Lázaro Contreras and Víctor Mesa, rivalry and respect.

One of the great talents of Matanzas baseball in the 1980s, Lázaro Contreras López, passed away 38 years ago.

One of the great talents of Matanzas baseball in the 1980s, Lázaro Contreras López, passed away 38 years ago.

Contreras was born on August the 26th, 1962, in the town of Carlos Rojas, municipality of Jovellanos and died on June the 6th, 1986, victim of burns caused by his wife, in a fit of passionate jealousy.

He was only able to play during six National Series and six Selective Series, in which he shone notably, both on offense and defense in center field or right field, on fewer occasions. Many fans and even specialists came to place him as a rival of consideration for Víctor Mesa, main figure of the center field during those years in the national teams.
In such a short period of time, Lázaro not only stood out in the country, but also abroad, where he set the standard in different countries such as Nicaragua, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, United States or Japan, which increased his popularity and the speculation that Victor Mesa’s reign was in danger.

His untimely death left the baseball fans of the province of Matanzas and a good part of the country unsatisfied, who were left with the desire to see how far Lazaro Contreras could go.

About this rivalry, always in his statements Victor Mesa was respectful when referring to the subject, as he expressed in an interview granted to Enrique Capetillo, of Bohemia magazine, in 1985, when Contreras replaced him in the Cuba team that attended the Intercontinental Cup in Edmonton, Canada, because he was hospitalized: «I want to tell you that Lázaro Contreras is a player of great explosiveness and I consider that he is not only capable of replacing me, but of doing better in any of the three outfields and he will prove it in the rest of the competition».

And so it was; in seven games and 27 times at bat, he scored seven runs, hit twelve runs, including a double and two home runs, drove in seven, had a slugging percentage of 704 and an average of 444.

We can categorically say that that 1985 campaign was Contreras’ most outstanding, since he averaged 300 between the National and the Selective, with 19 doubles, five triples and 15 home runs, scored 92 runs and drove in 53, received 68 tickets and struck out 22 times. His fielding was excellent with only five errors in 340 pitches for an average of 985.

Internationally, in addition to the performance in Edmonton, he competed in the Simón Bolívar Cup in Venezuela, where he averaged 448 and in the Confraternity Meteor in the Dominican Republic, where he batted 455.

I remember when Mesa came to manage Matanzas in 2011-2012 and after so many years without qualifying the Matanzas teams, he was able to do it for the playoffs and discuss one of the three places in the competition. Then there was a tour of the team through the municipalities and the bus that drove the players took a detour to Carlos Rojas, to visit the local cemetery.

It was an emotional moment, as the whole team went to the tomb where Contreras’ remains rest and Victor Mesa said a few words in homage to the late player, kissed the niche and added: «we are also with you, stellar, may you rest in peace».

Undoubtedly they were two great players, who admired and respected each other both on and off the field.

Written by Francisco Soriano Bermúdez.