Havana Cuba. – The I Cuban Baseball Elite League (LEBC) is already history; and, according to fans and experts, it casts more shadows than lights on the tournament called to rebuild the quality of national sport.
The fair closed last Sunday afternoon at the Mártires de Barbados stadium in Granma, with a 7-6 victory for Agricultores (Granma-Santiago de Cuba) over Portuarios (Havana-Mayabeque). Coincidentally, six years ago, another January 22 in the same arena and with Carlos Martí also as helmsman, the Alazanes de Granma won the national series for the first time.
This time the victory came in extremis. to three out of the crown, the Portuarios bats were heated to make a trio of scores that served to even out the match and keep their hopes alive. The scene was then set for the end of the ninth episode, where Osvaldo Abreu connected the golden single that opened the doors of the championship.
To win the final, those from the East overcame a negative initial score of three games to one, materializing an unprecedented comeback in domestic competitions. By the way, Carlos Martí became the only undefeated manager in Cuban baseball finals (4), taking into account all the competitive formats that have been implemented.
Now the champions will have the responsibility of representing the Island in the upcoming Caribbean Seriesto be held in Caracas, Venezuela, from February 2 to 10.
Charting the path to failure
Criticism of the LEBC began before the the voice of let’s play! due to the names given to the teams. The issue had been brought to popular consultation, however, the chosen denominations did not come out of that debate and, in cases such as that of Ports, the identity of the provinces was not represented.
Then, the TeamMate company and Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, president of the Cuban Baseball Federation, fueled the controversy by lying on national television about the logistics of the tournament. After assuring that all the clothing was already in the country, the official reappeared to communicate that the start of the calendar it should be delayed due to delays in receiving uniforms and other sports equipment.
From the start, the empty stadiums evidenced the lack of interest of the fans in the league, even when a higher quality competition was demanded in the country. In addition, the daytime hours of the actions also conspired against the League, with the limitations of the call that this implies.
The fight navigated a sea of setbacks, from match suspensions due to problems with the transportation of the athletes, to games sealed at sunset so as not to turn on the lighting in the stadiums. Exhausting days were lived where matches were recovered and those corresponding to the calendar were played, with poor nutrition and endless difficulties that threatened the development of baseball and entertainment.
In the press conference after the sixth game of the final, Carlos Martí himself assured that, outside the stage of play off“the rest [de la liga] it was a disaster”. In the same way, he exalted the effort made by the athletes, who performed in unfavorable conditions: “You have to make a monument to the players because they finished it.”
Asked what could be done to improve the League, the seasoned director replied: “A number of things are needed. I am referring to logistics, I am referring to the attention given to the athletes, I am referring to looking for other amenities that a league of this level should have”.
The fans’ verdict
“It was a total failure, from start to finish,” he told CubaNet Luis Damián Olano Arencibia, who pointed out that the only motivation the athletes had was to dispute the right to attend the Caribbean Series.
Orlando Quesada Noa, for his part, said that the series failed to penetrate even the most committed fans of the national pastime. Despite the fact that the rivalry prevailed on the grass field, the game parameters did not improve compared to the National Series, he pointed out.
“We saw plenty of errors and an offensive slump that had nothing to do with an improvement in pitching, because even the 114 runs scored in the final are a record. Rather, I think it has to do with the quality of the ball, which was not good, that’s why so few home runs were hit,” Quesada said.
On condition of anonymity, an employee of the Latin American Stadium reported that in the play off The Portuarios team played at home at the Nelson Fernández de San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, due to the low public attendance that the Coloso del Cerro registered in the qualifying stage.
“There they coordinated to make a bulge with workers and students, so that it seemed that there was a ruckus. In Granma it happened more or less similar. Here they were afraid that people would not come, because they did not like this league, ”commented the aforementioned source.
For his part, Armando Sosa Enríquez, coach of children’s categories in Arroyo Naranjo, pointed out that “no experimental league is going to solve the problem. First you have to prioritize the base,” he said. “Right now we have a provincial of only seven games, that is useless, that is how nobody develops,” he concluded.
