14ymedio, Havana, 10 November 10, 2022 — Cuban officialdom has found in the I World Baseball5, a street version that combines baseball and softball, a reason for joy despite the abandonment of athletes in recent months and the failures of Cuban baseball. “The team sweeps its rivals of the moment,” Jit published about the performance of Cuba, which remains undefeated in the tournament held in Mexico.
The official media proclaimed on Wednesday that Cuba “had no mercy” for the host, giving it the “first super knock-out of the series with a 21-0 slate.” During the games, the Cubans scored “a whopping 53 runs and the opponents only got three.” Orlando Amador, Briandy Molina and Roivelis Núñez are Cuba’s best players.
This Thursday, Cuba closed the qualifying phase in the Zócalo of Mexico City with a couple of 2-0 and 5-2 wins over Japan, which placed it as the leader of key A, waiting to meet its Super Round rival.
These performances have placed the Cuban team as a serious candidate to take the title. It goes forward with the best run differential of the +80 event, which surpasses by 54 its closest rival, Taipei.
The other side of the coin is the baseball classic. On Monday, the Under-18 team culminated its participation in the Pan American Championship with a 0-9 whitewash, the same as Nicaragua in La Paz, Baja California (Mexico).
The whole of the Island not only had to swallow the bitter pain of defeat, it was also left out of the 2023 World Cup. “We did not fulfill the goal,” accepted manager Severo Crespo. “It was a failure for the delegation. We did everything we could to achieve that long-awaited classification, but it was impossible for us. Now we have to gain experience from the defeat for future confrontations.”
The Cuban team should discuss the “Consuelo Round, a similar story to the one experienced last month by the U-23 national team during the World Cup based in Taipei, China,” the Cuban News Agency published.
The regime cannot hide the escape of its athletes. The exodus of athletes, “like those who have retired, won’t end in the current year,” warned journalist Francys Romero on the Baseball FR! website. “More than a hundred former athletes or players have decided to leave Cuba by any means.”
On Saturday, pinareño baseball player Tony Guerra arrived in the United States. With experience in five national series, this infielder will reside in the Houston area, Texas, and will seek new opportunities within baseball. Romero specified that the athlete’s journey took place on the “via Nicaragua to Mexico.”
This Wednesday, Serguey Pérez Rousseau, son of the player of the same name and a reference for more than a decade with the Havana team, Industriales, left Cuba to settle in the Dominican Republic. “Many of those who come to other places looking for a contract improve their conditions in countless ways that don’t exist on the Island, such as training methods and nutrition,” Romero stressed.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
