The opening game of a brief weekend exhibition series between the two national team rosters training for upcoming tournaments in Haarlem and Tokyo was staged Thursday evening in José Huelga Stadium (Sancti Spíritus). The contest fell to the Haarlem-bound squad of manager Germán Mesa by a final score of 8-3 in a match featuring heavy hitting and shaky pitching by both teams. Mesa’s squad was paced by a pair of home runs from 2008 Olympic star Alexei Bell and DH Rolando Meriño, both representatives of the Santiago de Cuba league squad. League MVP and 2009-2010 home run champ Alfredo Despaigne chipped in a four bagger for the Tokyo-bound squad of manager Eduardo Martin. Mesa’s team is currently preparing for the 25th edition of the Haarlem Baseball Week to be staged next month in The Netherlands (July 9-18), while Martin’s squad will represent t the island at the Japan-based World University Games in early August.

Both teams used four hurlers in Thursday’s contest, with Granma’s Alberto Soto turning in a strong relief performance (one run, five hits, five strikeouts) to pick up the win. Industriales ace Arleys Sánchez (also working out of the bullpen) was tagged with the loss. The winners picked up 14 base hits while the losers registered ten safeties. Alexei Bell was the batting star for the Haarlem pre-selection, collecting 3 base knocks in four plate appearances; third sacker Donald Duarte also registered three hits for the victors, while Meriño chipped in two. The series while continue over the weekend at the team training sites in Sancti Spíritus (Haarlem team) and Villa Clara (University team). Both squads are expected to be trimmed from 32 to 22 ballplayers when training sessions end on Tuesday, June 22.

In a related development yesterday, it was announced by the Dutch press that the Cuban squad visiting the Haarlem Honkbalweek will play a pre-tournament friendly exhibition match with the Dutch national team in Rotterdam’s Neptunus Stadium on Thursday, July 8, on the eve of the Haarlem event. That single friendly match, as well as the entire Haarlem tournament, will be covered with live daily reports direct form The Netherlands on www.BaseballdeCuba.com.

A recent Miami auction brought a winning $40,000 bid for a rare complete set of 1924-25 Aguilitas baseball cards featuring a number of top North American blackball stars. The news of this sale has again stimulated interest in the story of American blackballers performing in Cuba during the first quarter of the 20th century. The price tag on this memorabilia might raise several questions among the general public, especially the nearly $9,000 fetched for the card of Oscar Charleston (pictured below) alone. What were these Americans doing in Cuba in the first place, and why such a high value placed on the worn cardboard images of athletes who never even played in the major leagues? This issue is discussed on NPR’s “All Things Considered” Sunday Edition (5-6 pm, June 13, 2010) during my interview with host Guy Raz. The full interview can be heard (or later downloaded) on the following internet link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=127817685&m=127817703

The original Miami Herald story cover details of the auction for this card set can also be located at: 

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/10/1672561/rare-baseball-trading-card-set.html

Last week’s Federation announcement announcement of a provisional 32-man pre-selection roster for the July Haarlem Baseball Week was accoumpanied by the naming of a equally strong contingent to represent Cuba in the early August World University Championships in Tokyo. The Cuban uiniversity team will be headlined by Word Cup home run champion and rfecent two-time Cuban League MVP Alfredo Despaigne (below). Other headliners on the Cuban squad will be 2009 World Baseball Classic outfield all-star selection Yoennis Céspedes, 2009 World Cup starting first baseman José Dariel Abreu, and 2009 Cuban League ERA champ Yadier Pedroso. This should thus be the strongest ball club ever to respresent the island at the world university tournament. The below 32-man roster will eventually be trimmed to 22 by manager Eduadro Martin before the the contingent departs for the Tokyo event scheduled to run from July 30 through August 9.

 World University Games Cuban Roster (Pre-Selection of 32 Players*)

*22 Players will be selected for the July tournament (Cuban League teams in parentheses)

Catchers (3): Yaismel Alberro (Matanzas), Yosvani Alarcón (Las Tunas), Frank Camilo Morejón (Industriales)

Infielders (11): José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos), Lerys Aguilera (Holguín), Dary Bartolomé Vega (Camagüey), Héctor Olivera (Santiago de Cuba), Yoilán Cerce (Guantánamo), José Miguel Fernández (Matanzas), Adonis García (Ciego de Avila), Dayán García (Habana Province), Yorbis Borroto (Ciego de Avila), Alexander Guerrero (Las Tunas), Aledmis Díaz (Villa Clara)

Outfielders (6): Alfredo Despaigne (Granma), Leonys Martin (Villa Clara), Yoennis Céspedes (Granma), Henry Urrutia (Las Tunas), Ramón Lunar (Villa Clara), Jorge Johnson (Las Tunas)

Pitchers (12): Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila), Miguel Alfredo González (Habana Province), Yadier Pedroso (Habana Province), Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus), Odrismer Despaigne (Industriales), Alexander Rodríguez (Guantánamo), Arley Sánchez (Industriales), Dalier Hinojosa (Guantánamo), Miguel Lahera (Habana Province), Armando Rivero (Industriales), Yunier Colón (Guantánamo), Yander Guevara (Ciego de Avila)

Manager: Eduardo Martin (Villa Clara), with Coaches: Luis Jova, Omar Linares, José Elosegui

The Cuban Baseball Federation has recently announced a “pre-selection” 32-man roster for the national team that will compete in next month’s 25th edition of the Haarlem (Netherlands) Baseball Week tournament (July 9-18). Headed by “comeback player of the year” Alexei Bell (pictured) and a handful of veteran national team pitchers (including Maikel Folch, Freddy Asiel Alvarez and Norberto González) the Cuban club is much stronger then many island baseball watchers anticipated. Top stars like Freddie Cepeda, Yulieski Gourriel and Pedro Luis Lazo will have the summer off before likely competing on the top Cuban national team in the Pan American Qualifying Tournament scheduled for San Juan (early October). But the contingent heading to Haarlem should dominate a field which also includes the USA (represented by an NAIA college club), Japan (which will sent university players), Chinese Taipei, Venezuela and the host Netherlands. The Cuban squad in Haarlem will be led by Industriales manager Germán Mesa, assisted by Industriales coaches Omar Linares and Julio Romero. Mesa must trim his roster down to 22 before departing for Europe in early July. The complete pre-selection roster is as follows (with Cuban League teams given in parentheses):

Haarlem Baseball Week Cuban Roster (Pre-Selection of 32 Players*)

*22 Players will be selected for the July tournament (Cuban League teams in parentheses)

Catchers (4): Rolando Meriño (Santiago de Cuba), Osvaldo Arias (Cienfuegos), Yulexis La Rosa (Villa Clara), Eriel Sánchez (Sancti Spíritus)

Infielders (10): Yunier Mendoza (Sancti Spíritus), Yoennis Southeran (Guantánamo), Joan Carlos Pedroso (Las Tunas), Mario Jorge Vega (Ciego de Avila), Danel Castro (Las Tunas), Vismay Santos (Guantánamo), Donald Duarte (Pinar del Río), Rudy Reyes (Industriales), Dainer Moreira (Guantánamo), Alexander Ayala (Camagüey)

Outfielders (6): Alexei Bell (Santiago de Cuba), Andy Zamora (Villa Clara), Ariel Sánchez (Matanzas), Reutilio Hurtado (Santiago de Cuba), Edilse Silva (Holguín), Serguey Pérez (Industriales)

Pitchers (12): Angel Peña (Sancti Spíritus), Luis Borroto (Ciego de Avila), Ciro Silvino Licea (Granma), Yoelkis Cruz (Las Tunas), Yoandry Portal (Industriales), Freddy Asiel Alvarez (Villa Clara), Maikel Folch (Ciego de Avila), Robelio Carrillo (Villa Clara), Raudel Lazo (Pinar del Río), Norberto Goinzález (Cienfuegos), Duniel Ibarra (Cienfuegos), Alberto Soto la O (Granma)

Manager: Germán Mesa (Industriales), with Coaches: Bárbaro Marín, Gerardo Simon, Julio Romero