1963, año mágico de los Pericos de Puebla
México, D.F. (Tomás Morales) 11 de mayo.- Fue 1963 un año mágico para los Pericos de Puebla que con el cubano Tony Castaño de manager conquistaron su primer y único campeonato hasta el momento en la Liga Mexicana, siendo en esa temporada cuando Ronie Camacho impuso marca de 39 jonrones, Moi Camacho conectó 29 cuadrangulares y Miguel Sotelo fue el gran pitcher con 24 victorias. Después de batallar toda la campaña contra los Diablos Rojos, los Pericos terminaron en primer lugar con récord de 80-52 y con nueve juegos sobre los Rojos.
Miguel Sotelo, una vez considerado prospecto de Ligas Mayores por los Piratas de Pittsburgh, no sólo fue el máximo ganador de la liga sino el número uno en ponches con 208 y Ronnie Camacho, con sus 39 voladas de barda, fue igualmente el primero en carreras empujadas con 108. Ronnie rompió la marca que tenía el muy buen bateador cubano Aldo Salvent con 36 cuadrangulares en un año.
Tony Castaño, que como jugador estuvo ocho años en la Liga Mexicana bateando .284, fue el último manager que tuvieron los famosos "Sugar Kings" de La Habana antes que en 1960 se vieran obligados a emigrar a Jersey City al llegar el comunismo de Fidel Castro que prohibió los deportes profesionales. Castaño logró escaparse de Cuba en 1962 y los Diablos Rojos lo ayudaron al ponerlo de coach de la sucursal de Fresnillo. En 1963 se los pidió Pericos de Puebla y comenzó una larga estancia en la Angelópolis donde fue el manager más querido en la historia del club.
Castaño también fue el manager que estuvo con un equipo cubano en Series del Caribe, ganando los dos últimos torneos con los Elefantes de Cienfuegos. Manejó siete de sus 11 años en Liga Mexicana al Pericos, siendo también timonel del Poza Rica, Yucatán y Águila de Veracruz. En 1976 estaba todavía como timonel en Puebla cuando en los entrenamientos una nueva directiva del club decidió reemplazarlo por algún timonel más joven. Entonces tenía 65 años y dejó un récord en la Liga Mexicana como manager de 659 triunfos y 482 derrotas, promedio de .531.
Los Pericos tuvieron en ese año a Rudy Sandoval de catcher ayudado por Lupe Cancino, Ronnie en primera base, Moi Camacho en segunda, el acrobático Jorge Fitch en el short y el consistente "Zacatillo" Guerrero en tercera. Un infield fantástico simplemente.
En el jardín aparecían el cubano Cuco Toledo en el izquierdo, "Cañitas" Moreno en el central y el boricua Oscar Rodríguez en el derecho. En el orden al bat, Fitch estaba como primero, "Zacatillo" segundo, Ronnie en tercero, Oscar Rodríguez de cuarto, Moi Camacho de quinto, Toledo en sexto, "Cañitas" de séptimo, Rudy Sandoval de octavo y el lanzador que entonces si trataban de batear en la Liga Mexicana.
FOTO: El manager Tony Castaño y el artillero Ronie Camacho, dos piezas fundamentales con Pericos.
El jueves primero de agosto en Monterrey, Miguel Sotelo llegó a las 20 victorias al vencer a los Sultanes 5-2, derrotando a un Panchillo Ramírez que había sido el último en ganar 20 en la temporada de 1956 con los Diablos Rojos. De esa manera Sotelo entró al club selecto de los pitchers que han llegado a 20 triunfos en un año.
El último pitcher que ha ganado 20 juegos en una temporada de Liga Mexicana lo fue el zurdo Julio Purata en la campaña de 1992 con los Petroleros de Minatitlán.
En aquel 1963 los Pericos usaban el estadio olímpico Ignacio Zaragoza que fue adaptado para Beisbol y tenía una gran capacidad de 30,000 espectadores.
Después de Sotelo, los máximos ganadores entre los pitchers con aquel Pericos campeón lo fueron el cubano Julio "Jiquí" Moreno, gran veterano que se reinventó como pitcher después de una lesión que le quitó la gran velocidad que llegó a tener, con un excelente 15-5, y el boricua Florentino Rivera con 15-11. Mauro Ruiz y Juan Suby aportaron ocho triunfos cada uno y el cubano Toni Diaz, siete.
El mejor bateador lo fue Oscar Rodríguez con .342, Cuco Toledo en .337, "Cañitas" Moreno en .330, Rudy Sandoval con .322, Jorge Fitch en .316, "Zacatillo" Guerrero con .305, Pedro Cardenal con .333, Moi Camacho en .299, Ronnie con .289. Moi Camacho también tuvo una super campaña con 29 jonrones, 10 menos que Ronnie. Fue la cifra más alta de cuadrangulares en una campaña de los 185 que bateó Moi en Liga Mexicana. Por algo los llamaron "los Camacho de la destrucción."
Sería este el único campeonato logrado por Tony Castaño en el Beisbol profesional mexicano, siendo luego director técnico de la Selección de Nicaragua y terminando sus felices días en Miami, Florida, donde compró una gran casa moderna después de haber salido sin uno peso casi de la nueva Cuba donde le quitaron una tienda de comestibles que tenía.
En ese año de 1963 finamente destronaron a Al Pinkston del Águila de Veracruz que llevaba cuatro títulos de bateo seguidos. Aunque terminó empatado en el primer lugar con .368 de average con Vinicio García de los Sultanes de Monterrey, el cuarto número despuésdel punto favoreció al segunda base veracruzano.
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