Charle Rosario had settled into the Steel Yard’s visiting clubhouse. He had sat before in that first base dugout.
When Quebec played the RailCats in 2013, the right-hander’s first season of independent baseball, he had those experiences.
But this time was different.
Rosario returned with the Goldeyes for his initial trip to Gary after the Aug. 9 trade that sent him to Winnipeg in his third season with the RailCats.
“It’s weird,” Rosario said before Tuesday night’s second game of the series. “I’ve been there before. But after three years here, being on this side now and not over there, it’s weird. But it’s baseball.”
When the RailCats made the big deal to send their ace pitcher to Winnipeg for Daniel Minor, four players to be named and cash, the thought was Rosario might retire after the season — one when he helped Winnipeg win its second straight American Association championship.
That didn’t happen.
Rosario, who turns 30 on July 23, is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in four starts this season. He will miss pitching this series.
After last season, Rosario played winter ball in Venezuela. He was there a month and a half and pitched well.
“That made me feel like I had to keep playing,” Rosario said. “You never know what’s going to happen. I just made a decision with my wife.
“She always puts me in a hard situation, but she’s always there for me. I’ve come close, but not yet.”
And the end of his career might not be all that imminent, especially with his wife expecting their second son on June 22 in South Carolina. Their older son is 4.
Rosario is planning to depart Winnipeg at the end of this month to pitch in Mexico.
“I have to go get that money,” Rosario said. “It’s hard to leave. They treat me really well. I like the team, the energy we have, everyone tries their best every day. But it’s my job. I have to support my family.”
Rosario also has been in contact with a team in his native Dominican Republic, where family members reside, to play winter ball. He already has an offer to return to Venezuela.
“I really want the Dominican because I can take my family,” Rosario said. “I could see my wife and kids every day.”
Rosario left the RailCats ranked second in franchise history behind Willie Glen in wins (31), strikeouts (298), innings (410 2/3) and starts (65).
He went 8-5 with a 3.65 ERA in 19 starts last season, making his second straight All-Star team, having gone 11-4 with a 3.13 ERA in a league-leading 24 starts in 2016.
In 2015, he went 12-8 with a 3.81 ERA, tying the team record for wins despite the RailCats going 45-55.
Before Tuesday’s game, RailCats manager Greg Tagert had his first opportunity to speak with Rosario, who reached Class AA in 2011 and 2012 among six seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization.
“We weren’t shocked he’s still playing,” Tagert said. “For players like Charle who have continued to improve, they feel they’re better than they were six or seven years ago.
“That thought can’t help but creep in your mind, ‘Well, I just saw so-and-so make his big-league debut at age 32.’”
Rosario went 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in six regular-season starts last year with Winnipeg.
He vividly recalled his performance as the Goldeyes defeated Fargo-Moorhead on the final day — allowing only two runs in seven innings in his 25th start to tie the league record — that actually clinched the RailCats’ postseason berth.
Rosario went 1-1 with a 6.27 ERA in three starts in the playoffs as the Goldeyes won the title. He also won championships in 2013 with Quebec in the Can-Am League and 2014 with Schaumburg in the Frontier League.
“It’s something I can’t express, the feeling of winning a championship,” Rosario said. “Every player wants to win a championship. Not everybody gets a chance, but I did last year.”
