Sport King, by Gabriel Ibarra Bourjac //
What good baseball we have enjoyed at the Pan American Stadium in these first two games of the Championship Series between Charros and Tomateros de Culiacán! It’s a dream ending. The two best Mexican managers face each other in this final of the Mexican Pacific League: Roberto “Chapo” Vizcarra and Benjamín Gil, helmsmen of Charros and Tomateros. So far the score is El Chapo 2 Benjamín Gil 0.
It is obvious that this good result favorable to Charros is not decisive to anticipate that the foremen will be champions, also knowing the claw of the Sinaloans led by Gil who is distinguished by his audacity.
However, in these two games, those strengths of the Tijuana native have not been shown. Charros’ pitching has dominated, plus his defense has shone. The two best plays have been carried out by players led by El Chapo Vizcarra. That great shot by Cuban Dariel Álvarez to second base, in the first game, struck down the Tomateros runner who wanted to extend a long single into a double.
And on Saturday, reinforcement El Pony Quiroz made a Major League catch in the so-called hot corner.
THE FIRST TWO BLOWS OF CHARROS
The first two matches were played at the Pan American Stadium. The fans who attended these games left very satisfied with the quality of the baseball that we had to witness when it was defined with the minimum difference in favor of Charros.
The first went to extrainings, 12 hard-fought episodes, after the great duel staged by left-handed pitchers Anthony Vázquez and Orlando Lara. The difference was finally made by Charros’ fourth bat, the little puppy Japhet Amador, who produced the two runs for the team from Jalisco.
The second seemed that Tomateros was heading for victory with the great work that pitcher Nick Struck had been doing, in addition to having a 2-0 lead, but at the end of the sixth Cuban Dariel Álvarez with a man on base caught him with a fastball to the American pitcher and converted into a long home run over the left field fence to dramatically tie the game. In the seventh inning, Charros would score the third and winning run by connecting Amadeo Zazueta with a double and scoring with a fly ball to the central defender of rookie Jared Serna who had entered as a pinch hitter.
Vizcarra in the eighth would call closer Roberto Osuna, who managed to get the last 5 outs to seal the victory for Charros.
And this Monday hostilities are resumed at the Tomateros Stadium, where the tenth player -the fans- weighs a lot.
It must be remembered that in these eight seasons this is the fourth time that the two teams have met in the play-offs and the second in a final. The first was when Charros debuted in the LMP in 2014. Tomateros in 5 games took the Championship.
In the next two play-off series, Charros defeated Los Tomateros.
THE GUINDAS, A VERY POWERFUL TEAM
Tomateros is the two-time champion of the LMP and wants the three-time championship. The last team that achieved the triple championship is the Yaquis from Ciudad Obregón, a feat that they achieved in the 2012-2013 season, that same year they won the Caribbean Series in Hermosillo in a long, long game that lasted 18 innings by beating Lions of the Chosen to give Mexico its seventh title.
Today are different times, Tomateros have Héctor Ley, brother of Juan Manuel Ley, who also wants to make history, at the head of the board.
THE GONZALEZ IÑIGO
Others who want to make history in Mexican baseball with Charros is the González Iñigo family, whose executive president is Iñigo González Covarrubias, who came to the rescue of the club, after the conflict between its majority shareholders, Salvador Quirarte and Armando Navarro.
The González Iñigos have done wonders with Charros, first they gave full support to manager Roberto Vizcarra and sports manager Ray Padilla, appointing Luis Alberto González as General Director, who was part of the management team of Naranjeros de Hermosillo.
The team had a very complicated second round due to so many injuries, the most damaged was the starting pitching staff, a situation that was overcome with the acquisition of Javier Solano and the conversion of Bernan Bernardino from reliever to first baseman, which has Charros in the dispute for the Championship.
In addition, the board hired Roberto Osuna, who in this postseason has been the factor that has Charros very close to winning the championship.
It is obvious to highlight the work done by manager Roberto Vizcarra and his coaching staff, who have masterfully moved their relievers in this final.
Whatever happens, the Gonzáles Iñigos have started off on the right foot in their foray as entrepreneurs into professional baseball in Mexico.
And if Charros is champion, hang on and you’re on your way to it.
SALVADOR REMOVE YOU
By the way, in this final, the former president of Charros, Salvador Quirarte, was seen in these two championship games with another character, Salvador Cosío, who was his chief advisor in the media and legal dispute that left him out of baseball. What thoughts went through Quirarte’s head when he saw the great atmosphere in this final at the Pan American, what was his and he let it go?
And for today until here.