Cuban pitcher Lazaro Blanco joined teammate Carlos Juan Vera and team psychologist Jorge Sile Figueroa in Miami as they defected on Fri Jun 4, 2021 (photo from SwingCompleto)

Olympics: Cuban National Baseball Team Fails to Qualify: More Defections

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

For the first time since 1984 (first time since baseball became an Olympic sport) Cuba will not be sending a team to the Tokyo Olympics. The Cuban national team lost its first two games to Venezuela and then to Canada, during the pre-olympics in Florida.

The Cubans made all five Olympic baseball medal finals before baseball was removed from the Olympics after 2008. With Cuba out, the US ranked No 2 in the world behind Japan, Canada, Venezuela and one of the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua or Puerto Rico will advance to the final round of the qualifier.

After their #1 player, César Prieto defected last week; two more Cuban players and one team psychologist defected. Cuban pitchers Lázaro Blanco and Carlos Juan Vera did not showed up to the airport in Miami. They were to fly to México to join baseball teams in the Mexican Professional League.

Jorge Sile Figueroa a 33-year old Cuban psychologist for the Cuban team also defected, Pitcher Lázaro Blanco said to Telemundo CH 51 in Miami “I am here because I want to play baseball and make a team in the US, it was a tough decision because I am leaving my family behind”.

These defections are not good for the Cuban government propaganda machine. It is palpable proof that even in Cuba a country crazy for baseball, Freedom ranks above the game.

Stay well

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Hall of Fame Heritage Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com