2035.5: Juan Pablo Day

[Rubaboo]

September 29th, 2035. The final day of the regular season. The Aztecs, having clinched the JL Sun Belt title in the last week, still have playoff positioning to play for. The chatter on the sports networks isn't about the race for the 2 seed in the JL with the Jacksonville Hurricanes though; because it's Juan Pablo Day.

The franchise's all time leader in hits and games played had announced earlier in the season that he would be retiring at the end of 2035. After a gut-wrenching offseason that saw the beloved Pablo sign a minor league deal with division rival Las Vegas with only a token signing bonus, viewed by many fans and people withing the organization as a terrible mistake by GM Fred Holmes, only to be re-acquired by the Aztecs before ever donning a jersey of a Las Vegas affiliate, then being stashed in AAA and struggling through a rough season until September roster expansion when he found his way back to the major league roster for a farewell tour. Perhaps farewell tour is a bit generous as he only played in 3 games before the final day, calling it a coaching audition would perhaps be more correct. Pablo lent his experience and his presence to a young locker room through the end of the season.

The final day of the season, however, is all about #35. The team announced that he would be getting the start at DH in the final game of his career and that fans wearing a Juan Pablo jersey to the game would receive a commemorative bobblehead at the gate. The Aztec team store sold out completely. Retailers around Mexico City were bare. Vendors selling old Barnstormer jerseys around the stadium the day of the game didn't have a Juan Pablo jersey in sight. The fans went all out in embracing a team icon in his farewell outing.

Pablo's prep for the game was as it has been for 15 seasons. You wouldn't have been able to tell that this was a 38 year old about to take his swan song. As he was announced on the PA and walked out of the tunnel before the game started, a capacity crowd erupted. Not a single person in the sea of 45,000 was in their seat. Even then, Pablo was poised. He waved to acknowledge the crowd and went about his business. In his first at bat vintage Juan Pablo appeared before the eyes of the Aztec faithful as Pablo took the first pitch as a ball then ripped the 1-0 offering to the outfield fence and stopped at second base with a stand up double. "The noise was incredible," said Aztec CF Willard Gagne, who was watching from the on-deck circle, "I've never experienced an atmosphere like that in my entire life, it was electric. I will never forget that as long as I live." Pablo would end up stranded on third in the first inning, and the game would largely be over by the 5th when he hit an RBI single but the fans, despite the rain and the 8-2 defecit, roared their approval.

Pablo would strike out in the 7th with the Aztecs trailing 12-2, still in front of a capacity crowd, and the game would finish that way. Phoenix, still playing for their playoff lives, had done a fantastic job spoiling the last game of the franchise icon. Looking around though, you would think the Aztecs had just won the Landis. The crowd, STILL at capacity at the end of a 12-2 drubbing in the rain that had slowly been increasing in intensity since the opening pitch, were out-thundering the rain in their support of their hero.

After the teams had retreated to the dugouts after the final out, Aztec team owner, Meat Poplowski, Jr., and GM Fred Holmes came on the field for a special ceremony. Poplowski took the microphone and announced plans to open a team Hall of Fame and Museum as part of a larger complex, and that Juan Pablo would be the first from the franchise to have his number retired. He directed attention to the front face of the center field deck, where a tarp fell revealing a large placard with Pablo's #35 hanging from it. It was then, at that moment, that Pablo finally cracked. Slowly, a single tear trickled down his right cheek. Just one. Then, with a smile on his face, Pablo ascended the dugout stairs, shaking hands with teammates, coaches and staffers on his way, and took a very slow lap around Ullamaliztli Field, signing autographs and shaking hands before disappearing down the tunnel for the last time. The end of an era for the Omaha/Mexico City franchise, but a fitting send-off for the franchise's favorite son.

[usnspecialist]

always good to see franchise icons get the farewell treatment, I look forward to actually keeping guys long enough for them to experience that.

[RonCo]

Well done write up for a deeply deserving player.

[starfox64]

Really good write-up I enjoyed it