By SwingFull / contact@swincompleto.com
Although many harbored the hope that he could beat the game to death in the same way that he did so many times on the field, but the prognosis of the doctors did not fail unfortunately and in this way the Pinar del Río and Cuban baseball returned to dress in mourning today .
To death of ex-torpedo Giraldo González Last Friday, another legendary figure from the volcano teams joined, such as the former pitcher Reinaldo Costa, one of the almost one hundred who died in Cuba this day due to the virus according to official figures released by the Cuban government.
Seriously affected by this disease for several days, the man who shone on the box in the eighties could not resist any longer after collapsing his lungs completely. Most of the time he was in tubes receiving oxygen, as his body was unable to act on its own.
A member of one of the most sporting families in all of Cuba, Reinaldo was born in the batey of the sugar mill Manuel Sanguily (La Palma) on February 9, 1959. Outstanding sports figures on the island such as the high jumper Silvia Costa and the triple Olympic champion Marlenis Costa are part of a family group in which several other players appear.
In National Series, Reinaldo Costa He was consecrating himself little by little in the initial years of the eighties until his peak moment arrived in 1984 with his triple pitching crown and the leading presence in the national team that won the World Championship held in Havana. In that National Series he achieved 12 wins and just one failure, plus the leadership in strikeouts (60) and ERA (1.67).
In the World Cup event he excelled considering that he won his three games started in which he struck out 27 rivals and with a formidable ERA of 1.65.
Despite injuries, he remained in the elite of Cuban pitching in 1985 and 1986, highlighting his excellent work in the decisive game of the 1984-85 campaign in which Vegueros regained the Cuban ball title.
But as of 1987 his health problems increased and this contributed to his shared leadership with Rogelio García within the Pinar del Río squads beginning to give way considerably to the push of others such as Omar Ajete and Faustino Corrales. After 1992, it was impossible for him to stay active in the National Series even when in his farewell campaign he closed with a 5-0 mark in seven appearances in which he finished with a 1.03 ERA.
Anyway, he was able to take advantage of his twelve seasons in the superior category very well to the point of surpassing the figure of 100 games won (110) with 67 failures. His ERA was 3.13 and total strikeouts at 815.
After his retirement he worked for many years as a coach within Pinar del Río, either in the first category provincial teams or with the lower levels. His most recent forays in National Series were with the Pirates of Isla de la Juventud and the Elephants of Cienfuegos.
Costa was always characterized by his very uncomfortable lateral throws, with a wide repertoire and a straight that without being supersonic weighed quite a lot on his rivals within an extremely complex time for the monticulistas due to the presence of the aluminum bat and a large number of lights. offensive.
From a personal point of view, he earned everyone’s respect and affection for his simple and ethical manner in his daily actions, as was Giraldo González and most of the former players from Pinar del Río, capable of shining on and off the pitch.
Social networks have already begun to echo this terrible news, and many former teammates of Costa, as well as friends, acquaintances and fans of the ball have expressed sadness or pain in different ways.