LMB: El convoy que se encarriló a la postemporada
FOTO: AGSPORTS
FOTO: AGSPORTS
Ciudad de México (www.lmb.com.mx / Alberto Guadarrama) 12 de agosto de 2021.- Los Rieleros de Aguascalientes están cincelando una de las temporadas más sorprendentes en la nonagenaria historia de la Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. Al día de hoy se encuentran ganando su serie de 1er Playoff tres juegos a uno a los poderosos Toros de Tijuana.
En la gerencia del club se encuentra un personaje de amplio recorrido en el beisbol de nuestro país y actual campeón mundial Sub-23 con la novena mexicana en papel de manager: Enrique “Che” Reyes (Perlas Negras, Veracruz, 1962).
A inicios de la actual campaña, el equipo hidrocálido parecía ir a ningún lado. Si acaso, al abismo. El manager Luis Carlos Rivera (Chihuahua, 1978) tuvo un episodio bochornoso con el jugador Richie Pedroza que derivó en la salida del pelotero de la organización. El “Che” define que ese suceso fue “un parteaguas. La disciplina ganó”.
Con los vaivenes propios de una temporada, el equipo de Aguascalientes se unió y respondió. Reyes asegura que “los jugadores se sienten cómodos jugando con Luis Carlos. Les da confianza, es una persona excelente y de buen corazón”. No duda que el otrora lanzador prospecto de los Bravos de Atlanta se convierta en un excelente manager en México y con posibilidad de hacer carrera profesional en los Estados Unidos.
La dupla de Enrique Reyes y Luis Carlos Rivera se conoce de tiempo atrás. El hoy gerente de los Rieleros dirigió como manager a Rivera con los Tigres de la Angelópolis a mediados de la primera década del siglo. El “Che” fue manager de los Navegantes de Magallanes en la temporada 2019-20 de la Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional (LVBP) y ahí Rivera fungió como su coach de banca. En la última campaña del beisbol invernal venezolano, ya sin Reyes en el timón del equipo, Rivera asumió como coach de pitcheo de “La nave turca”.
Este equipo ha ensamblado piezas de distintas procedencias y su sello distintivo es explotar al máximo las destrezas y capacidades de cada uno de los jugadores. Llamó la atención que “Che” Reyes incorporara a Jay Austin y Henry Rodríguez en el tramo final de campaña, tras ser dados de baja de organizaciones de la LMB en esta misma temporada. Sus números no respaldaban que fueran a ser pilares de los Rieleros. Reyes fue a contracorriente: “no contratas a un jugador por lo que está haciendo. Lo importante es convencer al jugador y saber lo que te puede dar. Estaba seguro que el Pollo y Austin podrían batear”. Desde su incorporación, Rodríguez batea .437 con seis vuelacercas y Austin es un sólido primer bate con .333 de porcentaje de bateo.
En la parte baja del orden al bat hay dos peloteros mexicanos de bajo perfil: Amílcar Gómez y Aldo Flores. Ambos jugadores mostraban números modestos y un rol de suplencia a lo largo de su carrera. El jardinero Gómez en sus seis temporadas previas en la LMB bateaba debajo de la “línea Mendoza” (.199) y el jugador de cuadro Flores, oriundo de la ciudad de Calvillo, Aguascalientes, en el mismo lapso con un promedio similar (.206). En el 2021 jugaron un papel fundamental en el equipo. “Desde que empezó la temporada, quería darle responsabilidad a Flores y Gómez. Saber si estos jóvenes podían jugar en la LMB”, relata el “Che”. El tiempo también le otorgó la razón. Asegura que “no le damos oportunidad y responsabilidad a los jóvenes”.
La conformación del lineup hidrocálido también incluye a peloteros que le brindan un respaldo de experiencia a estos jóvenes. El jardinero Eliezer Ortiz cumple su séptima campaña con los Rieleros, así como Michael Wing y Marc Flores, quienes viven su quinta y tercera temporada con la novena de Aguascalientes, respectivamente. Y José Francisco Córdoba, recién llegado este año, cumple 14 años de recorrido en los diamantes del circuito.
El brasileño Leonardo Reginatto, una adición en el pasaje crepuscular de la temporada, así como los venezolanos Anthony Vizcaya (preparador) y Jorge Rondón (cerrador), son fruto del ojo clínico y la experiencia de Reyes en el beisbol de Venezuela. Mención aparte merece Linder Castro, un relevista mexicano con 5.47 de ERA en su carrera, y que ahora se muestra como un infalible seguro de vida en el famoso inning fatídico.
El as del elenco abridor es Erick Leal, pitcher del año de la última edición de la LVBP (5-1, 1.31 ERA), y a quien Reyes refiere que fue “una recomendación de Luis Carlos”. Y es que Rivera fue su coach de pitcheo con los Navegantes. El trotamundos nicaragüense Carlos Teller, el zurdo José Carlos Medina y el diestro californiano Ernesto Zaragoza han sido los abridores asignados por Rivera para el resto de los juegos del Primer Playoff.
En una tierra pródiga del toreo mexicano, hay un puñado de beisbolistas que están dando la vuelta al ruedo y ya se ganaron las palmas de la fanaticada en el Estadio Alberto Romo Chávez.
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