Congratulations to the team from Cuba, who advanced to the finals of the inaugural World Baseball Classic after defeating the Dominican Republic, 3-1, on Saturday. Nearly blocked by the U.S. government from participating in the competition, and boasting no major leaguers (and I'm positive no steroid users), Cuba has overwhelmed the competition, taking a 4-2 record into the finals. Defeating the Dominican Republic, they held down a team stacked with major league superstars including David Ortiz, Moises Alou, and Adrian Beltre. To help put things in perspective - Cuba's players are working normal jobs half the year. (For more on Cuban baseball, check out ESPN's Cuba page). I spent a week in Cuba my senior year of high school and completely fell in love with the culture (especially the music). I got really, really excited when they won today.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Go Cuba!
Congratulations to the team from Cuba, who advanced to the finals of the inaugural World Baseball Classic after defeating the Dominican Republic, 3-1, on Saturday. Nearly blocked by the U.S. government from participating in the competition, and boasting no major leaguers (and I'm positive no steroid users), Cuba has overwhelmed the competition, taking a 4-2 record into the finals. Defeating the Dominican Republic, they held down a team stacked with major league superstars including David Ortiz, Moises Alou, and Adrian Beltre. To help put things in perspective - Cuba's players are working normal jobs half the year. (For more on Cuban baseball, check out ESPN's Cuba page). I spent a week in Cuba my senior year of high school and completely fell in love with the culture (especially the music). I got really, really excited when they won today.
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7 comments:
I can't wait for the new season to start. I was slightly dissappointed that they played so many games to such small crowds.
George Stroumboupolous did a story on The Hour about Cuban baseball players. They don't let the best players out of the country because they don't want them to defect. So these are not the best that Cuba has to offer, because they don't want to offer them...
If that is the 'b team' imagine the 'a team'.
Stroumboulopoulos... I spell that name right only half the time. That's ok I spell my own name right only half the time too.
Yeah, Ben, it was sad to see the small crowds. One of my best friends saw Korea vs. Mexico and said it was very exciting. Since you're a fan Ben, I think we'll have the occasional baseball post.
Barbara - I have got to see that feature. It is amazing what a real team of Cuba superstars could do. Despite the politics, I think their story is really inspiring.
::UPDATE::
Cuba will play Japan in the finals on Monday. Japan defeated Korea 6-0 on Sunday; Korea had not lost up to that point.
Can I jump in here for other Barbara? The Hour will likely put up that video clip on the website archives in a couple of weeks. You can link from my site or Barbara W's site.
awesome
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