JOSÉ CONTRERAS: “I was lucky to have excellent Picheo coaches”

By Migue Guerra

It is very satisfying to enjoy a game of baseball and see incredible flashes of talent from the players. A nearly 100-mile fastball that crosses the batter’s sight and culminates in a powerful strikeout or an almost impossible fielding that takes the runner out at the last minute, are some of the signs that take years of physical and mental preparation on the part of a player .

However, the player as such is not solely responsible for these achievements, the people who surround him throughout his sports career are also fundamental. On this occasion we are referring to the coaches, who in most cases represent much more than technical support, they become the family of the players whom they prepare with love and dedication.

In the stellar space the “Complete Swing Show” we had the pleasant opportunity to have the presence of the stellar pitcher Jose Ariel Contreras, which among so many interesting anecdotes, referred to the coaches he had in Cuba and the support he received from them.

“I was lucky to have many good pitching coaches, Guerra who was the one who took me off the field, he was not my pitching coach, he was not my coach, he was my father, may God have him in glory.”

“Well Cortina did not work with the team, I looked for a candle with Jorge Fuentes, because I left the team to work with Cortina in hiding, and he found out and almost got rid of the team, I told him: dump me, but I’m going to continue with him … I was young, that guy helped me a lot. “

“I had Román Suárez, Julio Romero, Rogelio García, those were my pitching coaches in Pinar del Río. I had one who worked with me in the development league for a year, he helped me a lot, we called him the “Killer”, a tremendous pitching coach. I had very good pitching coaches. “

“In the national team I had good pitching coaches. Pedrito Pérez the teacher, the friend, the brother, the father, a wise man of baseball, something out of league. “

Who taught you to throw the fork?

“Well, people think that Rogelio taught me, it wasn’t Rogelio, he helped me a lot, but it had nothing to do with the fork. The fork was taught to me by Maximiliano Gutiérrez. I’m throwing the bullpen in the captain San Luis and he tells me: grab the ball like this, so you see, you can’t hit that, I laughed at the batters and I didn’t have your fastball. “

“The first time I threw a fork it went to Lourdes, I gave her two in one game. When the game ended he asked me what that was, I told him a fork that they showed me, he said: that’s your pitch, you don’t hit that. I never forget that. That’s where I said, ok let’s get out of the mess. “

Find out about the rest of Contreras’ fascinating anecdotes in the following video:

Here you can enjoy the full Show with the stellar Cuban pitcher:

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