracas Lions.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\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":" El resonar de las chicharras llegaba entre las sombras de la una de la tarde, la voz de Carlos Tovar Bracho flotaba en el fondo del comedor. En el dugout de los Rojos de Cincinnati un hombre de rostro reflexivo caminaba de un lado a otro, mov\u00c3\u00ada las manos mientras miraba hac\u00c3\u00ada el mont\u00c3\u00adculo, el plato y los jardines. Mam\u00c3\u00a1 termin\u00c3\u00b3 arrastr\u00c3\u00a1ndome y s\u00c3\u00b3lo escuch\u00c3\u00a9 a Tovar Bracho decir algo sobre Sparky Anderson y la Liga Venezolana de B\u00c3\u00a9isbol Profesional. <\/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-9127","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
\n\u00c2\u00a0Sparky won the World Series of 1976 (Cincinnati) and 1984 (Detroit) to become the first manager who got the trophy for teams of both leagues.<\/p>\n
\n\u00c2\u00a0Another feature of Anderson was that he was always evolving. He always made movements in his team. In May of 1975 he moved Pete Rose from left field to third base. The same year he gave George Foster the chance of becoming a regular player. That season the Reds won it all.<\/p>\n