Yoan Moncada leads the MLB players in Cuba’s call-up.
Foto:
Michael Reaves / Getty Images
The Cuban baseball team confirmed this Friday that it will count -for the first time in history- with at least four active Major League Baseball (MLB) players to participate in the V World Classic which will be held in March.
The list of 50 players announced by the president of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB), Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, is still preliminary – the final one will be delivered in February – but it becomes relevant as it is the first after the US granted permission to the island to summon baseball players who play in the best league in the world.
Historically, the island players in the Major Leagues had not been taken into account in the representative teams of Cuba because they are players institutionally disconnected from the Federation and who opted for a residence in a third country to debut in the MLB.
“We work and continue working to achieve a competitive team that represents Cuba as it really deserves”Pérez said at a press conference. The leader clarified that the intention is to form a good squad and not “a constellation.”
In the list, the players of the American league stand out Andy Ibañez, of the Detroit Tigers, Yoan Manuel Moncada and Luis Robert Moirán, both of the Chicago White Soxand Yoan López Leyva, of the New York Mets.
There are also four players in the US minor leagues, one category below MLB.
Similarly, conspicuous by their absence Yordan Álvarez and Yuli Gurriel, who excelled in the title won by the Houston Astros in the last World Series. As well as José Daniel Abreu, recently signed by that same squad and three times summoned to the All-Star Game.
In this regard, the team manager, Armando Johnson, pointed out that They tried to communicate with Álvarez and Abreu but received no response.
In addition to MLB players, the Cuba team would have elements from other foreign leagues such as Elián Lyeva, pitcher for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, of the Mexican Pacific League and contender for best pitcher of the year in that contest.
Low hours in Cuba
Cuba’s participation in the Classic has raised expectations among managers, aware that the sport -declared Cultural Heritage in the Caribbean country- has been in low hours for years, marked, above all, by the desertions of young talent.
According to specialized journalist Francys Romero, and author of the book El sueño y la realidad: emigration stories from Cuban baseball (1960-2018), At least 120 Cuban baseball players left the island in 2022 “by various means.”
Cuba ended the year without winning a single international tournament out of the nine it played.
The title drought has already exceeded six years. The last time the Cubans won an international title -not counting baseball5- was in 2016, when they won the under-15 world championship.
The Cuban team -winner of three gold medals- did not qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games either.
The World Classic will take place in Japan, Taiwan and the United States and will start on March 8 when Cuba faces the Netherlands.
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