Greetings dear readers, your friend Jaime Jarrín, trying to capture in a few lines some reflections, experiences and, why not, the hell, that have sat me down for 64 years with the Dodgers.
One of the best teachings I received in my early years made me notice that the So-called challenges were actually opportunities. This philosophy brought clarity to my life, and where there was no light at least there was hope. Consequently, instead of asking why?, I always asked myself why not?, and that attitude has taken me from Ecuadorian radio to radio and television in California. . But this has not happened as a magic spell, but with sacrifice, initiative and of course the discipline of going back to the initial teaching: you have to look at each challenge as an opportunity.
Very on time I discovered in my sports broadcasts that more important than talking to the brain is talking to the heart. Let me explain: the faithful account of a sports event was a technical challenge, but also an emotional opportunity to establish a connection between the audience and the athlete.
I arrived in this country in 1959 with a wealth of experience and hoping to broaden my horizons. In 1959 I had the fortune to enter working with one of the strongest and most respected franchises in Major League Baseball, the Dodgers. The 26 July 1998 was a very special day, an extraordinary day, because it was when I had the privilege and remarkable distinction of being inducted into the Hall of Immortals in Cooperstown. I just couldn’t believe that an Ecuadorian from a country where baseball isn’t practiced would rub shoulders with the true titans of our industry.
It is said that one must always count the blessings one receives, and here when writing this I must tell you that in the last 64 For years I have had time to count these blessings, but many I cannot count either.
I started broadcasting Dodgers games on 1959, over the years I have been able to describe as great comrades important men of the microphone, from René Cárdenas to José Fadu García, Rodolfo Hoyos, Pepe Yñiguez, Fernando Valenzuela, my son Jorge and now also José Mota.
I am a very special case, I admit it. Sixty-four years ago few people in Ecuador, particularly in my hometown of Quito, understood the game of baseball, and in the United States few people knew where Ecuador was. It was in those times when I left the country where I saw the first perpetual snow, the first stream, the first ocean, and came to meet a new world that extended its arms to me.
Naturally, the passage of time fills the gaps, clarifies uncertainties and guides The paths. This is how the immigrant who was looking for a broadening of his life turns out to be the first Latin American who in life passed through the door of the Hall of Fame, the Hall of Immortals. It could be said that an understanding was reached between baseball and Ecuador, a happy understanding for me.
And in the course of more than 64 For years I have had unforgettable experiences, remarkable discoveries of human values, from mentors of my first steps, to colleagues, administrators and directors with a valuable wealth of knowledge willing to share them. I have learned from them and I would like the new generations to take it into account: that reaching a goal is not a question of formulas, but of initiative and sometimes sacrifices, and that in turn a firm faith in our initiatives finally leads us to illuminate a valuable aptly named vision of the future.
People often ask me what are the most memorable memories of my journey through the trails of the Big leagues. The answer is based on the privilege I have had to serve the Mexican community in particular and Latinos in general in Southern California, and over the years 64sy 90 to every corner of Mexico where our Dodgers baseball broadcasts reached. Now, these days, thanks to technology and the internet, our broadcasts can be heard in every corner of the world.
They also ask me the most intense memories with the Dodgers. These are not hard to find. At the head is the incredible chapter written in gold letters in the year 81 by Fernando Valenzuela, then the perfect games launched by Koufax, Browning and Nicaraguan Dennis Martínez; Kirk Gibson’s epic home run and the World Series of 50 featuring prominently my good friend Orel Hershiser, who eclipsed Don Drysdale’s record of consecutive scoreless innings, And of course, who can forget if they were in the stadium or if they were listening to me, the four consecutive home runs in the ninth inning against San Diego, so that later in the tenth Nomar Garcíaparra sealed the victory with a fifth home run. But above all, to see how youngsters from our countries, from Latin America, stand out in a diamond that was once almost exclusively for blondes and blue eyes.
My service has been to the Latino community of Southern California, that is how I was able to meet beautiful friends, who have been, in my opinion, the most outstanding speakers in our Spanish-speaking world: Ignacio Santibáñez, “El Bachiller” Gálvez, Ramiro Gamboa, Pedro Ferriz, Jacobo Zabludovsky, Manuelito Bernal, Paco Malgesto, Gonzalo Castellot and others in Mexico with whom I shared many days.
Tomorrow is my dad’s final Opening Day as a Dodger Broadcaster. 35 consecutive seasons. I’m sharing photographic highlights from his career throughout the season. This was taken 30 years ago on Opening Day in the Dodger Clubhouse 1976 with Frank Sinatra. pic.twitter.com/Os5pRuFjuL— Jorge Jarrin (@JorgeJarrin1) April , 2022
With you I have truly felt very blessed, and now in this campaign 2022, me 64ta. season with the Dodgers, I’m really about to bring the curtain down. Is my 64to. opening game of the season, a truly great privilege, and I take advantage of these lines to place here my profound appreciation for the Spanish-speaking community, for the Latino baseball player, for my co-workers, because all of them have greatly contributed so that I I feel happy in the broadcast booth. It has been a great pride for me to be able to serve this wonderful community, particularly Dodgers fans.
So friends, please receive my deepest gratitude for the company I have had with you during these 64 years . God bless you all, thank you very much.
Jaime Jarrín, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, begins this 14 April his last season as the Spanish voice of the Dodgers