There are phrases that have the power to take us back to a time. For many Venezuelans who grew up loving baseball, “put it on again” was one of them.
On Sundays, for Venevisionappeared Juan Vene with Play Ballwhich included The Figure of the Moment and The best of the week, where he said “play it again” when a play deserved to be seen again. That particular way of talking about baseball was part of Venezuelan television.
We were children. And baseball was there, in front of us. That is why the death of Juan Vené last Tuesday, at the age of 97, cannot only be the departure of a journalist. It is also the farewell to an era of Venezuelan sports journalism.
Vené will be remembered between love and hate. He was a controversial character, with strong opinions, capable of provoking discussions and admiration. I didn’t always agree with him. There were opinions of his that I shared and others that I definitely did not. That surely happened to many of those who followed his career. But a difference in criteria cannot erase a trajectory.
Juan Vené was a pioneer, especially in the way of telling stories. Major Leagues for Venezuela.
When Vené built his career, baseball Seniors It was much further away than today. He helped bring it closer. For decades he told what was happening in MLB and followed the Venezuelans who were beginning to make room for themselves in the Major Leagues. He helped turn those players into familiar figures for millions of fans.
Years later, I continued to come across his work in his columns in the Venezuelan press. We occasionally chatted by email and I always received a warm greeting from him. We didn’t need to think alike to respect each other.
Perhaps that is the best way to remember him: without erasing his controversies, but also not allowing them to hide what he represented.
Because before there were so many platforms to tell baseball, Juan Vené was already there. And there was a generation that learned to watch the Major Leagues also thanks to him.
On Tuesday, a fundamental voice of that baseball Venezuela left. And maybe that’s why one would like to go back to being that Sunday child in front of the television and listening:
“Put it back on me…”
Yes sir.
May he rest in peace, Juan Vené.
