(Pitcher-in-Chief Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013. RIP.)
I think that from the time I left the academy I was oriented toward a revolutionary movement… The Hugo Chávez who entered there was a kid from the hills, a Ilanero with aspirations of playing professional baseball. Four years later, a second-lieutenant came out who had taken the revolutionary path. Someone who didn’t have obligations to anyone, who didn’t belong to any movement, who was not enrolled in any party, but who knew very well where I was headed.
– Hugo Chávez
I am going to have to let that bloated idiot Michael Moore lead the Hollywood progressive chorus in fulsome praise for the departed bantam dictator of Venezuela. Moore was echoed by the usual deranged celebrity crew: Sean Penn, Oliver Stone, etc etc.
It is funny, really. Stone featured President Bush’s passion for baseball in his bio-pic W. He didn’t mention a thing about the emotion Mr. Chavez had for the national pastime.
The loss of Mr. Chavez sent ripples across the celebrity universe. One of the constellation of stars who is going to have to make some decisions is political dynasty star Joseph Kennedy, whose fuel-oil give-away from the Chavez oil giant CITGO is imperiled. It was a great program designed to tweak the nose of the Yankee oppressors.
I know what I think about the departed strongman. I think it is a problem with pitchers. You are aware of the passion with which Venezuelans follow their national past time, and Mr. Chavez was no exception. There was a fork in the road for him, as profound as a fluttering knuckleball: the mound, and a dream of playing for the San Francisco Giants, or something else?
Hug’s pal Uncle Fidel wanted to play for the Yankees, the story goes, though there is some legitimate controversy about how much heat the future dictator had on his fastball, and whether the Washington Senators or the New York Yankees had any real interest in the hurler-turned-strongman.
There was no doubt about Hugo. He went into the army to pitch, and had it not been for an injury to his throwing arm, we might have seen him have a so-so career in the Big Leagues, perhaps being a scout or a coach today, well compensated in the US.
Before leaving for the island paradise for treatment of his pelvic cancer, Chavez rejoiced at the Venezuelan contingent who played in the 2012 World Series.
A total of nine players from the Giants and Tigers were Venezuelan nations, and Mr. Chavez mused that President Obama might have to relinquish control of the Fall Classic to someone who actually cared about the game.
AP claims Mr. Chavez asked the rhetorical question: “What would the major leagues do if Venezuela didn’t exist? They’d get bored. I think the next World Series, Obama, you’re going to have to play it here in Venezuela, because it’s Venezuelans all over the place.”
It was well-known that far into his fourth term as Bolivarian Socialist President, Mr. Chavez would make his first call of the day to Luis Sojo, manager of Venezuela’s national team. After one World Baseball Classic game, Chávez rang up the manager to ask why Sojo had not used his closer, Francisco Rodriguez, during the middle innings when Venezuela had given up a lead.
In August 2010, Chávez phoned Rodriguez direct, because the hurler had been arraigned on assault charges against the grandfather of his children after blowing a save at Citi Field. Chávez told Rodriguez that Venezuela was proud of him but also said, “Calm your impulses.”
The Miami Herald’s Manny Navarro got to the drama at the exhibition game against the Florida Marlins on Tuesday. The Venezuelan national team requested a moment of silence on behalf of their First Fan. Major League Baseball demurred, though a sense of ambiguity survived the slight: the Venezuelan national flag stood at half staff for several minutes while the team took batting practice, though by the time the teams took the field the flag was at full staff again.
It was not outright disrespect, maybe a nod to a shared passion for the game. A spokesman for the Venezuelan team told reporters the country’s minister of sports, Hector Rodriguez, relayed the following message to the team before Tuesday’s game: “Please tell the guys to concentrate on sports and leave the political stuff out.”
Venezuela beat the the New York Mets in the country’s last exhibition game yesterday before it plays the Dominican Republic in a Pool C first-round game of the World Baseball Classic today in San Juan, P.R. Miguel Cabrera went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and Gerardo Parra added a three-run shot.
Featuring perhaps the most well balanced lineup among the WBC teams, Venezuela is a threat to win the tournament if its pitching holds up. Pitchers. They are always a problem, aren’t they?
With Mr. Chavez gone, we are going to have to turn our attention elsewhere. That interesting little fellow in Pyongyang asserted his right to launch a nuke in the general direction of my house. I wish the man had played baseball. And frankly, the same goes for the President of Iran.
Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com