October came and the baseball world is already placed in orbit with its star time: the playoffs in the MLB (Major League Baseball). It’s time to take off for the Fall Classic, and all eyes are ready to enjoy the dramatic road to the conquest of the World Series. Oncuba, not the exception, proposes a wide coverage from our Facebook page, of all that happens in this 2013postseason. A special reason motivates us to undertake this arduous endeavor. As luxury close to a historic performance of Cuban baseball players in the major leagues allowed some of them to be present in the final battle for the coveted rings.
For several decades the Cuban presence was not felt so strong in the highest level of American professional circuit. Over twenty players had recently concluded action during the regular stage, a few occupying everyday roles in their respective teams. Yoenis Cespedes gave us a spectacular victory in the home run derby of the all-star game. Meanwhile, Yasiel Puig, José Fernández and “Candelita” Iglesias had dream numbers on their debut in the major, which places them as serious candidates for rookie of the year. These three examples are enough to confirm the relevance of the work of our boys.
Now, looking to the playoffs, several of them have the chance to emulate previous actions in this instance, which have filled with pride the Cuban people. Some still remember Sandy Amoros masterful fielding in the 1955 World Series or the great performances from the mound of Luis Tiant, Livan, the Duke and Jose Ariel Contreras, just to mention some names. Let’s look then at how this postseason starts fighting for their division titles and incidentally, let’s place the Cuban players who will probably continue on their good path these days.
The National League holds the matches for the best of five games between St. Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers vs Atlanta Braves. The first marks the return of the filibuster ship to the playoffs, after 21 years of absence and as an additional motivation they have outperformed the Cincinnati Reds in the match for the wildcard. In its list of 25 active players is Cuban American first baseman Gaby Sanchez, although the presence of stellar Justin Morneau portends that his chances of playing are slim. Meanwhile, another Cuban descent, the Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay, will have a spot in the line-up of his team.
A quarter century separate the Dodgers from their last win in World Series. They had a start of season to forget … until Puig. The Cienfuegos outfielder brought sparks to the Chavez Ravine and from that moment the Californian team moved all the way up and overwhelmingly dominated the West Division of the National League. Equipped with a trio of luxury starters (Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greimke and Hyun-Jin Riu), they also have the support of the Miami reliever Paco Rodriguez, with also a percentage of Cuban blood running through his veins. The Atlanta Braves, meanwhile, do not have players of the Greater Antilles in the roster but, what better representation than his manager Freddy Gonzalez.
In the American League will be fighting Boston Red Sox-Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Oakland Atletics-Detroit Tigers. The guys from Tampa reached the playoffs after beating for the wild card the Cleveland Indians, a team that had a string of ten consecutive successes at the end of the regular season. In its roster highlights, along with other stellar shortstop Yunel Escobar of masterful defensive numbers this year and acceptable work at bat with his 295 average with men on base. Escobar will be accompanied on the roster of 25 by young Cuban American outfielder Sean Rodriguez.
A fairly Cuban flavor pairing will be to Detroit and Oakland. In Detroit plays shortstop Jose Iglesias. His hands captivated the universe of the major league baseball and his displacement and sense of place. Next to him are two good catchers, Brayan Pena and Alex Avila, the latter from Hialeah. From Florida will also be Nick Castellanos. For the winners of the American West, the A’s, Yoenis Cespedes seek to maintain the state of grace that accompanied him throughout the month of September (average of 314, with six homers and 19 RBIs), well hopefully he has recovered from the ailments that plagued him in recent weeks. One of the pitching coaches is Cuban Ariel Prieto, with vast experience within the circuit of the majors.
The stage is ready for the start of the “big show”. Play ball, is the phrase that we all want to hear. The invitation, from Oncuba, is to keep abreast of new stories that the players of this island will be writing, all baseball since its most primal essence.
For: Daniel Alejandro Fernández and Aliet Arzola
Photos: Internet
