We finally win the gold medal in the Caribbean Cup

More out of pride than anything else, I wanted Cuba to win this Baseball Caribbean Cup. Cuba had never won this title, nor the World Baseball Classic’s.

Doing so in the present times, when Cuba is not living the best of times as of success in foreign events, is a breath of fresh air, which is vital for this sport. The Cuban baseball did not win a title since Vegueros did so back in 2015, in a spectacular fashion in the Caribbean Series.

Furthermore, the title in the event held in Puerto Rico was brilliant, with outstanding performance in a competition marked by bad weather, which led to modify and hence reduce the schedule —for sure a negative aspect—, as they were games that would have helped out our team in the quest to be ready to the Pan American Games next month.

Beyond wins and losses, it was important to try out players and draw strategies, manage the pitching and experiment with variants for different scenarios, and that could not be completely fulfilled.

This win also boosted the confidence in manager Armando Johnson and his staff. Let’s not forget that Johnson debuted as the Cuban manager in the scaring World Baseball Classic early in 2023. This title ratifies we are walking in the right direction to achieve baseball old glories in Cuba. Slowly, but steadily.

Equally important was the ability of our players to come from behind in not a few games, a pending issue in recent times, where courage and joy had vanished from our national baseball teams.

That is why, despite being a minor title, we should all recognize it as the first step to restore the image of the Cuban baseball. Our national sport will compete in Chile to win the title that has eluded us since Rio de Janeiro 2007, and let’s not ignore that the final game was not played there.

Cuba enjoyed of clutch hitting in Puerto Rico, although offense was below average in general terms. Defense and pitching did perform outstandingly.

Individually, all pitchers performed well, and Roberto Baldoquín, Dayán García and Andrys Pérez stood out with the bat. Yadil Mujica, Yurisbel Gracial and Erisbel Arruebarrena, the hero of the final, performed occasionally.

This result should propel our team to perform well in Chile, where we will not face great teams, but nonetheless the level will be higher than the one we faced in the Caribbean Cup. Rivals such as Puerto Rico and Curacao will present basically the same roster.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff