CAMAGÜEY.- December 4th, 2000 is one of the saddest dates that this province has lived in so far this century. That day the news of the tragic death of one of the most beloved sports idols in Camagüey spread like wildfire: Miguel Caldés.

Only 48 hours later Sammy was born, a child condemned to grow up without the warmth of his father and with the constant curiosity to know why everyone reveres him when they know his last name. In his family environment, the impulse to follow in the wake that his father left on the baseball fields was never lacking, but he remembers that something in his subconscious was holding him back.

"It wasn't until the first year of the 13-14 category that I started training," he confessed to Adelante.

However, a few months later he emigrated with Betsy, his mother, to the United States, a fact that seemed to eliminate any possibility that the son of the man with the big hits and the perpetual smile would wear the Camagüey uniform.

“There as soon as I started school I went back to playing ball, all of High School and until I was 18 years old. For a time, Leslie Anderson trained me in Miami and has always kept advising me. Then I understood that I could dedicate myself to this and I went to test myself in the Dominican Republic. I spent some time developing at an academy in Santiago de los Caballeros, where I was able to improve my hitting technique a lot and I achieved more versatility on defense ”.

With less than 20 years it was not easy to get away from home and spend long days of preparation and competitions. That is why he decided to turn his life around and return to where it all began, perhaps because there is no better place to grow up than the one where you were born.

“My grandmother insisted a lot for me to come and play here and since I always liked the idea, I decided to take the step. From here were my first references on the ball, I saw Ayala and wanted to be like him and now I will have the opportunity to work alongside him. As soon as I arrived I contacted Professor Borroto and he received me with great enthusiasm, he told me that with him I would always have a position to test myself. I have also received the support of my family and of some guys from the team like Segura or Leonelito Moas ”.

Precisely, the father of the latter has become his sports tutor and for a month they have been working every afternoon to perfect their hitting mechanics. According to "El Gigante", Sammy has good swing acceleration and a lot of power on impact at the ball. Other reports add that the 20-year-old, 1.90-meter tall boy has good defensive displacement and the possibility of playing as a waiter, shortstop or third baseman, a position in which his father marked an era.

“My dad left great stories and numbers, now I have to make them mine. The comparison doesn't scare me because all I want is to have fun and improve myself more and more. I'm going to train every day to be like him, but still enjoy this love for baseball that I inherited. "

It is not about launching false expectations or starting to measure the boy with the tape of the great Miguelito. The true essence of this story that is just beginning is in the desire to follow a legacy, of the reunion with a destiny marked by the footprints of spikes around the third cushion of the Cándido González stadium.

Sammy does not want to suffer for absurd comparisons, Sammy Caldés wants to live and play what the force of his blood drives him. That is why when the most difficult question of the afternoon came, he brought out that childish smile that his father gave him and snapped: "If I make the Camagüey team, I will wear the 18th ... without fear."

Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez