Baseball Commissioner reiterates veto for players who leave a Cuban team. (Photo: Cuban newspaper)
The new baseball commissioner in Cuba, Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, reiterated a total veto in baseball competitions for those Cuban players who leave an official delegation at an event abroad.
“Until now, the same decision remains that players who have left official delegations will not be able to play in the national series. Just as it was done in the last championship. Players who wish to rejoin our baseball may do so as long as they meet the requirements demanded by the Cuban Baseball Federation, “said the official in one of his first interviews.
The brief statements of Pérez Pardo to the official newspaper Vanguard They come just a few days after 12 of the 24 members of the Cuba team to the U-23 Baseball World Cup decided to leave the delegation in full competition that took place in the Mexican cities of Hermosillo and Ciudad Obregón.
The official who was appointed just a week ago at the head of the National Commission after the death by COVID-19 of the former commissioner Ernesto Reynoso Piñeira received a so-called “hot potato” because the sport of balls and strikes – considered as the national passion of all Cubans – is at the most critical moments in its history. National baseball is affected by the exodus of athletes and material shortages that are typical of the entire Cuban economy.
Precisely this lack of economic resources limits the possibility of changing the structure of the National Series and holding other tournaments that concentrate the quality that remains on the Island.
In this sense, the commissioner stated that “in the national series there have been many changes in the structure; various factors influence that decision and we cannot venture to announce a change in this regard ”.
“I would like to rescue some of the contests that used to take place; But different elements must also be taken into account, including the celebration of international events, the pandemic and the resources available to the country, ”said Pérez Pardo, questioned about the possibility of holding events such as Selective Series.
However, given the few resources available to the National Commission, the new official plans to make a tour of all the country’s provinces to meet with the factors involved in baseball, including the Party authorities of each of the 16 territories in which Cuba is divided.
“We intend to visit all the provinces before the end of the year, review the stadiums and meet with the Party, the Government and the comrades of Inder in each territory, to give continuity to that consultation process that was carried out with the people.”
Finally, the commissioner confessed that the COVID-19 pandemic will not allow the 61 National Series to be held in 2021. “What we can say is that it will not start this year, among the variants that have been handled, we plan to hold it in the first quarter of 2022, always taking into account the epidemiological situation in the country ”.