Más Allá del Diamante EP. 10: Oswaldo rememora su momento en Grandes Ligas con Medias Blancas
En este primer capítulo conducido por Efraín Zavarce, Blanco rememora su primer juego con Chicago en donde pegó un hit y además su equipo ganó ese 26 de mayo de 1970 frente a Reales de Kansas City. Además, ‘Ossie’ Blanco hizo énfasis en la fraternidad que tuvo con el gran Luis Aparicio, estrella para el momento del equipo de la Ciudad de Los Vientos.
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00:00I'm a member of the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.
00:03I'm number 19, and I'm the oldest.
00:06I'm the first Venezuelan to score a quarter of a bat for the oldest team.
00:10The opposition says, this guy is from the AAA.
00:13He's going to score a quarter of a bat.
00:15He must be a Robocop.
00:17At that time, there were no advances like there are now.
00:21The game of baseball was practically primitive.
00:24If you had that great advantage,
00:27the average would have been 10 or 20 points higher.
00:30He's a man I respect and admire a lot.
00:33I'm his teammate.
00:35I'm his teammate, not mine.
00:37At that time, I admired him a lot.
00:41It's a shame that many people, many Venezuelans,
00:45didn't see him play in the stadiums.
00:48Today, they're not butterflies.
00:50It's a stadium with 30,000 people.
00:54Mr. Osvaldo Blanco, welcome to Más Allá del Diamante.
00:59It's an honor to have you here,
01:01member of the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.
01:04One of the first in our country,
01:07in the baseball of the major leagues.
01:09The number 19 that reaches the oldest.
01:13It's always difficult, one understands, to get to the major leagues,
01:16but probably more at the time when you did it.
01:20You specifically debuted on May 26, 1970,
01:28with the Chicago White Sox uniform,
01:31against the Kansas City Royals.
01:33And you did it as a fourth batter.
01:35Did that surprise you?
01:36A lot, a lot.
01:38First of all, thank you very much for this great opportunity.
01:41And I pay tribute to the name of the program,
01:45Más Allá del Diamante, because these things
01:47make you feel good after the Diamond.
01:50That people remember the activity,
01:54or what you did on and off the field,
01:57and you have these opportunities,
01:59that's very gratifying.
02:02About the question, it was very surprising.
02:07Because when you have a certain knowledge
02:10of what the strategy of baseball is,
02:14it seemed to me, I said,
02:16this guy thinks I'm Superman, or something like that.
02:18Because when you bring a kid from the minor leagues
02:22to the major leagues,
02:24you give him the opportunity to gain confidence,
02:27to adapt a little to the environment,
02:30and he doesn't.
02:31He throws the wheel once, a fourth batter,
02:33and what happens?
02:34The opponents say,
02:35this one comes from the AAA,
02:37he comes right now, a fourth batter,
02:38this must be a Robocop.
02:40So the pitches are not the same.
02:42On the other hand,
02:43if I had been in the 7th or 8th batter,
02:45this kid would have thrown me straight there,
02:47and I would have taken advantage of it.
02:49But the first pitch,
02:50I always remember it as if it were today,
02:51the first pitch was a slide on the outside corner.
02:53And I said, no, it was a baton.
02:55But I was lucky,
02:57because I didn't get punched on the first turn.
02:59Because that's not a secret to anyone,
03:01and you can tell everyone,
03:03all the players,
03:05who make their debut in the major leagues,
03:07on the first day, they're not butterflies.
03:09They stir your stomach,
03:11your legs tremble a little.
03:13And it's nerve-racking,
03:15because you see a stadium that has several floors,
03:1730,000 people there.
03:19In the minor league,
03:21you see 5,000 or 6,000 people,
03:23the number of journalists behind you.
03:26So it's a different environment.
03:28There was a series called
03:30the Fantasy Island,
03:32that's the Fantasy Island,
03:34for someone who's new.
03:36And it was nerve-wracking.
03:37And on the second pitch,
03:39I hit a hit for the left field,
03:41and it was the winning run.
03:43Because I remember, I think we won 3-1.
03:453-1, exactly.
03:47Against the Reals of Kansas City.
03:49We were playing in the Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
03:51And the hit I hit,
03:53pushed the winning run.
03:55By the way, a man I respect a lot,
03:57I admire a lot,
03:59and I'm always calling him on his birthday,
04:01Luis Aparicio, who was my teammate,
04:03or I was his teammate, not mine.
04:05He invited me.
04:07He said, don't go with anyone,
04:09because I'm going to invite you to dinner.
04:11And it was to celebrate,
04:13first, the arrival of the Major League,
04:15and second, the winner of the game.
04:17It was a moment,
04:19or they are very pleasant moments.
04:21You start to remember those things,
04:23or to talk to friends,
04:25and they bring very good memories.
04:27We join you in your passion for baseball,
04:29while you make your 24-7 sports plays,
04:31and much more.
04:34Look, Mr. Osvaldo,
04:36it's so curious
04:38the fact that someone debuts in the Major Leagues,
04:40being a fourth batter,
04:42that of the almost 500 Venezuelans
04:45who have played in the Major Leagues,
04:47that today, when we talk,
04:4954 years after
04:52his debut in the Major Leagues,
04:55and even today there are
04:5710 Venezuelans
04:59with 200 or more honors in the Major Leagues,
05:01including Miguel Cabrera with 511,
05:03you are still, to date,
05:05the only one
05:07who has debuted
05:09as a fourth batter,
05:11who has started the game
05:13of his debut as a fourth batter.
05:15I don't know if you were aware of that,
05:17but it's a really curious fact.
05:19And you know that
05:21people think that third, fourth and fifth batter
05:23are the ones who bat more
05:25within a team,
05:27because they are the backbone of the lineup.
05:29And being a fourth batter,
05:31for that time,
05:33the number 19 player,
05:35who were super stars
05:37who played in the other teams,
05:39was a feat.
05:41And they still remind me of it.
05:43And when my date arrives,
05:45or when people introduce me,
05:47this was the first fourth batter in the Major Leagues.
05:49The first Venezuelan fourth batter
05:51in the Major Leagues.
05:53How important was it
05:55to get to the Major Leagues,
05:57with Luis Aparicio
05:59already established
06:01as a super star?
06:03Look,
06:05I admire Luis Aparicio a lot,
06:07and it's a shame
06:09that many people, many Venezuelans,
06:11didn't see him play
06:13in the United States.
06:15Because Luis Aparicio,
06:17they talk about a great shortstop,
06:19Omar Luisquez,
06:21my friend David Concepcion,
06:23Enzo Hernandez,
06:25shortstop players in Venezuela.
06:27But Luis,
06:29I think he carries the flag as a player.
06:31That was eliminated
06:33this year,
06:35that the players moved
06:37to a certain position on the field
06:39depending on the batter.
06:41If it's right, everyone moved
06:43to the left. If it's left,
06:45everyone moved to the right.
06:47Those are strategies.
06:49Well, Luis Aparicio used it at that time,
06:51playing in Washington,
06:53he came to bat the fourth
06:55Washington bat, Frank Howard,
06:57a man who measured like two meters,
06:59and the size of the shirt was
07:0152.
07:03I see him,
07:05and I see him playing on the left field,
07:07on the grass of the left field.
07:09I say, what's going on?
07:11And I give him a signal,
07:13stay calm. I had the courage
07:15to ask him why he was playing there.
07:17Well, the man came
07:19and gave a rolling,
07:21look,
07:23100 miles per hour,
07:25he grabbed it from the front,
07:27first base, but 5 meters.
07:29When I got to the locker room, I said,
07:31Luis, what's that play there?
07:33He said, no, I'm going to play
07:35always to him. Out of 100 bats
07:37that he gives on that side,
07:39he gives 99 where I am,
07:41playing to him that way.
07:43He was a guy, a strategist.
07:45Luis Aparicio was an engineer,
07:47an architect on the field.
07:49He knew how to play.
07:51He didn't do great plays,
07:53he did a lot, but he didn't do more
07:55and spectacular because he played.
07:57He knew where to hit each one
07:59on the contrary.
08:01He was a tremendous strategist, very good.
08:13And at that time,
08:15one understands, there were no advances
08:17that there are now, that the players
08:19were given statistical reports
08:21on trends,
08:23where they hit
08:25each of the members
08:27of the line-up of the
08:29opposite team. It is understood then that it was
08:31pure memory.
08:33It was primitive, practically,
08:35the baseball game,
08:37the term. Right now, no,
08:39now they have some tables, not one,
08:41they have about 10 tables inside the locker room,
08:43they have a chuleta here inside
08:45the pocket, and they see it on the field.
08:47When a pitcher comes,
08:49the one who goes in front of that pitcher,
08:51they call him to the locker room and teach him
08:53how to pitch. All those things, all those
08:55great advantages.
08:57There are videos of the opposite pitchers.
08:59Not before, not before.
09:01I say that if one had had that
09:03great advantage, the average
09:05would have been 10 or 20 points higher.
09:07What did you
09:09share with him those first days
09:11in the big leagues with the
09:13Blancas in 1970?
09:15How
09:17was the behavior
09:19of the American fanatic
09:21towards him?
09:23Luis Aparicio was
09:25a king in Chicago.
09:29Luis Aparicio,
09:31not only in Chicago, in all the cities
09:33where baseball was played,
09:35was a maximum, maximum idol.
09:39He treated me very well,
09:41being the great star he was,
09:43and me being a young kid,
09:45he treated me very well.
09:47He was like my guide.
09:49I have an anecdote in New York
09:51that people always ask me about,
09:53and I'll tell you
09:55how it was.
09:57He was like,
09:59be careful, don't go this way.
10:01I know this situation,
10:03be careful where you go.
10:05He was a guide, he was a father to me.
10:07In that case,
10:09we were only him and me.
10:11We were two Venezuelans,
10:13I think the two Latinos,
10:15I don't know if they were from that team,
10:17in Chicago at that time.
10:19By the way, Chicago
10:21at that time is like Chicago now,
10:23it lost more than 100 games.
10:25They changed the lineup every day, by the way.
10:27Well, the anecdote I have
10:29about Luis Aparicio,
10:31he told me,
10:33I was playing
10:35in Portland, Oregon.
10:37It was a tour
10:39of 20 days, 15 days.
10:41From there, we went
10:43to Phoenix, Arizona,
10:45from Phoenix to Tucson, which was our headquarters
10:47in Portland.
10:49Since we came, Eugene,
10:51Oregon, then Portland, Oregon,
10:53the manager started asking me,
10:55Ozzy, do you have clothes
10:57in the dyehouse?
10:59And I said, why is that question?
11:01No, no, no, just to know.
11:03If you have clothes in the dyehouse,
11:05pick them up.
11:07I didn't know.
11:09Playing in Oregon,
11:11the night before, with my roommate,
11:13we left and arrived very late
11:15to the hotel.
11:17We played
11:19on Sunday afternoon,
11:21and when we got to the room,
11:23the phone rang, and Ozzy, the manager,
11:25told me to go to his room.
11:27They caught us.
11:29We accompany you in your passion for baseball
11:31while you perform your 24-7
11:33and much more.
11:35www.sellatuparley.com
11:39They caught us.
11:41Yes, they caught us.
11:43They called me, and I was there too.
11:45So,
11:47I got there,
11:49and Ozzy came in.
11:51Then he said, do you want some wine?
11:53When he said, do you want some wine, I said, no, no,
11:55it's a gift.
11:57Then Ozzy told me, congratulations.
11:59You're going to the Major Leagues tomorrow.
12:01I said, but how am I going to go to the Major Leagues?
12:03I have to look for my stuff in Tucson.
12:05He said, no, no, everything is under control.
12:07They picked up everything and took it to Chicago.
12:09From there, we went to Kansas City.
12:11I was there
12:13for about 10 days.
12:15When I arrived in Kansas City,
12:17I arrived a day earlier,
12:19on Monday, which was a day off,
12:21and the team arrived in Chicago on Tuesday,
12:23or on the night of Monday.
12:25Well, and they also spent 15 days on tour.
12:27I spent all that time on tour,
12:29practically a month on tour.
12:31When I arrived,
12:33Luis, nice to meet you, how are you?
12:35I said, I'm very worried,
12:37I have my stuff there in Tucson.
12:39He said, no, everything is ready.
12:41And stay calm, because I already called someone
12:43to get you a room.
12:45And where I stayed,
12:47there was a suite in a hotel
12:49in front of Lake Michigan.
12:51A panoramic view,
12:53a tremendous panoramic view.
12:55I said, everything is ready.
12:57You're going to live everything.
12:59Luis did all that for me, and I thank him.
13:01Well, the thing was
13:03that from Kansas City
13:05we went
13:07to New York, I think.
13:09No, from Kansas City to Washington.
13:11By the way,
13:13Juan Benet,
13:15who was touring
13:17all the stadiums, he was a journalist
13:19and he had his cameras and his stuff at that time.
13:21He was the first journalist
13:23who interviewed me in the major leagues.
13:25Well, from Washington
13:27we went to New York.
13:29He said to me, how are you dressed?
13:31I said, well, Luis,
13:33for AAA,
13:35like a dandy, the best in the world,
13:37like in the major leagues,
13:39a broken bat.
13:41Tomorrow morning, after breakfast,
13:43we go together to a place.
13:47On Fifth Avenue in New York,
13:49he took me to a store,
13:51a tremendous store, a luxurious thing,
13:53where they made pure shirts.
13:55Everything was pure shirt.
13:57They made it to your size, with the fist
13:59that you had on your neck, whatever you wanted.
14:01Look, ask for it.
14:03I saw the place and I said,
14:05no, my pocket can't hold this.
14:07I said, well,
14:09just two. How did it look?
14:11Ask for more.
14:13Ask for more.
14:15Okay, four.
14:17Four.
14:19It was Monday,
14:21Tuesday.
14:23When are you leaving?
14:25Thursday.
14:27He told me, come Thursday morning
14:29and I have the shirts ready.
14:31Thursday,
14:33I had breakfast and went to look for my shirts.
14:35Some boxes,
14:37the silk paper, the Adoblo,
14:39all those things.
14:41I was thinking about my pocket.
14:43I said, my God, when I have to pay for this,
14:45everything will be gone.
14:47I said, how much do I owe you, sir?
14:49What?
14:51How much do I owe you?
14:53No,
14:55you are wrong.
14:57Why?
14:59You didn't realize who brought you to my store.
15:01You brought him to the store,
15:03Little Louis.
15:05So you don't owe me anything.
15:07I don't owe you anything.
15:09I took my four shirts
15:11and when I left,
15:13I said, I wouldn't ask for ten.
15:15That's the anecdote I have with Little Louis.
15:17He was a tremendous guy.
15:19Tremendous.
15:21Inside the field, he would tell me,
15:23you have to do this,
15:25cover here.
15:27It's incredible.
15:29I admire him and I respect him a lot.
15:31Sir, when you
15:33are notified that you are going to the
15:35big leagues, who do you call?
15:37Well,
15:39to call,
15:41at that time,
15:43it was very difficult.
15:45Very difficult.
15:47We are talking about the 70s.
15:49You have a cell phone,
15:51WhatsApp, you call your family,
15:53or whoever you want to call and talk.
15:55At that time, it was difficult.
15:57What I did was a letter
15:59to my mom, who took me to the big leagues.
16:01When I had a chance,
16:03on a public phone,
16:05I put my 25 cents
16:07and all those things, and I called my family.
16:09Everyone was happy, of course.
16:11But that was,
16:13there was no ease now.
16:15Realize that before you played,
16:17right now you are informed
16:19of a kid who plays in class A, who plays in the
16:21Rookie League, you are informed very easily.
16:23Before, no. Before, you had a performance today
16:25and people here in Venezuela found out
16:2715 days later.
16:29One understands that behind that achievement
16:31there are a series
16:33of sacrifices.
16:35Which one do you consider
16:37the biggest?
16:39The most complex
16:41to overcome?
16:43One is
16:45to leave
16:47your family.
16:49Right now, the kids are
16:51more mature,
16:53more liberal.
16:55Before, it was one's home,
16:57one's family.
16:59Leaving your family and living alone
17:01in the United States was
17:03quite complicated.
17:05That is one of the sacrifices.
17:0716 years.
17:0916 years.
17:11Another sacrifice is
17:13that you arrive at a place where you don't even know
17:15how to ask for water in English.
17:17I arrived at the restaurants
17:19and if the restaurant
17:21didn't have pictures of the food,
17:23I would go out and look for another one.
17:25Because I would ask by making signs.
17:27One of those, a knife,
17:29a fork, just signs.
17:31Tarzan.
17:33That is one of the big sacrifices.
17:35Another sacrifice is that
17:37at that time,
17:39the racial problem was very marked.
17:41You played in Birmingham.
17:43Alabama.
17:45It was the source of racism.
17:47And it was
17:49very hard. Very hard.
17:51I had very bad
17:53experiences
17:55or unpleasant moments.
17:57I would go to a restaurant
17:59and they would take me out
18:01and I had to go to the kitchen
18:03to look for food.
18:05If we were inside the tour,
18:07we,
18:09the Latinos
18:11and the Americans,
18:13we had to stay on the bus.
18:15Our colleagues would buy us food
18:17and bring it to the bus.
18:19We are talking about the beginning of the 60s.
18:2160s.
18:23Because then you start to get to know
18:25the environment,
18:27to get to know the language better.
18:29You know,
18:31and you perform better.
18:33From the day you are a rookie
18:35to the 70s, you are a little more
18:37cultured and you know all those things.
18:39And you don't pay attention
18:41to those little problems.
18:43You dedicate yourself 100% to baseball.