Hello friends, good vibes to all.

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Today I am doing what is not usually common and that is to talk about the king of Venezuelan sports, I think this is my second publication about baseball and not because I do not like it but because I simply do not follow the MLB from start to finish and the past seasons of the Leones del Caracas have not been the best we can say, for something the drought went back 13 years ago, in that 2009-2010 final when in seven games they won the twentieth title against the eternal rivals, Los Navegantes del Magallanes. As I said thirteen years later here we are celebrating the coming of age in a season that from my perspective was almost perfect from the point of view of management, team chemistry, reinforcements and above all for the support that the fans decided to give to the team.

It is no secret that the last few seasons had been a little gray with respect to what we were used to see in terms of capacity at the Universitario stadium, games of 4-5 thousand people was the maximum that could be seen in an important game. That changed this season, the welcome and the desire of the people changed completely, reaching to see full houses in the park of the UCV with more than 20,500 people, something that had not been seen for many years and that has to be a reason for joy because the League returned to do what it was for many years, the most important Venezuelan pass.

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A regular season given by 55-56 games where you qualify by winning a little more than 30 games. The Leones won 36, the team that did it and thanks to them they qualified in first place to the round robin or postseason. To achieve this feat this team had a couple of pieces that were the spark plug, Freddy Fermin, who was the catcher and who had an impressive performance behind the plate but also in the offense, he was the Rookie of the Year and the most valuable player [MVP] of the whole season. Unfortunately for this team, the Kansas City Royals sent him down because they realized the potential of this player and he could not be part of the final road.

The other actor in this movie who was also vital was the closer of the year, Anthony Castro, who saved no less than 13 games, something that was vital for this team since the bullpen was perhaps the "weakest" element in the regular season. Other important pieces were Oswaldo Arcia, comeback of the year and José Rondón, producer of the year. The truth is that this team was a hitting machine, there was no other club that was able to reach their numbers and that going hand in hand with a pitching roster that was not yet experiencing the darkest part of the season were the ingredients to achieve the dominance they had in the first part of the season.

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We reached the Round Robin and the story was a little different, Fermín and Castro were no longer with the team and the pitching staff was more tired and the effectiveness was not the same. It was important that in spite of that we were able to move forward and after a small negative streak we managed to win a string of games that catapulted us to first place and once again secured the pass to the finals in that position. This postseason was one of the most even and close of the last few years, with only two games left, all five teams had a chance to advance to the final, this tells us about the high level of play this year and how competitive this league was in every way. It must be said that the Leones suffered in this part of the championship, the pitchers faltered on more than one occasion but fortunately they got out of that slump.

The final was Caracas - La Guaira, a final that had not taken place for 35 years, a rivalry that many call "the modern rivalry" and it was something to talk about. The Tiburones along with the Leones were the most consistent team, their defense was key, the best in the league along with an offensive power that put a lot of fear. A final that was decided in six games when many were talking that we were going to the seventh because of the famous phenomenon called "taquilla". For those who don't know, this is when the final is "agreed" to go to seven games in order to sell more tickets and the teams make more money. Personally, this is a myth since it has never been proven, maybe that final between Caracas-Magallanes in 2009 was "box office" but the truth is that we will never know for sure.

Fotos de mi propiedad tomadas con un Redmi6!

Tuve la fortuna de estar presente en ese sexto juego en el universitario y por primera vez en mi vida ver coronarse a los Leones en vivo y directo. Yo les digo que ese juego fue el mejor de la final y creo que de toda la serie entre estos dos equipos en la temporada, muy parejo, el picheo estuvo dentro de lo que cabe decente, batazos claves, extra inning, en fin, todos los ingredientes necesarios para que un juego de esa importancia se convirtiera en un peligro para los corazones débiles. Silvino Bracho, el cerrador zuliano, fue fundamental para mantener los últimos tres innings con vida hasta que vino Harold Castro, el tren del 23, para dar ese Home Run mítico que dejó en el terreno a los Tiburones.

I was fortunate to be present at that sixth game at the university and for the first time in my life to see the Leones crowned live and direct. I can tell you that that game was the best of the final and I think of the whole series between these two teams in the season, very even, the pitching was as decent as it could be, key hits, extra inning, in short, all the necessary ingredients for a game of that importance to become a danger for the weak hearts. Silvino Bracho, the Zulian closer, was fundamental to keep the last three innings alive until Harold Castro, the train of the 23rd, came to give that mythical home run that left the Tiburones in the field.

Una noche difícil de olvidar, de las más importantes de mi vida, en donde vi a mi equipo de siempre levantar la copa y ser campeones por vez 21. Una temporada en donde a parte de la gerencia hay que dar mucho crédito a José Alguacil, un manager que supo armar y crear un ambiente sano en un dugout que venía con mucha inestabilidad y con unas temporadas pasadas un poco para el olvido. Ahora toca representar a Venezuela en la Serie del Caribe, evento que da comienzo el día de mañana y al que voy a ir a ver Dios mediante el día lunes ante México. Los Leones van con muchos refuerzos pero también con bajas, Harold Castro y Silvino no serán parte de la partida pero de igual forma se confía en que podamos hacer un buen papel y así traernos ese titulo. El Caracas tiene dos series del caribe ganadas, queremos la tercera para alcanzar a las Águilas del Zulia quienes con tres son los máximos ganadores.

A night hard to forget, one of the most important of my life, where I saw my team lift the cup and be champions for the 21st time. A season where apart from the management we must give much credit to Jose Alguacil, a manager who knew how to build and create a healthy environment in a dugout that came with much instability and with some past seasons a little to forget. Now it's time to represent Venezuela in the Caribbean Series, an event that starts tomorrow and that I'm going to watch on Monday against Mexico. The Leones are going with many reinforcements but also with casualties, Harold Castro and Silvino will not be part of the game but in the same way we are confident that we can do a good role and thus bring us that title. Caracas has won two Caribbean series, we want the third one to reach the Águilas del Zulia who with three are the top winners.

Bueno mi gente por hoy es todo, espero que les haya gustado.
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos leemos en la próxima!

Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡Hugs to all, see you next time!