The list of expatriate Cuban baseball players already makes up a sports catastrophe. So far in October, the abandonments of retired pitcher Ángel Peña and left-handed pitcher Yadier Batista have been confirmed. These athletes join David MenaJefferson Delgado, Ciro Silvino LiceaAdriel Labrada, Juan Carlos Hernández, Sergio Pérez, Dismany Ortiz and Yunior Charadan, who left the Island in September.
Grief, according to the journalist Francys Romero left Cuba “in the last few hours” in the direction of the United States through “the Central American route,” the same one that Mena, Delgado, Licea and Labrada took a few days ago.
From the “Falcon of March 13”, as Peña was called, the memory of more than 1,027 remains strikeouts achieved in National Series. In 2013, this baseball player became the fourth pitcher in Sancti Spíritus to reach the mark in that category, only behind Yovani Aragón (1,926), Roberto Ramos (1,151) and Maels Rodríguez (1,148), public Escambray.
In his career he got 132 victories. In the beginning he stood out as a U-15 and U-18 World Cup player in the 90s, but little was known about this athlete, until he decided to emigrate, according to a comment on Facebook, with his family.
“Cuban society continues to emigrate massively, including active and retired players, coaches and athletes from other disciplines,” Romero said on his social networks, anticipating that given the possibility of flights to Nicaragua, there would be several departures before the I Elite League that It will start on October 8.
Meanwhile, Yadier Batista left for the Dominican Republic. This 18-year-old hopes to continue his career in a US Major League team. “In the recently concluded U-23 National Championship, he made headlines by giving a game without hit no races,” he posted FR Baseball!
“Now new processes will come, in the first it will seek to perfect its tools and polish its entire command,” said Francys Romero. “The second part is to apply for free agency and receive permission from MLB to be able to sign a professional signing.” This athlete, originally from Ciego de Ávila, 6’3 tall and weighing 180 pounds, can throw between 88-91 miles.
Batista is called to be a pitcher between 94-95 miles, and according to the specialized journalist, “he has a starting profile, command and enough repertoire. His body still has much more room for the development of these tools.”
Batista is preceded by his performance in 2019, when he left a mark of 5-0, 46 innings and 52 strikeouts in the National 15-16. Back then he was one of 13 pitchers to average fewer than three earned runs per game.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
