by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

SAN FRANCISCO–On Opening Day 2015, Latino pitchers in many cities will be taking the mound for their respective teams.

Many things have changed in the game of baseball, but one that has not, is the honor for a pitcher to open the season for his team. With around 30 percent of Latino players in the Major Leagues, this year there is a plethora of Latino pitchers that will start the season for their teams.

For the first time ever,a Colombian-born pitcher will open season for a team, when Julio Teherán(Atlanta) will take the mound against the Miami Marlins. For the Marlins, Venezuelan-born Henderson Alvarez will do the same, taking the place of Cuban-born José Fernández, Miami’s ace, who has been rehabilitating from surgery.

Meanwhile at Oakland, Yovani Gallardo(México)will open season for this new team the Texas Rangers, against the Oakland Athletics. Gallardo opened the season for his ex-club the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010 and 2011.
In Seattle, Félix “El Rey/The King” Hernández will do the honors as the Mariners host the Los Angeles Angels. For the Venezuelan it will be the seventh consecutive year that he has opened the season for the Mariners, and eight in total.

Dominican Johnny Cueto, for the fourth consecutive season opens for the Cincinnati Reds as he will battle his compatriot Francisco Liriano, who will take the ball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. For Liriano it will be his second time in his career.

Bartolo Colón, (Dominican Republic)of the New York Mets will show his control(at 42 years of age) as he will open for his team, while the American League Champion Kansas City Royals send young Jordan Ventura, also from the Dominican. Ventura is the first Latino hurler to inaugurate a season for the Kansas City Royals, since Panamanian-born of Chinese heritage Bruce Chen.

Since 1995 the country of Venezuela is #1 in pitchers inaugurating a season. Féliz Hernández, Felipe Lira, Johan Santana, Tony Armas, Victor Zambrano, Wilson Alvarez, Omar Dahl; Jhoulys Chacín and Freddy Garcia.

More Latino pitching: Pedro Martínez will be inducted this July into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He will be the second Dominican pitcher in Cooperstown,Juan Marichal was the first in 1983. The three pitchers born in the Dominican Republic with the most wins are: Juan Marichal (243), Pedro Martínez (219)and Bartolo Colón(204). The Latin born pitcher with the most wins in the major leagues in Dennis”El President”Martínez(Nicaragua) with a total of 245 wins, which he obtained pitching for five different teams in 23 seasons.

Amaury Pi-González is a pioneer in establishing Spanish baseball play by play in the Bay Area. 2015 will be his 38th season broadcasting in major league baseball, Spanish radio voice of the Oakland Athletics and for the fifth season Spanish play by play voice on television in Los Angeles for Fox Sports West.Fox Deportes, with the Los Angeles Angels. Inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum, the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame and BARHOF and does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary for http://www.sportsradioservice.com