On Saturday night, Juan ‘Igor’ González became the second manager in Superior Double A Baseball history to win back-to-back titles with different teams, with Toritos de Cayey’s win.
“We deserved this victory. I am grateful and privileged. “One more page is written in history,” said the two-time American League MVP in the Majors.
González, who won with the Grays of Humacao in 2021, equaled the achievement of fellow Vegabajeño Víctor ‘Vitín’ Meléndez, champion of the 1971-1972 (Manatí) and 1973 (Vega Baja) seasons.
Cayey defeated Peces Voladores de Salinas 7-2 in the seventh game, in front of more than 5 thousand fans at the Pedro Montañez stadium in Cayey.
For the third year in a row, the tournament champion was decided in the seventh game. This is the second title in the last four years for Cayey, who has four titles in total, won in the 2022, 2018, 1986 and 1945 seasons.
Cayey had an effective combination of brothers José Carlos and Juan Carlos Burgos, both left-handed shooters. The former was the winner, throwing 7.1 innings with five strikeouts, six hits and one run. Meanwhile, Juan Carlos traveled the rest of the way.
Los Toritos attacked right-hander Yadiel Rolón in the first inning with several runs on a single by Nelson Molina and a passed ball that Richard González used to reach the plate.
Rolón allowed Cayey’s first four runs in 2 2/3 innings to take the loss. He struck out six batters and struck out two.
In the third, a triple by Michael Arroyo added two runs after two outs, and in the sixth, the Bulls extended their lead with a three-run rally thanks to singles by Christian Torres and Jan Arroyo.
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Salinas scored his first run in the eighth and tacked on another in the ninth.
Toritos’ first bat, Kelvin Pérez, was named the series’ MVP. He was the crown jewel hitter with a .400 average, with 12 strikeouts. He scored seven runs and drove in four. In addition, he got two walks.
At the end of the meeting, the vice president of the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation, engineer Carlos Príncipe Díaz, presented the champion trophy to manager Alberto Rivera. He was accompanied by the executive director, Efraín Williams González.
