The Bombino
El Bambino, Los Dorados top pitcher, was the top star of the Beer League de West Texas y Southeast New Mexico. Several players in other teams in the league were chasing him, but they couldn’t both pitch and hit like him.
His physique didn’t’ match his ability. Standing five feet five inches and built like a fire hydrant, lightening quick, and with short but stout and powerful legs and arms, he could beat any team in the league even if his teammates weren’t hitting.
When El Bambino pitched, batters struggled to make any contact with anything he threw. His fans called his most feared pitch a bombino, a curve ball that headed toward the batter’s eye and at the last instant curved down and inside into the strike zone. Few batters stood strong against it.
He was just as devastating as a batter. He’d swing at balls thrown in and out of his strike zone and hit them hard, usually all the way to the wall—often beyond that.
The umpires and league officials sometimes made new rules for him just to keep the games competitive.
One troubled ruling against him came in the semi-final game of an inter-league tournament in Lóbica against the home team, Los Mesteños. The vatos from Lóbica’d never seen a bombino. After seven innings of batters dodging phantoms and striking out, the local crowd got restless. Meanwhile, El Bambino was the only one hitting in the game, a home run every time he went to bat. The hometown fans cursed and jeered. The umpires took note of the tension.
In the bottom of the eight, El Bambino threw six straight bombinos to retire the first two batters.
“Strike three! Two outs,” the umpire shouted.
El Bambino started the same way with the next batter.
“Strike,” the umpire shouted and immediately paused the game for a huddle with his colleagues.
El Bambino knew qué onda.
“You’re outta here if you throw that pitch again,” the home plate umpire shouted as he came out of the huddle. The home crowd applauded.
El Bambino asked for clarification.
“Another curva ahina and I’m out?” El Bambino asked, raising his right hand.
“Yep,” the umpire said.
El Bambino then threw a curve so obtuse that it flew past the catcher’s reach and into the Lóbica fans’ section, which cleared the front row.
El Bambino took note and did it two more times, causing more of the section to move higher up in the stands.
“Ball three!” the umpire said.
The batter shook his head in disbelief.
The next pitch caught the batter distracted and flew straight into the strike zone.
“Strike two! Full count,” the umpire shouted.
El Bambino then threw a bombino.
“Your outta the game?” the umpire yelled at him.
“But no it was strike?” El Bambino asked.
“Yes, but you’re out and not batting anymore,” the umpire said.
“Órale. One more inning, and we’re ahead 0-2,” El Bambino said.
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