Desde el lunes 22 de noviembre de 2010 hasta el viernes 26 trat\u00c3\u00a9 porvarios medios de contactar a Lerew a fin de hacerle varias preguntas con motivo del no hit no run que lanzara ante los Leones del Caracas el domingo 21. Result\u00c3\u00b3 un laberinto vertiginoso recorrer varias llamadas telef\u00c3\u00b3nicas que arrojaron aguaceros de inc\u00c3\u00b3gnitas solvatadas
\nde negativas eufem\u00c3\u00adsticas.
\n\u00c2\u00a0Me resign\u00c3\u00a9 a encontrar las respuestas en el juego del s\u00c3\u00a1bado 27. La voz de Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Rafael Rodr\u00c3\u00adguez indicando que el lanzador era Deolis Guerra y que los Atl\u00c3\u00a9ticos de Oakland hab\u00c3\u00adan ordenado que Lerew dejara de lanzar en Venezuela, en principio elimin\u00c3\u00b3 cualquier posibilidad de armar un di\u00c3\u00a1logo con el lanzador a trav\u00c3\u00a9s de su trabajo monticular. La transmisi\u00c3\u00b3n radial empez\u00c3\u00b3 a distanciarse de mi pensamiento hasta que
\nencontr\u00c3\u00a9 a Lerew saliendo del lobby del Hotel Ucaima de Valencia. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey Mr. Lerew, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t this yours?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d El hombre se volte\u00c3\u00b3 y baj\u00c3\u00b3 los lentes galvanizados de plata, mostr\u00c3\u00b3 por fin algo del miedo que no se le vio en el no-hitter. Estir\u00c3\u00b3 la mano y ensay\u00c3\u00b3 una sonrisa. La gorra azul marino plagada de firmas en el rev\u00c3\u00a9s de la visera tembl\u00c3\u00b3 en mi
\nmano. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Por favor, esa gorra es muy valiosa para m\u00c3\u00ad\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Acordamos que se la devolver\u00c3\u00ada con la condici\u00c3\u00b3n de que me concediera algunas preguntas.
\n\u00c2\u00a0Tuve que subir al taxi. La velocidad mezclada con el desespero por llegar al aeropuerto desdibuj\u00c3\u00b3 en mi mente la imagen de un pitcher haciendo el wind up sobre el mont\u00c3\u00adculo de Ebbets Field en junio de 1938. Prefer\u00c3\u00ad preguntarle porqu\u00c3\u00a9 le gustaba ser lanzador. En una esquina varios ni\u00c3\u00b1os hac\u00c3\u00adan malabares con una pelota. Lerew solicit\u00c3\u00b3 al chofer que se detuviese un momento. Uno de los muchachos hizo de catcher contra la pared de una casa vieja. Lerew sac\u00c3\u00b3 una pelota de su equipaje y le explic\u00c3\u00b3 a otro ni\u00c3\u00b1o como deb\u00c3\u00ada agarrarla, levant\u00c3\u00b3 el pie a la altura del pecho y lanz\u00c3\u00b3 junto con \u00c3\u00a9l hacia las manos del ni\u00c3\u00b1o de la pared.
\n\u00c2\u00a0La bocina del taxi rompi\u00c3\u00b3 la magia. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bye, bye boys. I hope you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll enjoy the ballgame\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Cuando el taxista hund\u00c3\u00ada el acelerador hasta que el veh\u00c3\u00adculo casi despegaba del asfalto valenciano. Se me ocurri\u00c3\u00b3 preguntar: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfHubo alg\u00c3\u00ban momento en que pens\u00c3\u00b3 que el no-hitter se acababa?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0El hombre transform\u00c3\u00b3 una sonrisa en suspiro profundo. Escarb\u00c3\u00b3 entre los bolsillos del saco a cuadros que descansaba en el respaldo del asiento. Abri\u00c3\u00b3 un ejemplar de Juan Salvador Gaviota: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pobre Pedro. No creas lo que tus ojos te dicen. Solo muestran limitaciones. Mira con tu entendimiento. Descubre lo que ya sabes, y
\nhallar\u00c3\u00a1s la manera de volar\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.
\nEl estruendo de los aviones despegando en el aeropuerto hizo que registrara en mi lista una pregunta que rompiera el silencio. \u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfQu\u00c3\u00a9 porcentaje del juego puede controlar el pitcher\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Lerew se llev\u00c3\u00b3 la mano derecha a la boca y estornud\u00c3\u00b3. Varias sonrisas se escondieron detr\u00c3\u00a1s de la gorra azul marino. Levanto la mano abierta cinco veces. Cada vez los dedos estaban m\u00c3\u00a1s separados, las dos veces adicionales que abri\u00c3\u00b3 las manos se\u00c3\u00b1al\u00c3\u00b3 hacia atr\u00c3\u00a1s de esta, volvi\u00c3\u00b3 a se\u00c3\u00b1alar y gir\u00c3\u00b3 el rostro de un hombro al otro.
\n\u00c2\u00a0Cuando el carro se detuvo frente a la entrada del aeropuerto. Solt\u00c3\u00a9 un tropel casi inaudible. \u00c2\u00bfQu\u00c3\u00a9 piensas cuando no cuentas con tus mejores lanzamientos y tienes que seguir lanzando? \u00c2\u00a0Lerew sonri\u00c3\u00b3 de nuevo. Estrech\u00c3\u00b3 mi mano y tom\u00c3\u00b3 una a una sus valijas. Cuando parec\u00c3\u00ada que no pod\u00c3\u00ada con nada m\u00c3\u00a1s se\u00c3\u00b1al\u00c3\u00b3 el equipaje de mano y pidi\u00c3\u00b3 que se lo colocaran en el hombro.
\n\u00c2\u00a0Mientras se registraba, le pregunt\u00c3\u00a9 si sab\u00c3\u00ada de un tal Johnny Van der Meer. Trag\u00c3\u00b3 saliva tres veces. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tendr\u00c3\u00a1s que esperar, si vengo a la liga venezolana la temporada que viene, para saber que tan cerca puedo llegar de lo que hizo \u00c3\u00a9l\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
Alfonso L. Tusa C.<\/p>\n
English translation<\/p>\n
Anthony Lerew hurled a no-hitter in the Venezuelan winter league. It was on November 21st<\/sup>, 2010 at Jos\u00c3\u00a9 Bernardo P\u00c3\u00a9rez Stadium, Valencia, Venezuela. He only gave 4 walks in route to the victory 6-0 before the Caracas Lions.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0Between Monday November 22nd<\/sup>, 2010 and Friday 26th<\/sup> I tried\u00c2\u00a0 through many ways of contacting Anthony Lerew with the purpose of making a Q & A session about the no-hitter. It ended in a tortuous labyrinth of phone calls of euphemistic negative responses.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0I decided to discover the answers in the game of November 27th<\/sup>. But the radio teller said the pitcher was Deolis Guerra because the Oakland A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had ordered Lerew to stop pitching in the Venezuelan winter league. This almost erased any chance of developing a dialogue with the pitcher about his no-hitter.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0The radio broadcast began to fade away from my mind until I found Lerew coming out from the Ucaima Hotel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lobby. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey Mr. Lerew, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t this yours?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. The man turned back and took off his sun lenses. At last he showed some of the scare that nobody saw during the no-hitter. He stretched his hand and simulated a smile. The navy blue baseball cap with a lot of signatures on its inside trembled in my hand. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Please that cap is very valuable for me\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. I agreed to give tha cap back to him if he answered me some questions.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0I had to get into the cab. The car speed for arriving on time to the airport disappeared from my mind the image of a pitcher making the wind up at Ebbets Field\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mound on June, 1938. I ended asking him why did he like being a pitcher. Out in the street some kids played with a ball. Lerew asked the taxi driver to stop for a while. One of the kids sat down as a baseball catcher against the wall of an old house. Lerew took out a baseball from his luggage and explained another kid how he had to grab it. He raised his left foot right to his chest level and threw together with the kid to the boy against the wall.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0The cab\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s claxon broke the magic moment. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bue, bye, boys. I hope you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll enjoy the ballgame\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. When the driver stepped his shoe on the accelerating pedal and the cab almost took off from the pavement, I asked: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Was there a moment when you thought the no-hitter was over?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The man changed the smile for a deep suspire. He looked into the inner pockets of his jacket. He opened a book of Jonathan Livingston Seagull: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Poor Peter. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe what your eyes tell you. They only show limits. Look with your understanding. Discover what you already know, and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find the way of\u00c2\u00a0 flying\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0The rumble of the planes leaving and arriving to the airport made me to look in my list for a question that challenged the silence. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfWhat percentage of the game can the pitcher take control of?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lerew took his right hand to his mouth and sneezed. A lot of smiles hid behind the blue navy cap. He raised his open hand five times. Each one with his fingers more separated. He opened the hand two more times and made a sign behind it. He repeated the sign and moved his head from one shoulder to the other.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0When the car stopped in front of the airport I spoke so fast that the words seemed like an earthquake. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00c2\u00bfWhat do you think when you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have your best stuff and anyway you have to keep pitching?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lerew smiled again. He shook my hand and took some of his suitcases. When it seemed that he couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take anything else, he pointed to his brief luggage and asked me to put it on his shoulder.<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0While he made his traveling registration, I asked him if he knew about a guy called Johnny Van der Meer. He swallowed saliva three times. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have to wait. If I come back to the venezuelan winter league, to know how close I can come to his record\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.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Desde el lunes 22 de noviembre de 2010 hasta el viernes 26 trat\u00c3\u00a9 porvarios medios de contactar a Lerew a fin de hacerle varias preguntas con motivo del no hit no run que lanzara ante los Leones del Caracas el domingo 21. Result\u00c3\u00b3 un laberinto vertiginoso recorrer varias llamadas telef\u00c3\u00b3nicas que arrojaron aguaceros de inc\u00c3\u00b3gnitas solvatadas
\nde negativas eufem\u00c3\u00adsticas.<\/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":[12245,12241,12239,12242,12247,12243,12244,12240,12248,899,12238,12251,12249,12246,12250,9590],"class_list":["post-9753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-anthony-lerew","tag-azul-marino","tag-casa-vieja","tag-ebbets-field","tag-firmas","tag-gorra","tag-hey-mr","tag-jose-rafael","tag-la-mano","tag-leones-del-caracas","tag-los-leones-del-caracas","tag-por-favor","tag-taxi","tag-una-sonrisa","tag-valencia","tag-venezuela"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9753","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=9753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9753\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}