Los Bravos abrieron la puerta de los noventa
México, D.F. (Tomás Morales) 8 de septiembre.- En su décima temporada, después de haber entrado a la Liga Mexicana en 1979, los Bravos de Léon lograron capturar el campeonato venciendo en la final a los Algodoneros de Unión Laguna que perdieron su quinta serie por la corona. Con Paquín Estrada de manager y catcher, los Bravos tuvieron una gran actuación después de terminar en tercer lugar en el rol normal de la división sur con récord de 74-57, a tres juegos y medio del Tigres y a medio juego del Diablos Rojos.
Los dos Laredos, campeones de la temporada anterior, fueron los Suúper Líderes al encabezar la división Norte con récord de 81-50 y después de vencer al Acereros de Monclova en el primer playoff que duró el máximo de siete juegos, cayeron ante el Unión Laguna manejado por Marco Antonio Vázquez, un nuevo manager en la pelota de verano, en seis juegos. Bravos eliminó al favorito Diablos Rojos en cinco juegos y luego ganó la corona sureña venciendo al Piratas de Campeche en seis partidos.
La serie final se inició en el Parque Domingo Santana de León y el equipo bravo con Tomás Herrera en la gerencia logró capturar la primera corona de la historia para la tan especial ciudad. Bravos ganó los dos juegos en su casa y luego se llevaron la serie ganando dos de los tres partidos celebrados en el Parque Revolución de Torreón. Fue una gran temporada para Jaime Orozco, calificado por el famoso buscador Mike Brito como el mejor pitcher de la pelota mexicana en sus tiempos, ya que ganó 17 juegos en la campaña y tuvo 2.98 en efectividad, abriendo y relevando en los playoffs al estilo de Pepe Peña, brazos de hierro, para de esa manera ser el jugador más Importante de los nuevos monarcas. Al estilo de la vieja guardia, Orozco podía pitchear con pocos días de descanso o sin ninguno. Y se apareció en la final como un tormento para los Algodoneros.
Otros pitchers importantes de Paquín Estrada lo fueron el zurdo Julio Purata con 11 victorias al igual que Fernando Soto y 10 de David Sinohui. Willie Aikens no fue el campeón bateador pero terminó con un robusto .358 , 21 jonrones y 108 empujadas. La pareja de dobles matanzas de los Bravos, formada por Roberto Vizcarra y Ramón Esquer, estuvo colosal, fildeando y bateando, mientras Manuel Cazarín dio para .329 a la ofensiva con nueve cuadrangulares.
Fueron muy importantes contrataciones las de los debutantes americanos americanos Ron Sheperd, con .318 y Terry Blocker con .310. Un año después con los mismos Bravos, Blocker daría para .355 con 18 jonrones y 108 carreras empujadas. Sheperd bateó .318 con 17 jonrones y 72 empujadas, mejorando un año después a .370, 34 cuadrangulares y 98 carreras empujadas. Al desparecer los Bravos en 1992, Blocker y Sheperd fueron a jugar con el nuevo equipo de Minatitlán.
Leo Guerrero bateó .306 mientras el fortachón Horacio Valenzuela tuvo un buen verano con .271, 17 cuadrangulares y 64 carreras empujadas.
Al coronarse en Torreón y cuando los jubilosos jugadores del Bravos llegaron a su hotel se encontraron con la sorpresa que el famoso cantante Vicente Fernández salía del hotel vestido de charro para trabajar en un palenque y accedió a tomarse fotos con los jugadores de los campeones. Juan Filisola, representante de la Cervecería Cuauhtémoc que era propietario del Bravos de León, estuvo presente para invitar a los jugadores a una cena en el restaurante del mismo hotel. Paquín Estrada se había convertido en uno de los managers mexicanos más ganadores de campeonatos en nuestra pelota de verano y de invierno.
FOTO: Logotipo de los Bravos de León.
En la temporada de 1990 se lanzan tres juegos sin hit ni carrera, uno por Israel Velázquez de los campeones Bravos, el segundo de Armando Reynoso de Saltillo y el tercero de Lauro Cervantes del Unión Laguna. El récord en Liga Mexicana es de cinco juegos sin hit ni carrera en una temporada, en 1979 y en 1981. La producción de jonrones baja bastante y Alejandro Sánchez de los Tuneros de San Luis Potosí es el líder con 28.
En 1990 Alejandro Ortiz de los dos Laredos conectó dos jonrones en una misma entrada y lo volvería a repetir en 1991 para ser el único que lo ha logrado dos veces en la historia de la Liga Mexicana.
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