The Pandemic's Impact
The pandemic affects everyone equally and does not discriminate in any way. It has claimed lives at all levels. In recent days, the Medical Association paid tribute to 107 professionals who lost their lives in the fight against COVID-19. The alumni fraternity of Colegio Nacional Vicente Rocafuerte counted 110 fellow graduates who have passed away. Even the sports world has not escaped the effects of this health emergency. In national baseball, four players, a former president of the Ecuadorian Softball Federation, and two beloved sports journalists have passed away. The first to leave us was Pedro Murrieta, a member of the team that won the South American championship on December 1, 1966. He was a multiple champion with Liga Deportiva Estudiantil and Naval.
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The second case was Carlos Cuesta, a student of the baseball school directed by Ricardo Chacón, from which an excellent generation emerged that made the leap to the first division. Among them were Bonifacio Morán, José de la Gasca, Enrique Realpe, Bernardo Bastidas, Luis Ramírez, Diego Valenzuela, Octavio Bueno, Luis Pacheco, Alfredo Portalanza, Carlos Cadena, Alfredo Agurto, Salomón Wiesner, who went to Lima and won an international series. El Pato Cuesta played second base and was a champion of the first division tournaments with Emelec in 1965 and 1970 with Nueve de Octubre in 1967. Later, Franklin Méndez passed away. He was a pitcher for the first children's team that participated in a World Cup, the one held in the capital of Mexico in 1977. He always played for LDE, and the Elegolé fraternity paid him tribute just a few months before his departure.
The fourth player we lost was Marcos Barros, who started in the Liga del Forestal in 1963. His first uniform was that of the Seven Up team, then he moved on to Pilsener, which was like the national team. He played in the first division for Emelec, Barcelona, Majis, Master. His other role was that of a coach, and he debuted with the Simón Bolívar Technical School team, with which he won the intercollegiate tournament in 1974. He always formed new teams that performed very well; I remember Ídolos - a branch of Barcelona - Sarcuni, and others. He promoted softball and settled in the Santa Elena peninsula.
Marcos also led the regrouping of the baseball legends and heroes in the meetings held every Saturday at the Kennedy field. A few days before he contracted the coronavirus, he called me to greet me and ask me to take care; the ironies of destiny. A few minutes before he died, he sent a very broken voice message in which he managed to say, "I love you all. Take care!" It caused a tremendous impact but says a lot about his sense of friendship. Nicky Medina, a promoter of softball as a player and later as president of the Ecuadorian Softball Federation, also died.
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In journalism, we lost several soldiers. Walter Espinel, who worked for many years in the sports section of EL UNIVERSO and was an accredited radio commentator on CRE, where he hosted the program Mundo Deportivo, the oldest in the country for more than 50 years. As president of the Sports Journalists Circle of Ecuador, he adapted the press box in Modelo stadium, where every Sunday we enjoyed the comments and anecdotes of Manuel "Chicken" Palacios, Rafael Guerrero, Jorge Delgado, Ricardo Chacón, Manuel Mestanza, Ricardo Vasconcellos Rosado, Bobby Bermúdez, Manuel Puga, Carlos Chérrez Gómez, Guillermo Valencia León, Mario Chausón Valdez, Jorge Lazo, Luigi Pescarolo Orellana, Eduardo Díaz, Carlos Fuentes, Francisco Doylet, Arístides Castro, River, Mauro Villamar, and several other journalists.
Paterson Alcívar, a communication crusader who worked on our radio program Desde los diamantes on CRE until the end. May these painful and sad departures give us the energy to endure the pandemic. (O)