My Last Encounter with Armando Capiró.

On the occasion of Armando Capiró Laferté’s induction into the Palmar de Junco Hall of Fame in 1992, I had the opportunity to interview him for the Matanzas press. Here is this unforgettable memory of one of the greatest hitters in Cuban baseball.

The dream of the outstanding Havana player Armando Capiró Laferté to visit Palmar de Junco in Matanzas to be inducted into the Hall of Fame came true this Wednesday, March 30th, when he received a tribute from the center’s administration and its Election Committee, as well as the embrace of his teammates on the national team: Félix Isasi, Evelio Hernández, and Fernando Sánchez.

«Now there’s nothing left for me to do, I’m in Palmar de Junco,» Capiró said emotionally upon arriving at the historic site where he hit his enormous home runs on more than one occasion.

The native of Santiago de las Vegas was selected this year for the Matanzas Sports Hall of Fame, but he was unable to attend the induction ceremony on February 20th because the vehicle transporting him from the capital broke down, forcing him to return home. For this reason, he was invited on this date to unveil, in his presence, the plaque that will commemorate his sporting achievements.

Armando ranks among the most powerful hitters to have played in the Cuban National Series. He possessed both power and contact, as evidenced by his .298 batting average in 3,948 at-bats. He collected 1,177 hits, 395 of them extra-base hits, drew 496 walks (111 intentional), and struck out only 348 times. His 1,000th hit came on January 16, 1979, at Estadio Latinoamericano, against Camagüey pitcher Lázaro Santana.

He debuted in 1965 with Occidentales and hit a home run in his first at-bat against Matanzas left-handed pitcher Manuel Rojas, who was playing for Centrales that year.

“Yes, I’ll never forget that moment against Rojitas. A pitcher with great control and courage. I caught one of his big curveballs and hit a home run. I hit left-handed pitchers very well.” But as is often the case in baseball, some pitchers are more effective against certain hitters than others.

«It’s true, look, it was always very difficult for me to hit against Omar Carrera. I don’t know how he managed to shut me down every time we faced each other, to the point that one day, in the middle of a game, I had to take off my cap and say, ‘My respects, you’re my daddy!'»

He also played for the Cuban team in three Pan American Games and three Central American and Caribbean Games.

Of the managers he played under in the National Series, he singles out Servio Borges and Pedro Chávez as the best, “although I was always grateful to Pedro “Natilla” Jiménez for his advice, especially since I was a junior player and became a hitter and outfielder, because when I started playing baseball I was a pitcher.”

Regarding baseball in his era and today, he acknowledges the number of good pitchers back then: “Now there are fewer of that caliber, although it must be said that the ball is also played with more pace.”

After retiring as a player, he worked as a coach at the Havana Psychiatric Hospital, which had a tremendous team in the provincial leagues of the capital.

Armando Capiró participated in the friendly game between the Fidel and Chávez teams at the Latin American Stadium.
“Yes, I laughed a lot at the antics of both leaders. Chávez was a good left-handed pitcher,” he recalls, “and since I hit them well, especially up the middle, I was a little afraid of hitting him, but no, everything turned out fine.”