The Cuban team will make its debut facing its similar Netherlands in the V World Baseball Classicin a match scheduled for the capital of Taiwan on November 8, 2023, as announced by the tournament organizers.
The Caribbean squad, inserted in group A of that contest, will then clash against Italy (day 9), Panama (10) and the hosts of Taipei (12), in duels with a seat in the Taichung stadium that will define the classifieds to the second round, in accordance with the agency Latin Press (PL).
The 2023 Clásico brings together in its group A, based in Tokyo, the casts of Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic; while the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Canada and the United Kingdom will animate section C, which will have its stage in the American city of Phoenix.
For its part, key D was reserved for the also American city of Miami, where the strong teams of Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic will compete, along with Israel and Nicaragua, the publication specifies.
The United States is the defending champion of the tournament, after beating Puerto Rico’s representative in the final of the 2017 edition.
The fifth version of the contest, convened every four years by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in conjunction with the Major League Baseball (MLB)should have been held in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the organizers to postpone it to 2023.
Remember PL that Cuba’s best performance in these classics dates back to 2006, in the initial edition, when the Islanders reached the grand final. In that instance they fell to Japan, which thus became the first monarch of the planetary joust, while the Antilleans hung the silver.
The Cuban baseball is going through a moment of crisis, marked by the drought of good results in tournaments at the highest level and a drop in the level of play in the National Series. Among his reasons is the serious economic crisis that affects all areas of Cuban society, and has influenced a constant exodus of accomplished players and young talents, with their sights mainly on the MLB.
In order to reconquer the ceded place, the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) They have been open to summoning players inserted on their own in professional circuits outside the Island to represent the country in the main tournaments, including the World Classic.
However, the president of that entity, Juan Reynaldo Pérez Pardo, denounced recently a pressure campaign so that the possible players summoned decline any invitation to join the Cuban national team.
