MADRID, Spain.- Former Cuban players of the Major Leagues (MLB, for its acronym in English) expressed their rejection of the decision of the emigrated baseball players who have agreed to represent Cuba in the upcoming World Classic after the call of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB).
The rejection of these athletes is due to the fact that they consider that they will not represent Cuba, but rather a regime that constantly violates the human rights of the people.
“I do not understand how a country that called us traitors, that closed the door on us, now has the audacity to invite us,” he said in an interview with Telemundo 51 Brayan Peña, former catcher from Havana who will play for the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals.
For his part, Eddie Oropesa, who made his MLB debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2001, when he was 29 years old, recalled that when they played in Cuba “they were like slaves,” so he does not share the decision to return to play for them (the Government of the Island).
While Hansen Izquierdo, also a former Major League player, considered that the Cuban government “is recruiting players because the deterioration on the island is so great that it is even noticeable in baseball, which is the national sport.”
“They are looking for reinforcements because they are not competitive, because the talent is coming out,” he added.
Jorge Luis Toca, who reached the Major Leagues in 1999 as a double-A Category athlete for the New York Mets, said: “It is not the right decision to represent them when the Cuban people have been oppressed for 63 years.”
Among the players abroad who have agreed to compete for Cuba are Andy Ibáñez, Elián Leyva, Yoan López, Yoenis CespedesRoenis Elías and Yasmany Tomás.
Team Cuba will debut in the Fifth World Baseball Classic on March 8, 2023 against the Netherlands, both from group A. The group is also made up of Panama, Italy and Taiwan.
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