{"id":236279,"date":"2021-03-17T14:11:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T18:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=236279"},"modified":"2021-03-17T14:11:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T18:11:49","slug":"tany-perez-a-cuban-in-the-cincinnati-reds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/sports-cuba\/tany-perez-a-cuban-in-the-cincinnati-reds\/","title":{"rendered":"Tany P\u00e9rez: a Cuban in the Cincinnati Reds"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you review the history of the Cincinnati Reds, there are unforgettable dates. Of course, the main references are marked in October, with the five World Series crowns that the franchise achieved in 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976 and 1990, but there are other great dates that the Ohio State Reds celebrate in style.<\/span><\/p>\n

Its founding in 1866, the first Major League night game at Crosley Field (May 24, 1935), or Johnny Vander Meer\u2019s two consecutive no-hitters in June 1938 (a feat no one else has ever repeated), are all part of the sacred records of the Reds, one of the five franchises that played in the 19th century and are still active.<\/span><\/p>\n

But there\u2019s more. In 1960, thanks to the intuition of scout Buddy Bloebaum, they signed an 18-year-old named Pete Rose, who would later become the mortal with the most hits in Major League history. In June 1965 they selected Johnny Bench in the second round of the first organized draft in baseball, and in November 1971 they obtained Joe Morgan through a trade. Bench and Morgan won six National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) between 1970 and 1976.<\/span><\/p>\n

We could add other key dates, but we are interested in one in particular. On March 12, 1960, 61 years ago, the Cincinnati Reds signed a young Cuban from the Violeta sugar mill town, in the island\u2019s eastern region, who would become one of the cornerstones of the franchise, one of their distinctive faces for over a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking about Atanasio \u201cTany\u201d P\u00e9rez Rigal (Camag\u00fcey, 1942), one of the four Cuban members of the Cooperstown Hall of Fame along with Crist\u00f3bal Torriente, Jos\u00e9 de la Caridad M\u00e9ndez and Mart\u00edn Dihigo. Tany was a 17-year-old boy when scout Tony Pacheco, also a Cuban, saw him playing in his hometown and made him an offer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

March 12, 1960: The Reds sign 17-year-old amateur free agent Tony P\u00e9rez to a contract. \u00abBig Dog\u00bb will play 16 seasons in\u2026<\/p>\n

Publicado por\u00a0Cincinnati Reds<\/a>\u00a0en\u00a0Viernes, 12 de marzo de 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Pacheco, a native of Punta Brava, had been the manager of the Havana Sugar Kings between 1958 and 1959, and later became one of the scouts for Cincinnati. His active career ended early, shortly after his 30th birthday, after several discreet seasons in the Minors and the Cuban winter circuit.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, he stood out for his work as a scout and coach in Cincinnati, Houston and Cleveland. As part of that work, he came across Tany P\u00e9rez in 1960, a diamond in the rough that he knew how to distinguish and later convince to take him to the United States to play professional baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pacheco\u2019s plan was for the young man to begin his development in the Minors, specifically in the Havana Sugar Kings, one of the branches affiliated with the Reds. Tany did not hesitate to follow him and agreed to pursue his dream of playing in the Major Leagues, something that he would achieve a few years later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI used to play baseball and help my father with his work in the sugar mill. Tony Pacheco signed me with the Cincinnati franchise and at first, when I was in the Minor Leagues I returned to Cuba with my family, but later the trips between both countries were closed. I adapted with my mind set on succeeding,\u201d Tany said in an <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> with <\/span>El Nuevo Herald<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

His first steps in the United States were not entirely easy. He was assigned to the Class D branch of the Reds in Geneva, New York, where he was tormented for knowing almost no English. <\/span>According to him<\/span><\/a>, the waitresses in the restaurants did not know Spanish and could not translate the menus for him, and it was only a while later that he realized that if he ordered chicken, he would get a hot plate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hated chicken for a week in my life. It was the only word I knew in the language, chicken, chicken, chicken,\u201d said P\u00e9rez, who has funny stories about food in his early years in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

El Top 10 de la discordia<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n