2023-04-18 02:54:55
Lefty Geonel Gutiérrez, from the Cazadores de Artemisa, has placed Monday, April 17, 2023, among the ephemeris of Cuban baseball, by tipping Industriales the second perfect game in the history of our baseball.
It happened in five innings, as Yulieski González’s pupils delivered a 16-0 super knockout to the Blues, the second in two days, after another 15-0 knockout on Sunday. And perhaps that is a record to register as well.
The truth is that Geonel Gutiérrez, the 14th from Artemisa, raffled one batter after another, including seven strikeouts, and none managed to reach base, neither by hit, nor by base on balls, nor by error. Before, only Maels Rodríguez from Sancti Spiritus had achieved it, on December 22, 1999 against Las Tunas.
The public present at the 26 de Julio stadium witnessed a very unusual feat.
“You always prepare to go well. Sometimes things go wrong for you, but not because you want it to. Today I knew I was going to shoot well because the team is very inspired; He makes runs and is solid on defense. So, I said to myself ‘if I can walk the innings, I can get the success out of the game.’
“And that’s what I did: walk it, combine the pitches. Already in the fourth inning the team gave me a big advantage, and everything became easier.
“I never knew about the perfect game. If I had known, I would have been nervous and things would not have turned out. I only found out with that difficult last out: a bruise, the third threw into the air and the ball went straight to first base.
“I am really very happy with today’s performance. It never crossed my mind to throw a perfect game. Those are things that come out, you don’t look for them”.
However, in the record of Geonel Gutiérrez there is another colossal feat: a zero hit zero runs against Santiago de Cuba in seven chapters (with a score of 10-0), on September 7, 2018.
“That time they didn’t want to tell me either, so I wouldn’t get nervous, but I already was because I knew; I realized it in the sixth inning. And it was like that too: they gave me some lines on the sides, and my teammates jumped headlong to field them, until I succeeded.
“The family and friends who are watching the game from the stands think it is easy, but it is not: these are things that rarely happen on the ball.
“Today I felt fast and apart from the fact that the game was wide open, I took advantage of the help of the air in the direction of the plate to base myself on strong shots.”
Together with Yunieski García, he is responsible for leading a very young and inexperienced pitching staff.
“Yunieski is another pitcher to keep in mind. He knows how to combine the pitches. We are the most experienced in the starting staff, and we are giving a good image to the new guys.
“He wins three and I also want to win three, in a constructive competition, because we support each other. That excites you, demands you and we have the best relationships. Today he supported me a lot.
“I am happy with the result and with my teammates. It seems that there is a change. We all get along. Our director, Yulieski González, has done the bit that was missing for us to play together, because this is a collective sport. The victories are already coming, and we hope that things continue to turn out well”.
How much expectation aroused the title in the I National Baseball Series under 23 category! Perhaps in no other playoff of any competitive caliber something similar happened: the pitchers from Artemisa delivered grouts to the Camagüeyans in all three games! In the second, Geonel gave them 14 strikeouts in seven innings.
Perhaps the time has come for his consecration in the main Cuban classic. To his third win in the championship, he adds the lead in strikeouts, with 26.
“I already feel quite mature. Last season I had seven wins and was the leader in strikeouts. I’ve had bad years, but I’ve never lost motivation. I think this is the leap year many are waiting for: I’m young, I’ve never been injured, and thanks to Yulieski, I’m focused on doing my job.
“He has given us a lot of confidence and, when you give the pitcher that full confidence, he believes it, strengthens his mind and then everything goes well.”
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