Bigger Than The Yankees-Red Sox... In Venezuela
For true fans of the game, the Caracas-Magallanes game is one that you should see before you die.
Ron Young
It's the Yankees-Red Sox, Cubs-Cardinals, and Dodgers-Giants all rolled into one fabled rivalry.
Few baseball experiences anywhere in the world can match up with a game between the Leones de Caracas and the Navegantes de Magallanes, the "eternal rivals" in the Venezuelan winter baseball league .
"The Caracas-Magallanes game is something before you die you have to see," insists U.S. pitcher Heath Bell, who played in Venezuela in 2002-2003.
While American baseball fans stoke the fires of the hot stove league and count the days until spring training, Venezuelan fans fill stadiums in the cities of Caracas and Valencia. Whistles, horns, and firecrackers create a deafening noise as they cheer on their favorite team.
A Rich History
The rivalry dates back to a late-1920s clash of the classes in Caracas. Magallanes was founded in Caracas in 1927. It soon came be the favorite team of the city's poorer classes. The team developed a fierce rivalry with a team known as Royal Criollos, predecessor of today's Leones, the preferred team of the city's middle and upper class residents.
In 1942, a team known as Cerveceria Caracas replaced Royal Criollos and continued the rivalry. Much like the Yankees of today, Cerveceria Caracas had much more money than any other team. Its deep pockets allowed the team to buy most of the members of the 1941 Venezuelan national team that won the world amateur baseball championship. Finally, in 1952, the Leones de Caracas replaced Cerveceria, and the rest is history.
There have been some speed bumps in the rivalry. Economic problems forced Magallanes to withdraw from league play between 1956 and 1964. The team later moved to the city of Valencia in 1969. The clash of the classes was no more, yet the rivalry continued.
Big-time stars have played for both teams, including Venezuela's only Hall-of-Famer Luis Aparicio. Current players who battled for the two teams include Andres Galarraga, Omar Vizquel, Bobby Abreu, Carlos Guillen, and Freddy Garcia. American stars ranging from Pete Rose to Barry Bonds have worn Caracas and Magallanes uniforms.
The battles between Venezuela's two most popular teams have had more than their fair share of historic moments.
The first no-hitter in league history came in a Caracas-Magallanes game in 1955, when American lefthander Lenny Yochim used his screwball to shut down the Navegantes.
On the last day of the 1964-65 season, Magallanes third baseman "Chameleon" Garcia went 3-4 to raise his batting average to .394, edging out Caracas' Jose Tartabull by .001 to win the batting crown.
In the 1979-80 season, Caracas embarrassed the defending champion Magallanes team by sweeping the season series 14-0.
Wild and Crazy Fans
"The fans go crazy watching these games," says Baltimore Orioles pitcher Omar Daal, a veteran of the Caracas-Magallanes wars.
The Venezuelan fans take the rivalry quite seriously. "They are considered a national holiday," says Domingo Alvarez, a high-ranking league official, "Not only do baseball fans go, but people who know nothing about baseball go to enjoy themselves, have a good time, and to be loud."
"I could scream as loud as I could on the mound," says current Caracas pitcher Pat Ahearne, "and not be able to hear myself."
"After the game was over," recalls Bell, "You go in the locker room and your ears are still ringing."
Bell compares the atmosphere to a high school football game, where fans from both teams try to be louder than the other side.
"The stadium is packed. Every step of the aisle, every walkway is full of people. You can't see any concrete."
"It's not a normal spectacle," Juan Vené, the "dean" of Venezuelan baseball writers says, "There's nothing like Caracas-Magallanes. It's unique."
Vene adds that the rivalry can even infiltrate family life. In a classic case of generational rebellion, he says, "Children of Magallanes fans sometimes become Caracas fans just to contradict their parents."
Players Feel the Pressure
Players too know that Caracas-Magallanes is something special. "When you play you forget about everything else, you want nothing more than to beat them," says Daal.
Daal has friends on the Magallanes team, but they become enemies at game time.
"What an experience that is," adds Seattle minor leaguer Andy Barkett, "I've never seen anything like it in my life in baseball."
Barkett imagines that a Caracas-Magallanes game is what playing in the World Series must be like.
Anaheim outfielder Eric Owens makes the same comparison. "It's like what you see in a World Series game over here in the States," says Owens, "It's for bragging rights. It's like the Yankees and Mets World Series. That's how big it is."
No one understands the pressure as well as Ahearne, who has played for both teams as an U.S. "import."
"Days before, if you are starting,” says Ahearne, “Everybody from the guy at the restaurant to the guy at the haircut place to the guy at the hotel will ask you 'You're pitching against Caracas?' Or 'You're pitching against Magallanes?'"
He recalls a game he started for Caracas when there was a brief rain delay before the start of the game. When the rain stopped, Ahearne was the first player in uniform to take the field, heading out to center field to do his usual pre-game jogging and stretching. "All these fans just stood up and started screaming and cheering, remembers Ahearne, “And this is a good half an hour before the game."
"This is what Bono must feel like. This is like rock star fantasy camp," say Ahearne.
Nah. Rock stars don’t last as long as Caracas-Magallanes.
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