Cuban baseball player bought trucking company and wants to turn to play the National Series

By Pablo Picardo

Since he was a child, his enormous talent made it predict that his ceiling in baseball was very high and for that he began his preparation in his native Santa Rita, belonging to the municipality of Jiguaní in the eastern province of Granma.

Thanks to his cousin, the young Alexander Guerra started in this sport, which was influenced by his first coaches, who felt great affection for the young man, creating a great relationship between both parties that they still maintain despite being out of the country.

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Alexander began with Granma in events of the 13-14 year old category, of which he still remembers the great friendships he managed to make with today-recognized baseball players, among them his countryman Edgar Escobar, Julio Pablo Martínez from Guantanamo and Carlos Font from Santiago.

At just 14 years old, he manages to integrate for the first time the Cuba Team that would participate in a Pan American based in Mexico, also managing to be part of the team that participated in the Youth World Cup where he served as fourth player. What do you remember from those tournaments?

«They were two very nice experiences from the beginning of the preparation. In the Pan American, unfortunately, we had a very good tournament but we lost the final against Venezuela. Then, at the World Youth Championship in Japan, although I was one of the main figures of the team, I did not manage to have good performances in the tournament because it was difficult for me to adapt to the weather, the time change, at the end of the tournament it was practically I was able to wake up.”

For the first time you are part of the Alazanes de Gran at only 17 years old and before half of the tournament had been played you had already won the starting role in the catcher of one of the main teams in the tournament. Were you surprised to have to assume so much responsibility?

“I was very surprised because when I arrived from the World Cup in Japan, the Technical Congress of the National Series was taking place and we came to the east with the team directors. Upon boarding, Professor Carlos Martí gave me the news that he was part of the Granma team”

“It never crossed my mind that in such a short period I was going to play regularly, I did not expect them to tell me that I was in charge of guiding the pitchers. It also helped that at the time the catchers on the team didn’t have the quality that the pitching staff needed. I am very grateful to Carlos Martí for that opportunity that he allowed me to develop. In the first games I felt some pressure, when he jumped onto the field he was surrounded by players that he had admired since he was a child, now they had become teammates and friends”.

When you played your second National Series, you received a heavy sanction due to an illegal exit attempt in which you were involved, which led you to leave the team for six months. Do you think that sanction harmed your performance and at the same time was one of the main reasons for leaving the country?

«In my second season I received a sanction due to that attempt to leave the country, at that moment I reacted and understood that they were within their rights. But at the same time it hurt me a lot because I was treated practically like a prisoner. He spent about 15 days in prison as if he had committed a serious crime. Despite all that, I returned to the field after I was released and played at the beginning of the second phase against the team from Pinar del Río with a month out without training.”

“The treatment received was without a doubt the main cause for leaving the country, I did not like that he was treated like any other person. After the Series concluded, the Provincial Series began in Granma and I wanted to play with my municipality to continue in good sporting form, but they did not allow me to play at any time. It was then when I thought and realized that I did not fulfill any objective to continue in the country because I was not going to be able to play, in baseball you cannot waste time because you never recover and that was when I made that decision.

When you arrived in Mexico you had to train hard in various aspects of the game, especially in hitting. How difficult was it to adapt to those changes?

“In Mexico I was training under the orders of Erick William Rabasa, who performed in the National Series. There I worked a lot, it was difficult because I had to perfect many mechanics when hitting. At first it was quite uncomfortable but with the passage of time I managed to adapt because in order to achieve the objective with which I had left Cuba, those changes were necessary.”

After many workouts came the reward of reaching an agreement with the then World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs. Did this franchise surprise you?

“I was practically giving up trying to make that dream come true because there had been many presentations and I didn’t see how we Cubans say anything clear. One day Hansel Izquierdo, one of the Chicago scouts, saw me and contacted the organization to sign me. At that moment I thanked God, my coaches, family members, I had already achieved the first step to make that dream come true that I went out to look for.”

For two seasons, the young Alexander Guerra played in the Minor League, hitting 17 home runs with 75 RBI, while his batting average was .258. What caught your attention most about this baseball?

“In the Minor Leagues there is a great organization that allows you to enjoy every inning, turn at bat you have. There they help us a lot so that each one of us can achieve a good result. I was undoubtedly surprised by the quality of the players who played there”.

After those two years you were fired from the organization. How did you receive this news?

“When the pandemic arrived, all the teams had to reduce their rosters and I was very surprised by that news because I had had an incredible year in the minor leagues, at that moment I was a little disappointed and it even crossed my mind to leave baseball, but it was just a Their decision was not on my side and there was nothing left but to accept it”.

What is Alexander Guerra currently doing in the United States?

“Right now I am working, thank God with the firm I can make a trucking company. In addition, I continue training, I go to the gym a lot, but above all I am very aware of my family”

Your interest in returning to wear the uniform of the Alazanes de Granma in the National Series recently made news through Complete Swing. Does this really exist?

“I follow the team a lot since I left the country, in Cuba I like the way other teams play but I only follow my Alazanes. With regard to a possible return, it is true, I plan to be back in a year at most, in order to wear the costume of the Current National Champions.”

A few words for those Granma and Cuban fans that follow you.

“Many people follow me who send me messages through the networks, I send many greetings and blessings to all of them and especially to the people of Granma. I can tell you that very soon you will be able to enjoy the boy Alexander Guerra wearing the colors of the Granma team again. Soon I will be there contributing my grain of sand because there is still War for a long time ».

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