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| They are unbeatable on the field. Outside of it, their friendship is kept remembering the roots. |
It’s not common to see two people who are not sons of a common mother having so many things that unite them; you could even swear they are siblings. Carlos González and Gerardo Parra are an exception to the rule.
They are both born in the Venezuelan State of Zulia, left-handed, with outstanding arm range, offensive power and speed. They are both five-tool players with ideal conditions to become baseball stars.
They both belonged to the same organization in the Venezuelan Winter Baseball League. Parra, a native of the population of Santa Barbara, was recently traded to Leones del Caracas, so a part of the cord that ties them has been broken.
Due to the intricacies of the baseball business, they both belonged to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gonzalez later on was traded to the Oakland Athletics, the organization in which he debuted in the Major Leagues, then moving on to reach stardom with the Colorado Rockies.
Their careers started with a bang. Any player would want to have a beginning like theirs: Gonzalez shot seven extrabase hits in the immediate start of his Major League career, a feat unseen since 1935, when Hall of Famer Johnny Mize got a similar mark.
Parra didn’t stay behind. He shot a homer in his first MLB plate appearance, becoming the ninth native of Venezuela to go yard in his debut game and just the second one to do so in his first at-bat, right after Alex Cabrera in 2000.
They both have Gold Gloves. And in a coincidence that seems to be the creation of a Hollywood screenwriter, they did so playing left field. They were close to become MVP in Venezuela, becoming runners-up in the years they were contending for the award.
And these are just the parallels we can come up with. We are sure there’s plenty more. But we believe this is enough to see the connection between CarGo and Parra goes way more beyond mere numbers and stats.
“Gerardo is a very talented ballplayer. He has plenty of tools to be successful in the Bigs,” says Gonzalez, who is himself having a big year since he’s a starter with Colorado.
“He’s a great teammate”, says Parra, who is taking advantage of the opportunity of playing more often and getting more at-bats. “It’s fantastic to play next to him and so is to face him as a rival. You enjoy what he does on the field a lot.”
CarGo got his first All-Star nod via voting this season, and his second appearance at the Mid-season Classic overall. “And that’s nothing compared to all the things he will achieve (in his career),” said a confident Parra, himself on his way to make his best numbers of his Diamondbacks career.
“And there’s still half the season left so his numbers can keep on increasing,” says Gonzalez of Parra. High compliments, coming from the current home run leader in the Senior Circuit. “We have already seen he’s a very aggressive player and he’s taking advantage of every opportunity he’s had.”
They were teammates with Aguilas. The age difference separated them when they played Little League in Zulia. They didn’t play together in local, national or international amateur tournaments either.
“We were pretty close (to each other) though. We were both signed by Miguel Nava,” both recall. “They were always said (Carlos) would be a great player, a five-tool star. He has everything he needs in order to get there,” says the native of Santa Barbara.
Their mutual respect is such that none of them talks smack about the other. Might be a gentleman’s agreement or simply because they don’t see any flaws with each other. “I’m not the right person to talk about what’s wrong with someone. I’m still learning, so does he,” Carlos says. “I don’t notice what’s wrong with a player, but the positives”, Parra replies. “If you ask me for the pros, I can sure tell you a lot of them. He sure has a lot of good things he brings to the field.”
“Maybe….” “El Yolo” says, timidly, “…we both should be more patient at the plate, but it’s relative. We both have different lineup spots and that’s why maybe he must be a bit more aggressive than I am.” Parra’s convinced that this is not a big deal for either of them.
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| Version in spanish in Mi Diario newspaper, Maracaibo. July 11th, 2013. |
The sky’s the limit
Neither of them has reached his full potential yet. They still have a lot of things to work on and to learn on the field. And that’s scary, considering they own plenty of hardware for their offensive and defensive feats. “(Gerardo) is just doing his best with every opportunity he’s had. He’s showing himself as an aggressive hitter. I hope he keeps on getting the chances he needs so he grows more into his role and fulfills his true potential,” Gonzalez says.
“He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame!,” blasts Parra over the phone. “If God and (Zulia patron saint) the Virgin of Chiquinquira allows it, Carlos will be there. I don’t see any other place he should be in. He has done nothing in his career… He’s barely shown us a sneak peek.”
Laughing through the memories
Santa Barbara was flooded due to intensive and unexpected rain. All plantain farms were affected. The work of several months was lost, and that sunk its population into sadness. Gerardo Parra wasn’t able to don the Aguilas uniform in the 2011-2012 season due to that situation. He was helping out his hometown.
“In order to boost morale and help his own he invited several of his teammates for a Home Run Derby in Santa Barbara,” CarGo recalls. “It was my first time there. Wow, was it far! We went on a carpool and the road trip became eternal. The weather was so hot. For a moment we thought we were about to end our journey and we realized that we were just halfway there. My Goodness! Anyway. When I got there, I met his family and saw his house. Then we went on to the stadium, it was huge, and packed with people. Some even fell off a ceiling. Dropped off like a banana, like my mom would say. Every time I went to hit my teammates started to throw anything they had on their hands at me: plastic cups, baseballs, trash, sand… And it did nothing because I beat them, anyway. So they know who to respect,” said Gonzalez amid laughter. He enjoys the home run contests, so it’s sad that he will pass on this year’s MLB Derby due to back problems.
Parra doesn’t stay behind and tells his own stories about Gonzalez. “There was a day in Maracay in which we were in the outfield, the most normal thing. I remember no one wanted us running whenever we tried to catch a fly ball. Well, someone hit a fly ball, wasn’t a really speedy guy. The ball went our way. Logically, we asked the ball to each other and… we didn’t pay attention to either of us. We let the ball drop right between us. We looked at each other, blamed at each other… When we stopped arguing, we realized that the pudgy guy who couldn’t run got to third base! What a mess, man.” Parra and Gonzalez now are tied to the NL lead in outfield assists with nine each.
In the end, they both agree on one thing. They are both great friends.
“During the World Baseball Classic we didn’t stop telling to each other we had to do our very best to represent Venezuela and, especially, our home State of Zulia. It’s very fun to hang out with him. I joke to him a lot about his English… He knows why”, CarGo says.
“Carlos says in jest that I have better arm range than him. No, he throws harder than me. I will always see the good things about him. Playing against him is not a drag. Quite the opposite, it makes me proud and I’m blessed to enjoy everything he does,” Parra says.
Worthy numbers
Carlos Gonzalez will appear in his second All-Star Game as a starter and his first via fan voting. He has 24 home runs, leading the National League, and that made him worthy of an invitation to the Home Run Derby at Citi Field.
Gerardo Parra is second in the National League in doubles for leadoff batters, with 20. He has the fifth best batting average for leadoff hitters with at least 250 at-bats this season. He has a .287 BA.
Published in the newspaper Mi Diario on July 11, 2013. Adapted especially for this space. Translation by Rafael Rojas Cremonessi (Follow him on twitter @Rafaelrojasc.
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