Jesús Luzardo: “Latinos bring something very important, a little seasoning to the game.”

Jesús Luzardo receives his LatinoMVP shirt on Tuesday night prior to the Marlins-Yankees game at Yankee Stadium - Image Credit: Latino Sports

SOUTH BRONX, NY — Yesterday, I specifically went to Yankee Stadium to see two Miami Marlins players. Jesús Luzardo, the first Peruvian-born player in Major League Baseball history and Venezuelan All-Star, Luis Arráez.

Luzardo won the 2023 NL LatinoMVP Starting Pitcher award with a record of 10 wins and 10 losses. He had a 3.58 ERA and struck out 208 in 178.2 innings.

Luis Arráez was on the prestigious 34th annual ballot in the category of National League MVP. Luis ended the season with a .354 batting average with, 203 hits and 69 RBI.

I went to the Marlins Clubhouse and together with Marlins Media Luis Dorante, we approached Luzardo in front of his locker and told him the good news. He was surprised and happy to hear the news. Since he knew nothing of the award, I gave him a short history of the award.

Jesús Luzardo, of the @Marlins, the first Peruvian-born player in @MLB history, was recently named the winner of the 2023 NL #LatinoMVP Starting Pitcher award – an award deemed the “Latin Grammy of Baseball.” 🏆⚾️🇵🇪🇻🇪

Congrats @Baby_Jesus9 ! 🎉#LatinoSports #MarlinsBeisbol pic.twitter.com/vmw9EM4qMG

— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) April 10, 2024

Interview with Jesús Luzardo (Transcript) 

LS: We are here with Jesús Luzardo. Jesus, you were on the prestigious 34th annual ballot of the most outstanding baseball players in the 2023 season. Our LatinoMVP awards are given the season after so as not to get them mixed with all the other awards given at the end of each season.  As I had explained, this award grew out of the fact that many sports professional, especially many Latino Sports reporters believed that Texas Rangers outfielder, Rubén Sierra was overlooked for the 1989 American League MVP.  We gave Ruben the first award here in the old Yankee Stadium. The award is now in its 34^th year and now it’s recognized as the oldest and most prestigious award given to Latino baseball players. Some refer to it as the Latino Grammy of baseball (He laughs)

Now that you know the history of the award and have been informed that you have won the 2023 National League LatinoMVP pitcher of the year award, what are your thoughts?

JL: Well, I am grateful for that, and I hope to be able to repeat it again.

LS: And what do you think about there being an award specifically for Latino players?

JL: I think it’s special. And I think that Latinos bring something very important, a little seasoning to the ballpark and at the same time, I think it is something special that we must be grateful for.

LS: We look forward to presenting you with the award during Hispanic Heritage Month in September in your home stadium.

JL: (He smiled). See you then.

LS: Thank you and we have a gift to give you.

I then gave him his commemorative shirt that we give to all the players who make the ballot. When he saw the design on the shirt, he smiled and said, “that’s nice. Thank you.”

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