Eight Cubans will participate in the US Major League Baseball All-Star Game, an honor that surpasses the record set in 1968, when six players from the island attended this important summer tournament. Yennier Cano, Yordan Álvarez, Adolis García, Luis Robert Jr., Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Jorge Soler, Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena will be part of the squad that will play on July 11 at T-Mobile Park for the Seattle Mariners .
“It took 55 years for a new generation of players to set another record over the stars of the 1960s”, remembered the journalist Francys Romero in the portal FR Baseball! At that time, he explained, the Cubans Joaquín Azcue, Bert Campaneris, Leo Cárdenas, Tony Oliva, Tony Pérez and Luis Tiant attended the so-called Summer Classic.
Six of the athletes who will participate this year were chosen by Major League players, while Arozarena and Díaz were incorporated by fan vote. To these are added the hitters García, Robert and Soler, who have added 20 or more home runs in the 2023 campaign, which has positioned them among the best of the year.
Romero, author of the book The dream and the reality: stories of the emigration of Cuban baseball (1960-2018), considered that this selection reflects “the impact of Cubans in 2023 competing with powers like the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.” While eight players will participate for the Island, seven will participate for the Dominican Republic and five for Venezuela.
“It took 55 years for a new generation of players to impose another brand over the stars of the 60s,” recalled the journalist Francys Romero
“Cuban baseball is experiencing one of its best moments with established figures (in the US) and others who have been rising at different levels,” celebrated the journalist Jorge Ebro in The New Herald.
Proof of this good level is that Álvarez and García, who already participated in the All-Star Game in previous years (2022 and 2021, respectively), return this time. However, it is still not certain that Álvarez is fit to play, since he has suffered a right oblique muscle injury since June 8.
“It is probable that Álvarez will not join the Astros until after the All-Star Game, considering that the native of Las Tunas will need a rehabilitation assignment by the Minor Leagues,” valued the official platform of the Major Leagues.
This year’s revelation is Yennier Cano, who arrives with an average of 40 innings in the 2023 season. The man from Ciego de Avila stood out this week against the Minnesota Twins by launching a perfect inning, however he could not prevent his team’s defeat against the Baltimore Orioles.
Several players chosen for the All-Star Game appeared on a list to also be part of the Cuban team in the World Baseball Classic, a team made up of players residing on the Island as well as exiles. During the contest, the Government used the so-called Team Asere as part of its propaganda and there were several protest incidents by the Cuban-American community of Miami, during the last match between Cuba and the United States, held in that city.
The game coincides, coincidentally, with the second anniversary of the anti-government protests on July 11, 2021, a very significant date for Cubans.
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