There is fear of a poor performance by the team that will cause the country to drop in the world baseball rankings, as well as new defections of players.
HAVANA, Cuba. – In statements collected by Latin Pressthe president of the Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation, Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, declared that Cuba will not participate in the Caribbean Baseball Cup, announced to be held soon in the Bahamas, which will give five places for the Central American Games in the Dominican Republic in 2026.
According to Pérez Pardo, Cuba had already obtained direct qualification for that tournament, and consequently it did not make sense to attend that qualifying tournament. And the aforementioned official concluded by stating that “The Bahamas only has competitive infrastructure for six teams, so that capacity should be allocated to countries that do need qualification for the Central Americans.”
At first glance, this is a generosity on the part of the Cuban Federation, by giving up its place in the Bahamas competition to other countries that need to qualify. However, a more detailed analysis shows that there are reasons not mentioned by the Cuban baseball boss for absenting himself from that competition.
First of all, we must consider that a hypothetical poor Cuban performance in the Bahamas tournament, something that cannot be ruled out due to the failure of Cuban representation in recent times, would cause the island to drop in the world ranking of this sport. A situation that, evidently, the Cuban federations would not want, and that would mean that Cuba would not be invited to many tournaments in the future. At this moment Cuba occupies the not very desirable ninth place in that ranking, behind Japan, Taipei, the United States, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Panama.
Nor should we ignore the fear that Cuban sports leaders feel about the defections of baseball players that frequently occur during international tours. For example, last April, during the American Champions League played in Mexico, the Cuban team from Las Tunas Rafael Viñales and Denis Peña left the Cuban team, two casualties that are now greatly missed by the Las Tunas team that participates in the current National Baseball Series.
But, on the other hand, there is no doubt that another international participation of the Island’s players would be very useful to test the young figures that the country has to face the bulky and demanding calendar for 2026. Figures that are not always called to the main team of the Island for the most important events.
In February Cuba must take part in the Caribbean Series that will take place in Venezuela. Then will come the Tournament of the Americas that should have been held in Panama this November and which was cancelled. Already in the month of March we will attend the VI World Baseball Classic, perhaps the most demanding event that Cuban baseball will face in 2026. Here Cuba will be in group A, along with the teams of Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama and Colombia, and must be among the first two to advance to the second round.
And already in the summer, Cuban baseball will be in the Central American Games in the Dominican Republic, where it aspires to recover the title lost in the last two editions, where Puerto Rico and Mexico, respectively, won the gold medals.
Once again, the Cuban players, whose greatest incentive is to represent the island in international events, will be the most harmed by the official refusal to attend the Bahamas tournament. An administrative decision that makes them think about the need to get rid of that guardianship that makes their development as athletes impossible, and finally leads them to leave the island to compete freely in other foreign leagues.
