By José Alejandro Rodríguez Zas
On the afternoon of Sunday, October 3, the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) reported through a publication on the JIT website that three players who participated in the last 60th edition of the National Series, will leave this Monday for the Dominican Republic and Venezuela to complete their respective contracts in the professional leagues of those countries.
According to JIT, “Yovani Aragón, vice president of the FCB, reported that the pitcher from Spiritus Yoen Socarrás travels to the circuit in Quito to work with Leones del Escogido”, while “the Camagüey shooter Frank Madan and the Granma outfielder Raico Santos join the Tigres de Aragua in the Venezuelan league ».
“Both events begin their calendars this October until the end of January, at the gates of the Caribbean Series 2022,” added the aforementioned publication.
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The spiritian Socarrtos is a 34-year-old veteran right-hander with experience in 16 National Series, in which he has pitched 325 games, with a balance of 77 wins and 66 losses, with 19 saves, an ERA of 4.02 and a WHIP of 1.39 , rivals are hitting .274 and he has 777 strikeouts with 394 walks.
In his last campaign in Cuba, the 60th edition of the domestic classic, «El Soca» worked for an excellent 2.63 average and a WHIP of 1.05, winning 11 games and losing only 4, with 92 strikeouts and 29 walks, while the rivals they hit him for an anemic .211
At the end of the National Series with Sancti Spíritus, Socarrás played with the Olmecas de Tabasco and the Pericos de Puebla in the Mexican Baseball League. His signing with the Leones del Escogido make him the first Cuban player represented by the FCB to be hired by a team from the Dominican Professional Baseball League.
Regarding Camagüey law Frank Madan, is also a 30-year-old veteran pitcher, with 12 National Series played, in which he is 42-30 with 15 saves, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP, while opponents hit him. 271, with 367 strikeouts and 212 walks.
The Agramontino was the best right-hander of the last National Series, with a 13-5 record and one save, 3.30 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 109 strikeouts delivered, in addition to 40 walks, with 11 complete games and five grouts in 141.2 labor entries.
Madan, who will experience his first foray into professional baseball, pitched a no-hitter, no-run game in Series 60, the 61st in Cuban baseball National Series history.
Finally, the gardener from Granma Raico Santos, is a 27-year-old young player and one of the protagonists of the national title obtained by Granma in the 2020-2021 campaign, with an offensive average of .350 (246-86), with 14 doubles and 4 home runs, with 50 RBIs. and 69 scored, plus 20 strikeouts and 50 walks received, knocking off 11 pads in 12 attempts.
Throughout his experience in five National Series, Raico is hitting .323 as a result of 351 hits in 1,087 official chances at the tree, including 67 doubles, three triples and 14 homers. The Granmense has brought 163 teammates to the plate and has hit the plate 244 times, with 138 strikeouts and 178 free walks received, in addition to accumulating 30 stolen bases in 42 opportunities.
Raico has experience in the Cuba team that participated in the Florida Pre-Olympic last June, qualifying for Tokyo 2020, where he hit 9-5 (.556) with a triple and a home run, in addition to three runs scored and four RBIs. He left Cuba for the Dominican Republic on one occasion to seek a future in professional baseball in the Major Leagues, but an injury caused by a pitch cut short his aspirations in that regard.
In this way, with the agreements of Socarras, Madan and Raico to play in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, the FCB intends to continue consolidating its strategy of hiring Cuban athletes abroad under the support of the entity that represents Cuban baseball on the Island and which should translate into a development of the national sport of Cuba.