Germán Mesa Fresneda, “The Wizard”, landed in Managua last September, with the idea of achieving his second title in Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League. In 2013, the legendary number 11 of Cuban baseball reached the scepter of the local tournament when coaching the Chinandega Tigers. That time he was accompanied by his squire.
For a couple of seasons Mesa was accompanied by perhaps the greatest amateur player who has seen the Earth: Omar Linares. A duet that on the diamond was synonymous of pleasure. However, this time Linares stayed at home and just last December 28 received his plaque as a member of the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Pinar-Havana formula joined together at some point to rule the destiny of Industrialists. With the blue team the results were not very positive. Without greatly digressing in numbers (128 wins – 142 losses in the regular season and 12-6 in post season), there are only remembered a couple of play offs without Industriales and a title in the 49th Series, which according what it was always said, is most by merits of the players than by the coach, but the substitutions, in spite of everything, were made by Mesa.
Now in Central American soil he changed the team and the Rivas Giants, current champions, demanded his wisdom. The most compact group, in the opinion of many, was going to be coached by the “magnet” of shortstop in our country.
“The key to success will lie in the unity of the team, in each one of you to see all of us on the ground as one, in doing the work in one direction. This squad is very complete, because it combines speed, power and good pitching, “said Mesa few days before the start of the season.
In this course he advanced directly to the final of the tournament, as he easily dominated the qualifying stage with balance of 30 wins and 18 losses, ahead of the other three sides that make up the Nicaraguan elite event: the Boer Indios (26-22) , Chinandega Tigers (23-25) and San Fernando (17-31).
The competition system indicates that second and third in the standings play between them in the semifinals and the winner faces the leader of the first round. That happened. And the Tigers lost to the flagship squad of the nation, the Boer Indios, who represent the capital.
So, Mesa remained with the desire to give the second title to the fans of the Giants, as he lost 1-4 in the final segment . Only the first inning of the fifth match was enough for the new monarchs to be crowned in their stadium Dennis Martinez. Homers by Jimmy Gonzalez and Raul Reyes were enough for “The Tribe”, who commanded from start to finish the decisive game which ended 7-1.
Now, the Boer Indios are competing from Tuesday, January 27, in the third edition of the Latin American Professional Baseball Series, tournament that welcomes the champions of the l eagues of Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico (Veracruz League) and Panama, the host country. Something rather like the Caribbean Series, which begins on February 2nd in Puerto Rico. Such assistance was one of the objectives of Germán, who has already drawn conclusions about what went wrong and missed. ” The Magician”, as calm as if he were in the Latinoamericano Stadium, has not changed his way of coaching and expects another chance on foreign soil, perhaps with his squire of almost always, “El Niño” Linares.
Germán Mesa, second in Nicaraguan baseball
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