A disappointing first half, with more than double the number of losses than wins. And a second half which has seen a string of six consecutive victories. These are the two sides of the Cuban national baseball team’s performances in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (Can-Am) League this June.
During the first ten clashes, the Cubans only managed to win on three occasions, falling short of their rivals seven times. The island’s offense was lacking at the crucial moment, leaving a considerable number of players on base waiting for a chance to advance. In nine of the games – except one in which they scored a dozen times – the team averaged only three runs.
Meanwhile, the team’s pitching was deficient, especially the starting pitcher. In more than one game, star pitchers Freddy Asiel Álvarez, Yosvany Torres and Vladimir García failed to fulfill their mission, leaving the mound with a disadvantage, or without being able to complete the first third of the game, with an earned run average close to five.
The fact is that accurate information on the actual quality of this independent league, with no known classification, was lacking. Baseball players from diverse areas play here, some with more, and others with less, experience, but all with skills and knowledge about navigating the diamond. The league’s pitchers have their virtues, with speeds between 90 and 95 mph, and varied releases, presenting difficulties for any batter.
The Cuban team performed badly during the first games, especially when defeated by the league's last-place team, the Trois-Rivières Aigles, with a total of seven losses in ten outings. However, beginning Tuesday, June 21, when they faced the Sussex County Miners, the team made a come-back, thrashing their rivals with scores of 6-4, 4-2 and 8-3, before doing the same against one of the best Can-Am teams, the Rockland Boulders, with 21 runs in three games.
Against the latter team, Cuba’s selection made 32 hits in 112 innings, increasing the batting average to 285, in addition to securing their first two home runs and reducing their pitching average to 3.60. Individually, the team’s leading hitters have been the shortstop Yorbis Borroto, with an average of 351 and scoring the team’s first home run, and catcher Yosvani Alarcón, with an average of 318 and 4 doubles, all in the fourth inning.
The Cuban tour of the Can-Am league will end with a three-game showdown against one of the best teams, the New Jersey Jackals, immersed in the fight for first place against the Québec Capitales.
Overall, this has been an interesting and necessary international experience for the island’s players.
