Pitcher, base, batter, catcher or home run are terms that here remind us of American movies and a sport that moves the masses in the Dominican Republic, Cuba or the United States. Terms that in recent years have been beginning to be heard more and more frequently in Valladolid thanks to the work of a group of enthusiasts and lovers of this sport.
Their story began about 15 years ago, when several of them began to gather on a plot of land between Juan Carlos I and Madrid Avenue to play softball, “baseball’s little brother.” In 2021 they decided to go one step further and launched their big brother, now as a club. In Castilla y León there is only a softball league, so that first year they played in Madrid, always on fields there. “We went to try out and we were first in the group,” remembers Hairo Aquino, coach and one of the founders of CBS Five Valladolid. He is Dominican –although he has been in Spain for more than 20 years–, where he was in a baseball academy. He then played in the first division in Belgium and in a parallel league in the United States.
In 2022, even without a field, they finished third in the Madrid First League; to move on this year to play the northwest, alongside Asturian and Galician teams: «They agreed to come to Valladolid, for which we got, thanks to the FMD, a facility in Soto de la Medinilla. It is not one hundred percent regulatory and every match weekend we have to adapt it. They finished first again, qualifying for the promotion phase to the highest category, the Spanish Baseball League. They only lost in the final in Gijón against La Isla de Valencia, but the Spanish Federation would welcome their presence in the elite: «We need official facilities, like there are in other cities. We estimate that playing in the Honor Division will cost around 60,000 or 70,000 euros. The League doesn’t start until April – they are now in the winter season, preparing for the summer season, with three Asturian teams – but they are racing against the clock.
The club has two senior teams, softball and baseball, plus a sub 11 and a sub 12. In total there are about 60 players. “We are a global group, with members from Cuba, Venezuela, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Spain,” adds Hairo. Two are from Valladolid: “They saw us play one day and asked us if they could try.” They are still open to more players and to do so they train on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (Saturdays and Sundays too) in Soto de la Medinilla. «Baseball is growing in Spain, which has just been European champion. In Barcelona and Valencia there are thousands of people playing and in Madrid they have one of the best fields in Europe,” says Hairo, adding the family character of a sport that is looking for its place in the capital.
Waiting for a ‘field’ next to San Isidro
CBS Five Valladolid has been waiting for the construction of a new baseball field for two years. And 2024 is key. On the one hand, the Asturian and Galician Federations have already warned that without an adequate playing field they will not come to play in Valladolid; and on the other hand, the Spanish Federation would grant them a place in the highest category if they have an approved field. “There is a project approved by the City Council to build a baseball field on Santa María la Cabeza Street, next to the San Isidro fields, but at the moment nothing has been done,” recalls the club’s coach, Hairo Aquino. , trusting that the initiative will be resumed soon.
2023-10-16 03:04:26
#Baseball #seeks #place #city
