At the age of 7 or 8, he would ride his horse and ride a mile to watch a baseball game on one of the few black and white televisions in Macagua 8, in the municipality of Jobabo, Las Tunas. When the power plant turned up the voltage, Armando Capiró looked like a giant and the cathartic Gerardo Egües could be better appreciated when his cap was turned backward because he did not wear a helmet.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The next day he returned barefoot to play on the hill, with a rubber ball from tractors, thread and cloth. At times in the little field of Macagua 7, at times in boxing, Ermidelio Urrutia, always with long limbs and a small trunk, owes his baseball passion to the activist Tito Luis, because that Haitian who is still alive was a tenacious organizer of tournaments in sugarcane fields and nearby neighborhoods.
"You're the first one to ask me about him, an example of how the most important thing in the world is to do things with love."
For one of the nine children of Domingo Urrutia Estrada, Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba, a certain physical (small and under 74 kilos) and geographical (not being from Havana) fatalism took its toll more than once; while his memories with the historical leader of the Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz and Commander Hugo Chávez, as well as anecdotes and respectful ideas about baseball, moved the two hours of conversation, between nostalgia and truth.
I come from the countryside
“I didn't go through the Sports Initiation School (EIDE) or Higher School of Athletic Improvement (ESPA). I went from the tree to the can (a Cuban typical saying). I played baseball and boxed until I was 13 when I decided to keep the first one because I couldn't take any more hits, although it wasn't bad, because when I was in the youth baseball pre-selection I was called to go to a national boxing championship.
“Those were very painful years. First, in Las Tunas they didn't want me because they said I was too small. Only coach Leonardo Oliver trusted me during the youth stage and said: 'I'll take him'. I played second base, short field and even pitching. My shoulder was broken in that first year and I couldn't shoot for six months, but I'd already entered the Provincial Academy and Ramon Tejeda passed me there for the fields. He used to tie my arm to catch the flies with one hand. I was rehabilitated so much that later I was fearsome, nobody would run with the ball in my hand.
“I wanted to be like the giants I saw on TV and I had that conviction. I played in the 1980 sugar league for the Delicias Sugar Mill and even in the National Workers' Games that year. By the way, I was dropped from the national youth team around the same time. In 1981, I made Las Tunas team for the National Series for the first time and another part of the suffering began.
The few opportunities and Pineda
“In that first series, I only had 17 turns at batting and the first two were without being sent, as I took a bat after several punches from Juan Carlos Luna and went to the home plate without permission from the director or anyone else. The first time they gave me a ticket and the other time I connected hit. Both times, I called the attention that it was not so, so I hardly played. But in 1982 it was the fourth shift in the lineup and I discussed the batting leader with Amado Zamora (338 for 340).
“I take my hat off to remember big people. Storytellers Bobby Salamanca and Roberto Pacheco were responsible for my being in a pre-selection for the Cuba team in 1987, after four years as the fielder who hit the most. I ran a lot with the pitchers, I didn't like the weights, but I had a lot of natural strength in my forearms.
“That year I hit six home runs on a tour of Mexico, beat Cris Carpenter and Jim Abbott to the top against the United States and was left out of the Pan American Games in Indianapolis. That's where the story with Jose Miguel Pineda comes in. He took over the Cuba team for the Confraternity Cup in the Dominican Republic and gave me the opportunity to debut with the four letters in an official tournament. Then the Intercontinental Cups, World Championships, Pan American, Central American and Caribbean Games, and the Barcelona Olympics came. But all thanks to Pineda.
Team Cuba and a massive retirement
“When I first shortlisted there were nine fielders and all better players. There was a sense of tension, but when they made the team everyone knew their role and no one wanted to break someone's leg to play. We on the bench were ready for our turn. In the 1988 World Cup, I opened as regular over Lourdes Gourriel and at batting 500 I was seated and I didn't play anymore until they put me on the bench to strengthen the defense against Japan in the semifinal and I ended up deciding the game in inning 12 with a right-handed hit, no less than against Hideo Nomo.
“In the 1991 Pan American Games, without starting, I hit five home runs in two games, including three in the final game against Puerto Rico. That night, the Comandante en Jefe put his seal on it when he took me off the podium, talked to me and gave me a hug, because they were crazy about throwing me out. From that moment until the 1995 Mar del Plata Pan American Games I was regular.
“When I returned from Argentina, the Intercontinental Cup was coming up and a group of top players was being taken out of the team. The Copa Revolución was coming up and playing against Villa Clara, they called from Havana to tell me: if you want to go out and play you have to retire. The first ones who were forced to do so were Lázaro Valle, Omar Ajete, Pedro Luis Rodríguez, Luis Ulacia and me. That affected a lot because in the end they took out almost 100 ballplayers. I was only going to be 32 years old, in full physical training and with experience. I spent three seasons in Japan, two with the Shidax club and one with a team from Kobe City.
“When my contract ended, I went back to play for Las Tunas, but the commissioner at the time didn't want me to play in my white spike boots (I'd been wearing them since 1983 because I had ankle problems), and in Holguín, my foot turned and my career ended.
Fidel in Urrutia's life
In 1988, when we returned from Parma, Italy, I went straight to the airport with Stevenson. When we arrived in Las Tunas, the President of the Government told me that I had to turn around, and when we arrived in Holguin the plane was gone. I could not go to the meeting with the Commander. The following year I thought he had forgotten when he received us at the Palace of the Revolution after winning the Intercontinental Cup in Puerto Rico.
“When I entered the room he looked at Ulacia and asked him: 'Where were you that I sent for you last year and you didn't come?' And Ulacia answered: 'It's not me, it's the one next to you'. Then he put his hand on my shoulder and said: 'You must have been in Macagua 8 chopping sugar cane with your father Domingo Urrutia. I honored him as a Hero of Work. He is a great example for you'.
“After that he would send for us whenever he wanted. He always talked about many things. For us, it was something divine, positive energy if he put his arm around you. And he put the lid on the knob with that dialogue at the Latino's home plate after my three home runs in the Pan-American final. I didn't speak that day, Kindelán did it for me. He said: "Comandante, he hits it with his heart."
Venezuelan and team manager
“After the retreat, I went on an internationalist mission to Venezuela in 2001. I played there several times with Chávez. Once I gave him three hits; the last one, triple, and he came out of the box for third base and asked me to give him a hug. Now I know that you are Venezuelan,' he said. When I asked him why he replied: "Because you swallowed Venezuelan soil when you threw yourself on the base." We laughed and I even took a picture of myself.
“When I come back I start with 13-14 year-old-students of the Sport Initiation School, but they send me to look for the senior team as batting coach. In the 2005-2006 series, already as a director, I qualify Las Tunas for the first time to the play-offs and they give me the Cuba team for the Alba Games. I clarify something. Nobody took me out of management, I asked for a break because of pressure problems. Then I came back three more years. In seven seasons I qualified four times”.
Today's open-shirt baseball
“There can be no equalitarianism on a baseball team. How does Yoelkis Cruz, who wins 12-14 games per series, win the same as the 32nd athlete who might throw an inning? Another issue is the base. How many coaches are able to go into the bush today to look for talent? You have to have more people down there, working and stimulating them.
“My son, Henry's case was tough because he was hitting 398.13 home runs and 70 runs. Nevertheless, he was left out of the draft. When he made that decision, I said, "I don't want a loss. He was playing with the Baltimore Orioles for six years, and he wasn't very lucky. He's done better in Venezuela and Mexico. We can't demonize these guys who are gone. Almost none of them left because of political problems and many had their careers cut short here because of bad decisions by people who are still there.
I say this without fear or resentment. These are things that hurt, and I suffered too because the little that I have, I achieved it, even though there were people who did not want my triumphs. I never claimed anything, just to defend the four letters that are sacred. I will never leave Cuba.
