Ventura de Jesús

AT 76 years of age, Edwin Walters’ bearing still recalls the strong physique of his youth. He is a tall man, trim, with long arms and big hands, ideal for playing baseball.

"I’m from Camagüey. I came to the España sugar mill, here in Perico, for two months and, 50 years later I’m still in Matanzas," he said proudly while observing the picturesque surroundings of the former mill, a place where he has gained the affection of his neighbors and represented the lofty values of revolutionary sports.

He speaks with modesty and sincerity.

"I was the batting leader during the first National Series season with a .367 average, but what moves me most, when recalling the early days of revolutionary baseball, is what Fidel said to us on that January 14 of 1962 about the importance of eliminating professional sports in Cuba.

"Some people didn’t understand the significance of that. We were used to baseball for profit, but we took on the great challenge of replacing it. We did it, with Fidel’s encouragement.

The congenial conversationalist, who laughs like a school boy, was a powerful force at bat, one of the most feared among players during those first games. A sportscaster of the era gave him his nickname, Montaña del Central España.

"There wasn’t much technique, but we played hard, with love and believing that everything was valid. Imagine, with my height and breadth, they hit me with the ball a number of times. The ball wasn’t as lively as it is today but there were good pitchers with experience in other leagues. The truth is that it was a lot of work to play baseball. The conditions weren’t ideal, but the sacrifice was worth it."

Among his most vivid memories, the Matanzas great recalls his participation in the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games, which took place in Jamaica. He played in left field for the Cuban team and wasn’t feeling well. "It was a short tournament, with just five games and by the time I started to feel better, the championship was over."

Walters recalls his initiation in baseball and his time in the Pedro Betancourt league. He regrets having entered the National Series a bit late, at 27 years of age. "I was active for 10 seasons, not counting the 10 Million season. I played left field and first base. I wasn’t a fast runner from home to first but I did better running the bases. My last season was 1971. Well now, I’ve devoted my life to baseball. After my retirement, for 20 years, I coached teams in Matanzas."

As he relates his story, Walters speaks highly of his wife Zenaida López Alfonso, with whom he had three sons and a daughter. Before saying anything he gives her a glance of love and gratitude. "She should be wearing my medals. It was baseball’s ‘fault’ that I wasn’t at home when our children were born, when I was most needed. One might say that she raised them alone."

Describing Edwin Walters as a sports legend and a good man is enough. He continues to live as simply as the first day he arrived, in the best days of his youth, at the España mill.

When he talks about baseball, his enthusiasm shows and, for a few seconds, he displays the brilliance and strength for which he has been known for 50 years, since the very beginning of revolutionary baseball.