Individual Batting Leaders

Ave: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .386

Hits: Yordan Manduley (Holguín) 123

Hits: Yordanis Samón (Granma) 123

Runs: Ramón Tamayo (Granma) 83

HR: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 35 (new league record)

RBI: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 101

Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .814

Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 16

ERA: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 1.78

Complete Games: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 11

Saves: Danni Aguilera (Isla de la Juventud) 25

Ks: Yadier Pedroso (Artemisa) 120

Ks: Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) 120

Innings: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 177.0

Occidental League (Clinched)

Matanzas, Industriales, Cienfuegos

Oriental League (Clinched)

Villa Clara

Cepeda Likely Lost to Sancti Spiritus for Post-Season

Peter C. Bjarkman
News of the Day: Freddie Cepeda now seems doubtful for post-season action in Sancti Spiritus.

The most significant news item out of Cuba on Monday afternoon was an internet report from http://www.escambray.com (the local Santci Spíritus press source) that national team star Freddie Cepeda now appears lost to the Sancti Spíritus club for the remainder of the season. The absence of the team’s emotional leader and one of the club’s top sluggers will obviously be a severe blow to the post-season prospects of a Gallos team that has mounted a strong late-season charge and is now poised to wrap up the final playoff spot in the Occidental division pennant chase. Cepeda, who has been on the sidelines receiving medical care in Havana for the past several weeks, has played in only two-thirds (64) of this season’s games and has been suffering from a painful shoulder condition. It has been a rough campaign health-wise for Cepeda who was also held back from early-season action by a thumb injury suffered in a December series with Industriales. The current shoulder condition has limited the star’s ability to throw as well as to swing the bat effectively and his condition is now considered tenuous at best. Cepeda will sit out the last week of the National Series season and a final decision will not be made until week’s end concerning his possible readiness for any post-season action.

In Monday afternoon’s league action Villa Clara and Matanzas both strengthened their respective league leads with home field wins while Isla and Artemisa walked off as winners in less crucial matches between divisional also-rans. In Victoria de Girón Stadium Matanzas rang up their record victory number 53 behind a solid five-inning relief outing by Maikel Martínez. Villa Clara posted all five runs of its 5-3 win over visiting Holguín in the first four frames at Augusto Sandino Stadium. Starter Alain Sánchez lasted 7.2 innings for the Orangemen to run his season’s record to an impressive 11-3 mark. Artemisa gave starter Yulieski González (now 5-10 on the season) plenty of offensive cushion during a 7-3 whipping of Metropolitanos in the capital city. Roberto Carlos Ramírez collected hit number 123 for the losers and thus moved into a tie for the league lead in that department. Isla de la Juventud outlasted Mayabeque 4-1 in Nueva Gerona thanks mainly to a first-inning three-run outburst against starter and loser Jossé Betancourt. Bullpen ace Danni Aguilera picked up his 26th save for the victors to move within one of the single-season league record set only last year by Duniel Ibarra of Cienfuegos.

Cepeda and “Gallos” Take Giant Step Toward Playoffs

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: Ismel Jimenez becomes Cuba's first 17-game winner since 2000 National Series.


Monday evening brought a double dose of good news for the Sancti Spíritus club in the form of a crucial on-field victory in Granma and surprisingly early news that Freddie Cepeda has now been pronounced sufficiently recovered from shoulder pain to take part in post-season play. It had been announced earlier in the day that the star left fielder might have to sit out the full post-season due to a troublesome shoulder condition that limited his ability to both throw and swing the bat. With the Gallos club now seemingly all-but-mathematically guaranteed a playoff slot and with Cepeda pronounced fit for duty (even if not at full strength) things are indeed looking bright on the baseball front in Sancti Spíritus – and thus just a little less rosy for Occidental League opponents Industriales, Matanzas and Cienfuegos.

Ruperto Zamora’s club took a giant step last night toward locking up the final western sector post-season ticket with a dramatic 3-2 victory at Martires de Barbados Stadium that also damaged the home club’s eastern division playoff momentum. Both clubs plated two runs in the tense ninth inning after Gallos ace starter Ismel Jiménez carried a 1-0 lead into the last frame. In the bottom of the ninth closer Omar Guardarramas surrendered a two-run blast to Yordanis Samón (the league’s current base hits leader) that cut the visitor’s margin to a single run. But Yaniel Sosa was able to close the door (his first save of the season) and preserve victory number 17 for Jiménez. With the win Jiménez became only the eighth pitcher to lock down 17 victories in a National Series season and the first since Norge Vera last turned the trick in 2000. The loss for Granma dumped the Stallions a full game off the pace in their struggle with Santiago for the last available playoff spot in the Oriental League.

Too bad about Despaigne. Three weeks and only 3 homers but the first one tied the all time league record of 33 and the second broke the league record at 34. He's sitting on 35. I've seen five of his games during the three weeks including one last night and his game tonight is in the second inning. He's not getting any pitches close enough to knock out of the park. He was chasing the impossible number of 40. Forty in 90 games would have been equal to 72 in a regular major league season. Bonds holds the record at 73. He had a chance but with 5 games remaining, his chances are slim and none. They play 96 games this year for the first time in the history of the league. If he should get lucky enough to hit #40, it will most likely come with an asterisk next to his name. He does have 101 rbi which is better than an rbi per game and he's still batting at a .333 clip. He's only 25 years old so there's always next year. More importantly for the Granma team, they are still battling it out for a final playoff spot with 5 games to go.

Cuban League Action Update (for April 17, 2012)

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: With save number 27 Isla's Danni Aguilera has equalled the National Series single-season record set only last season by Duniel Ibarra.

Pinar’s Vegueros has already surrendered all but the slimmest possibility of defending their National Series #50 league title and seem destined to sit on the sideline for this year’s post-season festivities. With but one game remaining on their own schedule Pinar now trails Sancti Spíritus (with five games remaining after tonight) by five games in the loss column and thus is all but eliminated from the playoff picture. Nonetheless the Vegueros have been making life miserable for Industriales, winning again today against the Blue Lions and thus dropping the capital city club two full games behind Matanzas (and into a second-place tie with Cienfuegos) in the Occidental League first-place tussle. Today’s Pinar victory in Capitan San Luis came via a 2-1 squeaker decided in the tenth frame via the tie-breaking Schiller Rule. Osniel Madera punched home the winning tally with a clutch one-out single in the tenth frame.

Cienfuegos moved into a second place deadlock with the Lions on the strength of a 5-3 victory over Santiago that featured José Dariel Abreu’s 34th homer of the season. Abreu now stands only one homer away from tying Alfredo Despaigne’s recently set National Series record and also matching Despaigne for the current league led. In the day’s second record-setting performance, Isla closer Danni Aguilera picked up save number 27 in Nueva Gerona to equal the National Series record set only last season by Cienfuegos bullpen ace Duniel Ibarra.

Abreu Equals Cuba’s Single-Season Home Run Record

Peter C. Bjarkman
Player of the Day: Jose Dariel Abreu ties the Cuban League single-season home run record with blast number 35.

All season long most eyes have been focused squarely on Granma’s Alfredo Despaigne and his quest to catch and surpass the single-season home run mark of 33 established last spring by José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) and Yoennis Céspedes (Granma, now with the Oakland Athletics in the North American major leagues). A little more than two weeks ago the Granma Stallion (“The Horse of the Horses” as he is known around the island) accomplished his goal in most dramatic fashion by banging out numbers 34 and 35 in Havana’s Latin American Stadium. The first record-breaking smash was especially spectacular since it came on a pitch that actually severed Despaigne’s bat into separate pieces; that blow – struck off Industriales southpaw Ian Rendón – still managed to travel well in excess of 400 feet on its flight into the left-center-field bleachers.

By putting some distance between himself and Abreu earlier in the month, Despaigne seemed to have locked up both the new home run record and also the league lead in runs batted in. First place finishes in both those slugging departments seemed to spell another near-miss for José Dariel who has now flirted with a possible first-ever Triple Crown for two consecutive seasons. Last year’s batting and home run champ, Abreu lost out in the RBI department by the narrowest of possible margins to Céspedes (with whom he shared the home run crown). This year Abreu enjoys a safe margin as repeat winner of the batting title (now owning a .391 average) and has trailed only Despaigne in the other two heavyweight offensive departments.

But the Fat Lady had not yet sung (as the saying goes) and for the second time in a month Abreu has charged from the rear to again grab at least a share of the spotlight. Last night (April 18) in Cinco de Septiembre Stadium the bulky Cienfuegos first sacker smacked out long ball number 35 (in the sixth inning off Santiago right-hander Dany Betancourt) to take back a share of the home run record he had surrendered to Despaigne on April 3. It was Abreu’s third homer in as many games and his sixth since Despaigne’s own record thirty-fifth. And the blow also narrowed the gap to a mere five in the RBI department.

Both sluggers now have three games remaining as the National Series season heads into its final weekend. Cienfuegos entertains Ciego de Avila in a three-game set at home and will likely face league ERA leader Vladimir García in one of those matches. Granma faces a more crucial series on the road in Nueva Gerona versus Isla de la Juventud (whose pitching staff boasts new single-season Saves record holder Danni Aguilera). The Stallions must make up a one-game difference in their tussle with Santiago de Cuba for the final Oriental League post-season slot. Abreu seems to have all the momentum at the moment and is in fact currently slugging homers with greater frequency on the season than Despaigne. Abreu as whacked a round-tripper every 7.83 times at bat; Despaigne is slightly less impressive with one every 9.51 official trips to the plate. If Abreu has the momentum, it could also be said that Despaigne is overdue and also owns a history of saving his grandest performances for the biggest stages. It should be a thrilling race to the wire.

This is Cuba's version of Sammy Sosa vs Mark McGuire.

Ever since Despaigne dispatched homer #35 over a week ago, the crowds have been filling the stadiums to watch the battle continue between Despaigne and Abreu. The equivalent MLB homerun numbers would be 62 if the Cubans played to a 162 game schedule.

In reality, Despaigne did come out ahead hitting his 35 in a 90 game season. For some reason, this season will have 96 games on the schedule. In fairness to Despaigne, his 35 fell within the 90 game season. Abreu's 35th homer came in game 93.

What, those guys are on the juice too?

Christian Toribio signs with the Tampa Bay Rays for $65,000.


Toribio is 6’0 170lb with an athletic frame developed by Miguel Delgado in Santo Domingo. TB Rays scouting supervisor in the Dominican Republic Danny Santana followed him though the 2011 DPL season and said “he projects to develop into a solid ML SS with power potential”. Christian always flashed tools while playing in the DPL but he flew under radar last year due to other SS showing polished tools and projectable power bats. He’s an above average runner, solid defender with enough arm strength and range to stick at the position. His bat will play gap to gap with occasional power. His body is starting to mature in size and he’s made major strides in tool development and game play. Congratulations to Christian Toribio, Miguel Delgado and the TB Rays.

Connie Marrero Celebrates Some Added Anniversaries

Peter C. Bjarkman
Most Durable Player of the Century: Conrado Marrero, MLB's oldest surviving veteran, turns 101 on April 25, 2012.

Saturday, April 21 marks the 62nd anniversary of Conrado Marrero’s big league debut with the Washington Senators. On this date in 1950 at Yankee Stadium Marrero replaced Jim Pearce in the bottom of the eighth frame with Yogi Berra standing on first base for the Yankees and Joe DiMaggio occupying third. The first batter than Marrero faced was Billy Johnson who rolled out to the second baseman while advancing Berra to second and scoring DiMaggio. Hank Bauer then singled scoring Berra from second. The Cuban ace (a few days short of turning 39 at the time) completed his first outing by retiring Jerry Coleman on a fly ball to center. The Yankees won the game 14-7 with Joe Page the winner in relief and Mickey Harris the losing hurler. Marrero would stick around the big leagues for five seasons and compile a lifetime 39-40 ledger. But far more remarkable yet is the fact that Connie Marrero is still hanging around in Havana as MLB’s oldest surviving veteran. Connie will turn 101 next week on April 25.

Daily Cuban League Action Update (for April 20, 2012)
Player of the Day: Jose Dariel Abreu moves to the leadoff spot and cuts the RBI deficit to three.


Big league baseball has its sufficient examples of ballplayers sitting out the season’s final game in order to product a slim lead during a down-to-the-wire race for a league batting title. Or there is the well-worn tale of MLB’s last .400 hitter – Ted Williams in 1941 – refusing to play it safe by remaining on the sidelines during a final-day double-header. Cienfuegos manager Iday Abreu tried a new wrinkle in a similar scenario yesterday by moving clean-up slugger José Dariel into the leadoff spot in his lineup for the season’s final weekend series. The move was designed to potentially gain the star slugger a few additional plate appearances and thus increase Abreu’s chances of overhauling Alfredo Despaigne in the individual National Series home run and RBI races.

Abreu responded well Friday with a three-for-four outing that included a single, double, triple and 3 RBIs, narrowing runs-batted-home differential to only three. Despaigne was held hitless at Isla but Granma did win a crucial match that propelled the Stallions into a dead heat with Santiago for the final Oriental League playoff spot. Granma benefited from Santiago’s 11-4 defeat at the hands of Eastern Division tail ender Mayabeque. The biggest slugging display on Friday came from Matanzas first sacker Yasiel Santoya (on loan from Sancti Spíritus) who collected a pair of homers and six RBIs. The win for Victor Mesa’s Crocodiles clinched at least a share of first place in the Occidental League as well as upping to 56 the club record for single-season victories.

In other games Sancti Spíritus rolled over Western League leader Villa Clara 8-0 behind homers by Orlando Acebey and Yenier Bello while Metros enjoyed a similar shutout victory over basement-dwelling Holguín. Guantánamo also benefitted from a two-home-run outburst by Vismay Santos in squeezing out an 8-6 road win over Artemisa. And in one of the most crucial afternoon matches, Las Tunas squandered an early lead by surrendering five runs to Industriales in the home eighth and then dropped the vital contest during a tie-breaker tenth inning. The costly loss prevented the Leñadores from solidifying their position in the still-heated Oriental League post-season qualifying race. With the dramatic come-from-behind victory Industriales clung to a slim mathematical possible of tying Matanzas for first place in the Western Division.

Home Run Race Ends with an Inside-the-Park “Oddity”
Alfredo Despaigne "walks off" with Cuban League home run record via a rare inside-the-park round-tripper.

A dramatic battle for mythical title of “Cuba’s Home Run King” raging for the past month has finally come to a dramatic and somewhat odd conclusion on the season’s final day of action. Granma’s Alfredo Despaigne took back sole position of the league record with his 36th smash of the campaign on Sunday afternoon in his second-to-last at-bat of the season. The blow in Nueva Gerona’s Cristobal Labra Stadium came off a delivery from Isla right-hander Alesky Perera and was ironically Despaigne’s only inside-the-park home run of the year. With four RBIs on the day the Granma “Stallion” also pushed his league-leading final total in that department to 105, a margin of six over runner-up José Dariel Abreu.

Despaigne’s final record performance was accompanied by some obvious oddities and notable ironies. First and foremost was the almost certain claim that this was the first time in any modern-era league where a home run title was decided or a new all-time record established with a four-bagger that never left the field of play. So far there has been no video available to demonstrate precisely what occurred on the historic hit. Isla made two substitutions in the outfield to start the inning (and also one replacement in the top of the previous inning). Did confusion on Despaigne’s fly ball to center result from the constant outfield “musical chairs” by the home team? Was Despaigne’s blast slightly tainted by lackadaisical effort (either intentional or otherwise) on the part of the Isla outfielders? Or was there a misplay during the action that might well have resulted in a defensive error that was never credited by a home field official scorer. There is little reason to suggest that Despaigne’s rather strange homer was in any way illegitimate, and yet without a video replay or some further description from the Cuban press it is hard not to speculate, or at least to ponder the circumstances.

A second irony attached to the final day’s events is the fact that Despaigne was handed something of an assist by the absence of José Dariel Abreu from the playing field. Cienfuegos manager Iday Abreu had moved his slugger to the top of the batting order for the Friday and Saturday games – presumably to provide the big first baseman a few extra plate appearances that might increase his chances of overhauling Despaigne. Abreu had made up a six-homer deficit over the last couple weeks and had also closed the gap on Saturday to only two in the RBI department. At stake for Abreu was not only his piece of the home run record (which he had previously shared with Yoennis Céspedes) but also a potential first-ever National Series Triple Crown batting feat. But then, for some so far inexplicable reason, Abreu sat helplessly on the sidelines Sunday afternoon.

The odd absence of the top Cienfuegos slugger not only handed the title to Abreu’s Granma rival but also gave a huge boost to visiting Ciego de Avila. The visitors eked out a narrow 3-2 win over the Abreu-less Elephants that pushed them into a post-season playoff spot. It is indeed possible that it was injury that sent Abreu to the bench; he did also miss an entire series last weekend in Isla. But that scenario seems rather unlikely given the move to the top lineup spot on Friday and Saturday and the effort to gain extra ABs for Abreu in the opening matches of the series. Some explanation seems in the offering.

This was the second consecutive year that José Dariel met bitter disappointment in the final game of the campaign. Last season the Cienfuegos star was able to tie Céspedes for the home run lead (and league record) in the final contest yet also fell one short in the RBI chase. He thus missed an historic Triple Crown by only the slimmest of margins. The Despaigne home run and four RBIs on Sunday meant that in retrospect Abreu would likely have been outdistanced today even if he had taken his normal spot in the lineup. But nonetheless it has to be far more of a disappointment to “go down sitting” than to “go down swinging” on the season’s final day. Despaigne raced around the bases in Nueva Gerona with a new spot in the record book (if possibly a controversial one) but his top rival Abreu never had a chance to answer.

Cabrera tops international prospects list

Dominican outfielder among those eyeing start of signing period

By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com | 04/23/12 11:00 AM ET

It's a sunny morning in mid-March on the backfields of the Rangers' Spring Training complex in Surprise, Ariz., and outfield prospect Gustavo Cabrera is running for his life.

His face is tight and his head bobs back and forth as he churns his legs down a path he has taken too many times to count. But he is relaxed. His shoulders are loose, and his hands are so wide open that they sometimes slap the side of his thighs as he makes his way toward the clipboard-holding scouts waiting for him at the finish line.

The White Tank Mountains that hovered over Cabrera's broad back at the start of the sprint are out of the picture, and the only sound that can be heard during the run are Cabrera's rhythmic exhalations and the chatty teenagers waiting to run next.

Once upon a time, the end of 60-yard dashes would be marked by stopwatches clicking in unison, a few claps from the gallery and a trip to the batting cage. But in today's digital age, Cabrera's smile and a few nods from the scouts let everyone know the race is over and that it's time to head to the field so he can show off his other tools in a game.

Welcome to the life of 16-year-old Cabrera of the Dominican Republic, ranked No. 1 on MLB.com's list of Top 20 International Prospects. For the six-foot, 190-pound Cabrera and young prospects like him across Latin America, it's a life that starts with a dream, continues with a sprint and sometimes ends with a marathon of a career in the Major Leagues.

"I don't feel any pressure," Cabrera said. "Will my life change? I hope it does. I have been working hard to live my dream and get to the Major Leagues one day."

The goal for such teenage prospects is to sign with a big league club when the international signing period begins on July 2 and enter a big league academy in the Dominican Republic. After two years, the organization that runs the academy will decide if the prospect is ready to start playing in the Minor Leagues in the U.S., although it's not uncommon for an international prospect to begin his pro career in the U.S. at 17.

Cabrera, who began working out with a private trainer at the age of 14, has dazzled scouts with his bat speed, hitting mechanics, range on defense and raw power in games and showcases during the past year.

"I don't think about my future as much as I think about my family at home who believe in me," Cabrera said. "The future will be what it will be. I already know it's going to be a good one, God willing."

In addition to Cabrera, scouts have raved about the defensive prowess of Venezuelan shortstop Franklin Barreto, No. 2 on the list, and the all-around skills of No. 3 Jairo Beras, arguably the most recognizable name on the international market.

Beras already has a deal in place with the Rangers for $4.5 million, but Major League Baseball's department of investigations is trying to determine whether he is 16, the age he presented to MLB earlier this year, or 17 and eligible to sign now, as the Rangers claim.

There are 10 infielders, seven outfielders, two pitchers and one catcher on the Top 20 list. Six are from Venezuela; the rest are from the Dominican Republic.

"The crop this year, overall, is solid," said Rene Gayo, director of Latin American scouting for the Pirates. "There are a lot of interesting players out there. I don't think there are any legendary prospects when you compare this year to the past years, but there are some players you would like to have. That doesn't change."

But some things have changed on the international market.

In accordance with the new Basic Agreement, the international system will dictate that each team can spend up to $2.9 million for the 2012-13 signing period, and there are penalties for exceeding that number. It's quite a change when you consider that last year, the Rangers set a record for the highest international amateur bonus when they paid Nomar Mazara $4.95 million, in addition to signing Ronald Guzman for $3.45 million.

What's more, tryouts are no longer the only way for scouts to evaluate talent in Latin America. Such leagues as the Dominican Prospect League (DPL) and International Prospect League (IPL) have emerged to provide opportunities for organizations to watch prospects play in games in addition to traditional showcases.

Cabrera and 11 others on the Top 20 International list played in the DPL this season, and many toured Spring Training sites in Florida and Arizona for games as part of the league's travel squad.

"It is still the same process, but scouts have more looks at players than they did three years ago," said former big league scout Brian Mejia, president of the DPL. "Players are getting exposed, for better or worse, and that's good, because it allows scouts to make better decisions, and when scouts make good decisions on the right players for the right money, it makes the industry healthier."

Major League Baseball's efforts in the Dominican Republic gained traction last summer with the creation of El Torneo Supremo ("The Supreme Tournament"), and those efforts continue to gain momentum.

In February, MLB staged the two-day Venezuela-Dominican Republic Showcase at the Mets' academy in the Dominican, with 25 prospects from each country participating in a series of drills, plus two games.

MLB had similar showcases in Venezuela and the Dominican in 2011, but February's showcase was the first to combine players from the two countries. Fifteen players on the Top 20 International list participated.

Last month, MLB launched a league designed to provide a neutral ground so big league organizations could evaluate the top unsigned amateur players in the Dominican Republic. In addition to featuring players who will be eligible to sign on July 2, the league features games for older players who are already eligible.

"You are not going to develop a player six months prior to signing, but what we can do is help prepare them to become professionals on and off the field," said Joel Araujo, manager of Latin American game development for MLB. "We offer education, and also have the stadium component.We get to expose them to us as an office and dispel the misnomers of 'the big, bad MLB.'"

There is no fee to participate in the league, which includes an outreach program that features instructional clinics for younger players.

But some things will never change.

"A signing bonus does not make a ballplayer," Gayo said. "The thing that drives up a bonus is competition, availability, the notoriety and everyone being there at the same time, but as long as you are out there working, you will find players that people don't know about. When it's all said and done, it's about getting players that will go play."

The race to July 2 is on. Cabrera is already off and running.