Brands in baseball and sports in general are meant to be broken, an appreciation that encompasses many athletes.reporters, analysts, fans and Roger Cedeño, For nearly a quarter of a century, she held the record for most stolen bases by a Venezuelan in a major league season using her legs alone.
Given his extraordinary campaign, On September 13, Ronald Acuña stole a mat that marked his 66th birthday this year, thus tying the number his predecessor reached in 1999 while wearing a New York Mets uniform.
The general background of the MLB Creole field is historicalthese two names have become even more important for our pavilion, and in this sense, Meridiano Web talks to Roger Leandro Cedeño about all the circumstances surrounding these events before the “abuser” leaves his mark. We highlighted, during the conversation, our interviewee’s overwhelming joy at his brand’s takeoff.
Did you see that game between the Braves and Phillies? That “tormentor” match your score?
“Of course, of course, I have been following the latest news from Atalanta from the moment I knew they were going to tie the record, and in fact when Jose Altuve had his chance in 2014, I did the same. The fact is that it doesn’t surprise me, it fills me with huge emotions because it was expected and luckily nothing unpleasant happened, like injuries.”
“When you play, you often don’t realize things like the impact it has on fans, families and baseball in general. I thank Ronald because he gave me a range of emotions and I feel like I was a part of what he accomplished. a part of.”
“I have a lot of respect for the players who supported me and played the same position as me. For example, I learned a lot from Brett Butler, who always advised me to improve my game and he told me ‘I’ll teach you how Take my job, I’m not going to hand it to you’. When they promoted me to the MLB they detected throat cancer and when I arrived I realized everything, this is not what I wanted Way to get into Major League Baseball, but I found this out after the game and he came from the doctor and he hugged me and pointed out “I told you you were coming, congratulations. “
“It had an impact on me, I was part of their good mood in difficult moments. I compare that to how I feel about Ronald now, it was a milestone, this guy made me good on the ball again active.” (laugh).
Like everything in life, baseball is a constant learning process. In that record-breaking year of 1999, you had Rickey Henderson, who had become the best base stealer of all time.
“He was my idol and still is. When I was a kid and I watched him play with the A’s, he was the prototype of the player I wanted to be. When I played with him, I admired him so much. Focus, focus, that’s why he played into his 40s, he wasn’t as open as Butler, I still learned from him, he’s one of the most impressive players I played with.
With the major leagues’ latest changes, such as expanding the size of the bases, do you think it was more difficult to steal bases at the time?
“I don’t think so because if you look closely, the rules are the same and in the game we all have an advantage in certain aspects. Stealing 66 bases is not easy, the number speaks for itself and should not be taken away from Rona Take anything away from Virtue, you have to enjoy it; my legs were already weak when I arrived that September, and if I remember correctly, that was the month I stole the least bases. I tell you from experience. , the same thing could happen to him, he still maintains his rhythm, admirable!
When we looked at the details of your tackles, we saw that only one of them came against Atalanta. They had Eduardo Pérez at catcher that year, was it difficult to compete with him and star pitchers like Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz?
“Did I just steal one from the Warriors? (laugh), Well, I don’t think there are any easy catchers in the major leagues, but the biggest strength is against pitchers.In Eduardo’s case, his error rate is very low and I’m telling you firmly that you have to consider that when he’s behind the plate, like Ivan Rodriguez, Benito Santiago , Mike Lippert, they are respectable figures and I would have no chance with them“(laugh).
“Eduardo was who he was, and that’s why he got the best pitcher at the time.”
What’s the hardest thing about keeping the con consistent over such a long season?
“It’s a combination of a lot of things. When you see Ronald’s desire, when you’re in the midst of a passion for the game, it helps you and that’s one of the things that impressed me most about him, That’s how he achieved this, and I repeat, I got caught in September.”
Did you talk to Ronald’s son about the whole Venezuela thing?
“We talked an hour ago. (on Friday), I told him I’d probably go to Miami tomorrow (Saturday) To watch the race, I hope to break the record today, but it will be even better tomorrow because I am broadcasting it live.” (laugh), “It’s going to bring a lot of emotion to the fans and his family, and it makes me feel really good as I did.”.
“I saw this because when they were raising my nephew Younger Weiss, his first game was in Houston and I couldn’t go, but I went to a restaurant to watch the game and when I saw him show up I burst into tears while on the court and it was more the waitress than he who took care of me and told me where the bathroom was so I could wash my face. I went back to the table and called my brother, Yangervis My father, I asked him if they felt the same way when I debuted and he said “Roger is stronger because you were the first” (laugh).
“What I experienced with Ronald was an accumulation of beautiful emotions, and I enjoyed it so much.”
As a scout, what do you think of Ronald Acuña, the runner and thief?
“From what I’ve seen on TV, it’s not easy to analyze, most of the footage doesn’t show a lot of very important details that can be seen on video, or how to get into the field, which also helps” If Ronald has stolen 66 points, that says it all, the numbers don’t lie, he did a few things well to have that number. “
notes: In September 1999, Roger Cedeño defrauded 7 pads, the same amount as in August and 2 more than his lowest month (5 in April).