jackd
10-12-2004, 12:05 PM
CUBA NEWS
The Miami Herald
Six players survive exodus by sea to Miami
By Kevin Baxter, kbaxter@herald.com. Posted on Sun, Oct. 10, 2004.
Five veterans of Cuba's national series and a member of the country's national junior program are in Miami after the largest mass desertion of baseball players since Fidel Castro's revolution.
The six players, all reportedly under the age of 24, arrived in the Keys a week ago after spending two days at sea. They are infielder Yunel Escobar Almenares, pitchers Yamel Guevara, Jose Angel Cordero Valdez, Rafael Galbizo Figueroa and outfielders Yoel Perez Mendieta and Yoan Limonta Zayas.
Of the six, Guevara, a 21-year-old right-hander, likely will draw the most interest from major-league scouts. He went 10-0 with a 2.06 ERA in helping Havana's Industriales to the 2002-03 Cuban championship and has a 17-2 lifetime regular-season record. Teammate Escobar, 21, hit .317 that year in 63 at-bats and has a .270 lifetime average in three seasons, and Limonta hit .250 in 28 at-bats. Cordero, who pitched in league play for the Metropolitanos, reportedly possesses a 95-mph fastball.
None of the six was on Cuban's powerful national team, but Escobar, Perez and Galbizo have all played for the junior national team. The defection of a half-dozen players, coming in the wake of the recent desertions of standout pitchers Maels Rodriguez, Alay Soler and Jose Contreras and first baseman/outfielder Kendry Morales, is a crippling blow to the island's baseball league, which its new season next month.
After being released by immigration officials, the players told a harrowing story about the state of baseball in Cuba. Because of the island's deep economic crisis, the players said there is a shortage of gloves and bats and the baseballs used in Cuban league play are of inferior quality. Cordero told El Nuevo Herald that many players are using homemade bats, and Galbizo said he has seen players nail broken bats together to keep playing.
''If it wasn't for our natural talent, Cuban baseball would have disappeared a while ago,'' Galvizo said.
The Miami Herald
Six players survive exodus by sea to Miami
By Kevin Baxter, kbaxter@herald.com. Posted on Sun, Oct. 10, 2004.
Five veterans of Cuba's national series and a member of the country's national junior program are in Miami after the largest mass desertion of baseball players since Fidel Castro's revolution.
The six players, all reportedly under the age of 24, arrived in the Keys a week ago after spending two days at sea. They are infielder Yunel Escobar Almenares, pitchers Yamel Guevara, Jose Angel Cordero Valdez, Rafael Galbizo Figueroa and outfielders Yoel Perez Mendieta and Yoan Limonta Zayas.
Of the six, Guevara, a 21-year-old right-hander, likely will draw the most interest from major-league scouts. He went 10-0 with a 2.06 ERA in helping Havana's Industriales to the 2002-03 Cuban championship and has a 17-2 lifetime regular-season record. Teammate Escobar, 21, hit .317 that year in 63 at-bats and has a .270 lifetime average in three seasons, and Limonta hit .250 in 28 at-bats. Cordero, who pitched in league play for the Metropolitanos, reportedly possesses a 95-mph fastball.
None of the six was on Cuban's powerful national team, but Escobar, Perez and Galbizo have all played for the junior national team. The defection of a half-dozen players, coming in the wake of the recent desertions of standout pitchers Maels Rodriguez, Alay Soler and Jose Contreras and first baseman/outfielder Kendry Morales, is a crippling blow to the island's baseball league, which its new season next month.
After being released by immigration officials, the players told a harrowing story about the state of baseball in Cuba. Because of the island's deep economic crisis, the players said there is a shortage of gloves and bats and the baseballs used in Cuban league play are of inferior quality. Cordero told El Nuevo Herald that many players are using homemade bats, and Galbizo said he has seen players nail broken bats together to keep playing.
''If it wasn't for our natural talent, Cuban baseball would have disappeared a while ago,'' Galvizo said.