ADSactly Sports: Baseball: The Sport of Venezuelans
Baseball: the sport of Venezuelans
Hello, friends of @adsactly
As a sport that has opened the doors of other countries and given us worldwide fame, today I want to talk about Venezuelan baseball. As I was saying, it is a sport that most Venezuelans begin to practice from a very young age and also from an early age they are already fans of it, since in Venezuela, the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP) founded in 1945, plays games from October to January, having, at least, two large teams that have the noisiest fans in the world and are the eternal rivals: Navegantes del Magallanes and the incomparable and powerful, Leones del Caracas.
Just as in a previous post I talked about how in every family there is a woman who could participate in the Miss Venezuela, I could also say that many are the parents who dream of having a son a baseball player. In Venezuela we have thousands of examples of boys who achieved success in Major League Baseball (MLB), considered the best specialty league in the Western Hemisphere. Such is the case of Luis Aparicio, who is the only Venezuelan exalted to the Baseball Hall of Fame; also David Concepción, Andrés Galarraga, Oswaldo Guillén, Bob Abreu, Antonio Armas, Omar Vizquel, Miguel Cabrera, Johan Santana, Wilson Álvarez, Francisco "El Kid" Rodríguez, José Altuve, Pablo Sandoval, Asdrubal Cabrera, Gleyber Torres, among many others.
Each of these baseball players has stood out for his talent and set a record. Proof of this is Omar Vizquel, who has the record for most short-stop games (23), and a total of 2,968 Major League Baseball games with the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays, from 1989 to 2012. There's also Oswaldo Guillén, better known as Ozzie Guillén, with whom under his direction the White Sox won the 2005 American League Championship Series for the first time in 46 years, becoming the first non-U.S. manager to lead a World Series team and win it. Or Felix Hernandez and Johan Santana, who were Cy Young; so was Miguel Cabrera, who twice won the Triple Crown batting. With this award, Cabrera became the first to do so since 1967, as well as the first Latino to have the title.
I'm a baseball fan and specifically, in my country, I'm a fan of the Lions of Caracas and the first time I stepped on the University Stadium, home of the hairy, I felt a million emotions. I think that's how it must feel to get to heaven! That day I cried, I fought, I shouted and my heart beat as the heart of a runaway horse should. That day was my real baptism as a Caracas fan and it is one of my most treasured memories. Another memory that I keep alive was the day I saw a baseball game with my father and the great Antonio Armas threw a ball to a little girl sitting next to me. The girl was put in for the team dugout and from there she came out with a shirt, cap and ball signed by all the Lions of Caracas. I remember telling my father that I would have liked that ball to have been given to me. I remember my dad laughing but looking at me like I was crazy.
It must be said that until a few years ago, in Venezuela there were the academies of the Marlins, Dodgers, Mets, Astros, Rojos, Orioles, Cardinals, Pirates, Parents, Red Sox, Brewers, Twins, White Sox, Nationals, Tiles and Sailors to recruit young prospects, who signed millionaire contracts to play in the United States. Unfortunately, due to the country's economic, political and social situation, many of these academies have closed their doors and had to leave.
That same crisis and the political problems that the Venezuelan government has with the United States caused the MLB (Major League Baseball) to issue a few days ago a communiqué in which it prohibited any worker unionized in the offices of the Major Leagues to participate in the tournament that will begin next October 18.
As we can see, Venezuela's problem is not its people, who are talented, hardworking, and struggling; the problem is the government we currently have that not only takes away our opportunities and hope, but also the desire to dream big.
I hope you liked this post. I remind you that you can vote for @adsactly as a witness and join our server in discord. Until the next smile. ;)
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE
https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9isbol_en_Venezuela
https://www.12up.com/es/posts/6262486-mlb-los-10-mejores-jugadores-venezolanos-en-la-historia-de-las-grandes-ligas
I really didn't know baseball was a thing outside US and Japan, very interesting! Thats such a shame, I mean it can be such a great way to bring money into the country. Look at how much money European clubs send into Brazil every year for their best players its a reasonable part of their GDP and their players are now all over the world
Also if more players come from the region clubs and brands would probably follow bringing in alot more wealth to the country. I really hope the situation turns around, seems like the country is almost in exile from the rest of the world at the moment
Many of the players who play in the major leagues are Latinos. Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela are the countries with the most players in the major leagues. The case you put with the soccer players in Brazil is a good example to visualize not only the fame and money that can get an athlete, but also the country, which benefits indirectly. Thank you very much for that excellent comment. Greetings, @chekohler
Hi, @adsactly!
You just got a 0.29% upvote from SteemPlus!
To get higher upvotes, earn more SteemPlus Points (SPP). On your Steemit wallet, check your SPP balance and click on "How to earn SPP?" to find out all the ways to earn.
If you're not using SteemPlus yet, please check our last posts in here to see the many ways in which SteemPlus can improve your Steem experience on Steemit and Busy.
Great post. This is one aspect of our country that deserves promotion. Venezuela has contribured with great athletes in all disciplines but baseball is no doubt the one where it has given its best. Ironically, baseball historians do not devote much attention to the venezuelan record players.
I remember watching Burns' 10 episode-documentary, probably the best ever made on the sport, and not hearing ine single venezuelan name being mentioned.
Sadly in the next years we'll see the number of venezuelan players in the big leagues diminish, because if all the issues you have mentioned.
I stopped watching our local championship some years ago when the stars stopped playing because of MLB restrictions.
I also stopped following Venezuelan baseball because of the number of daily problems that drown us. It's hard to watch local television, to entertain yourself, while the country falls apart. As I said, this government has made Venezuela a place where dreams die. Greetings and hugs.
Although I am not a baseball fan, I recognize that it is one of the sports (and social activities in general) that occupy a very influential place in the massive Venezuelan (and Caribbean) culture. It goes beyond simple entertainment; it's almost a way of assuming life for some individuals. It has influenced popular music, language, even literature. It became an important mode of social mobility in the youth population and for families, especially in humble economic sectors.
Thank you for your post, @nancybriti.
There is such a deep-rooted baseball culture, even in the language we use to communicate. We say fourth bat to the most powerful guy, he hit it to talk about luck or success, and we even say broken bat when we're talking about people with strange behavior. Thank you for your comment, @josemalavem.
Today, again, I have smiled with your post @nancybriti. You made a proper and accurate description of the feeling of Venezuelans with baseball. In addition, you placed names and records that several Venezuelan players have. In my house, watching baseball is a passion. My dad is from the "Navegantes del Magallanes" team, my mom likes the "Tiburones de la Guaira" team and my brothers and I are from the "Leones del Caracas" team. When we watch baseball on television, and they play some of these teams, it is a wonder as we are referees and we live the plays as if we were in the stadium. We eat snakcs and wait for out 27 to know who won.
Too bad that many things have changed because of the lousy government we have.
I've been happy with this post @nancybriti. Best regards to @adsactly for sharing this post