Cleveland Sports Forum

Jhonny Rodriguez becomes an Athletic

Posted July 20th, 2012 by DPL & filed under DPL News
OF JHONNY RODRIGUEZ 6’2″,170lb, L/L, July 20, 1996, Mao, DR

Jhonny Rodriguez was first evaluated by DPL scouts 2-years ago in his home town of Valverde Mao. At the time his tools were all below average but he showed projection and a sweet left handed swing. Month’s after the initial evaluation notable trainer and DPL recruiter Fausto “Chiki” Mejia followed Jhonny’s progress, he took him under his wing and trained him in his home town Bonao. As Rodriguez matured he was able to develop his tools and catch up to the game speed of other DPL players. Rodriguez was selected to the DPL All-Star Game and the DPL Elite Travel team. During our Arizona leg of the DPL Spring Training tour, Jhonny hit a 2 run Home Run at the Peoria complex home of the Milwaukee Brewers. He has shown big strides in his development across the board and has shown the ability to make consistent solid contacts in game situation.
Perfect Game report: PG Grade: 9

Rodriguez is not only one of the youngest prospects on the DPL travel squad, he may be the least mature physically. He looks like a 15-year old freshman, with undefined muscles and a kid’s face. But he’s a particular favorite of the DPL organizers and grows on you as a scout the more you watch him play. The physical run/throw tools have not started to kick in yet, as Rodriguez runs a 7.7 60 and threw 78 mph from the outfield, but everything he does is fundamentally sound and with low effort.

He has a busy hitting approach but gets his hands in very good position to hit when starting his swing and consistently squares up the ball. Because his swing is smooth and you’re looking at a slender 15-year old, his bat speed is deceptive as well. He cracked one line drive in Arizona that registered 98 mph off the barrel, then followed that up with a home run over the 385 foot sign at the Peoria ballpark. That home run might have been his best bolt, as he doesn’t show that type of raw power in BP, but it was still very impressive in context. Rodriguez run/throw tools will definitely have to improve over the next couple of years, and they should, but his best future tool will be his left handed bat.

The Oakland A’s and Jhonny Rodriguez agreed to a contract value of $300,000.00.

Congratulations to the Oakland A’s, Fausto Mejia and the Rodriguez family !

Cuba beats USA by 5-3; Cuba headed to finals | 21-07-2012

US lose lead and cool in tiebreaker loss to Cuba. Crawford's impressive outing not rewarded by US teammates, as bullpen gives lead away late (5-3).

Player of the Game: Alfredo Despaigne (Cuba) (2-for-4, 2 RBI)

July 21, 2012

Cuba edges U.S. in tiebreaker, 5-3

Team USA plays for bronze on Sunday

HAARLEM --

Cuba rallied from a three-run deficit with one out in the eighth and scored twice in a 10th-inning tiebreaker as the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team dropped a 5-3 decision in the semifinals of Honkbal Week on Saturday at Pim Mulier Stadium.

Team USA will close out its stay in the Netherlands on Sunday when it plays either Puerto Rico or the host nation Netherlands for the bronze medal at noon (6 a.m. ET).

"While this was clearly a very tough loss and we may not have gotten the results we wanted, we will walk out of this stadium with our heads held high because we are proud of the effort our team put forth out on the field today," Team USA manager Dave Serrano said. "You have to tip your hat to Cuba. Baseball is a nine-inning game and they fought all the way until the end to get it to a tiebreaker where they executed and we didn't."

After Cuba overcame a three-run deficit in the eighth and neither team could push a run across in the ninth, Saturday's semifinal contest became the first of the tournament to go to extra innings where it was played under international tie-breaker rules.

Starting with runners on first and second and nobody out, Cuba was able to get a sacrifice bunt down to move both runners into scoring position. After a walk loaded the bases, another free pass to Frederich Cepeda brought in a run to give Cuba its first lead of the game. Alfredo Despaigne followed with a sacrifice fly to left that made it a two-run lead at 5-3.

Trailing for the first time all day, the U.S. tried to force the action, putting both of its runners into motion right off the bat. The pitch was lifted in the air to right, however, forcing them to retreat to their original bases. A groundout then moved them both into scoring position, but the two-out hit didn't come as a pop-up to first ended the game.

Prior to the disappointing end, the Red, White and Blue got another solid start out of Jonathan Crawford (Florida) as he yielded just three hits and two runs in seven quality innings in his fourth appearance against Cuba.

The right-hander was particularly effective in the middle innings as he had a stretch where he recorded 14 outs on just 38 pitches from the first out of the third through the second out of the seventh. He did not allow a hit until the fifth and Cuba did not put a runner into scoring position against him until the seventh.

At the plate, Austin Cousino (Kentucky) continued his stellar play during Honkbal Week, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Over the course of the six games in the tournament, the SEC Freshman of the Year is hitting .385 with three runs scored.

After four scoreless frames to start the game, Team USA jumped out to a 3-0 lead with single tallies in three straight innings. Kyle Farmer (Georgia) got the scoring started in the fifth, ripping an RBI single into left after a base hit and an error had put Cousino on third.

In the sixth, the U.S. squad staged a two-out rally to plate its second run. D.J. Peterson (New Mexico) and Kris Bryant (San Diego) got things going with back-to-back walks before Cousino stroked a line drive toward short. Although Cuba shortstop Erisbel Arruebarruena dove and got his glove on the ball, it fell for a single that loaded the bases.

Just four pitches later, Brett Hambright (Oregon) punched a ball on the ground toward the hole at short. Arruebarruena got to the ball and fired it towards second but Cousino was hustling all the way and beat the throw, allowing Peterson to score from third and put the U.S. up 2-0.

After absolutely cruising through the first six innings, Crawford first ran into a little trouble in the seventh. With two outs, Cuba got back-to-back singles with a groundball back to the mound off of Crawford's foot and a line drive that just hit off the end of a leaping Farmer at short.

The two base hits gave Cuba a runner in scoring position for the first time all day, but Crawford buckled down and froze Ariel Pestano with a sharp-breaking 3-2 slider at the knees on the outside corner to escape unscathed.

Team USA then tacked on another run in the home half of the seventh to give itself a slightly more comfortable 3-0 advantage. Trea Turner (North Carolina State) opened the stanza by ripping a leadoff double into the left-center gap and quickly moved up to third on a wild pitch. Johnny Field (Arizona) then brought him the final 90 feet to home on a sacrifice fly to right.

That run would turn out to be a big one as Cuba rallied to tie the game with three runs of its own in the top of the eighth. A walk and a hit batter to start the inning brought Crawford's start to a close. Bobby Wahl (Mississippi) came out of the pen and immediately got two groundballs but the first moved the runners up 90 feet and the second brought in a run. RBI singles by Yulieski Gourriel and Despaigne then brought the game right back to a deadlock at 3-3.

Right after giving up its lead, Team USA fought right back to load the bases with just one out in the bottom of the inning. Cuba reliever Ismel Jimenez was able to wiggle out of the jam though, getting a strikeout and a groundball back to the mound to leave the bases juiced.

The back-and-forth continued in the top of the ninth as Pestano singled and moved up to third with just one out after a sac bunt and a wild pitch. Michael Lorenzen (Cal State Fullerton) came out of the bullpen to keep the score tied, getting a groundout to short with his infield drawn in on the grass. He then induced a broken-bat groundout to short, on which Farmer made an outstanding running throw to just get the runner at first to end the inning and set up the decisive 10th-inning tiebreaker.

Saturday's contest marked the final contest in a seven-game series between Cuba and the United States this summer. The first five games were played at Latin American Stadium and the final three at Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem, Netherlands.

The Cuba squad, which features 12 World Baseball Classic veterans, including four who have played in the classic twice, finished with four wins to three by the U.S. Of the seven games, four were one-run contests.

Puerto Rico beats Netherlands; 1-0 | 21-07-2012

Dutch starter David Bergman victimized by Dutch drought. Spectacular outing is not enough, as Dutch offense gets shut out for third straight game.

Player of the Game: Jaime Ortiz (Puerto Rico) - 2-for-3, 1B, 2B, R

USA takes the bronze by beating the Netherlands; 4-3 | 22-07-2012

Cordemans strong, but Dutch bullpen cannot keep US in check. Marco Gonzales untouchable (8 innings, 9 strikeouts, 0 walks, 1 run) and Kyle Farmer clutch (2 RBI) as US takes Honkbalweek bronze.

Player of the game: Marco Gonzales (USA) [8 IP, 9 K's, 0 walks, 1 R]

July 22, 2012

U.S. claims bronze at Honkbal Week

Marco Gonzales strikes out nine in eight strong innings

HAARLEM -

Marco Gonzales (Gonzaga) twirled his second gem of the tournament, striking out nine in eight innings of one-run ball, and the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team held off a furious ninth-inning rally to defeat the Netherlands, 4-3, and claim the bronze medal at Honkbal Week on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Pim Mulier Stadium.

"It was a fun summer," Team USA manager Dave Serrano said. "Obviously we didn't get the medal we wanted to, but we will walk out of this stadium proud with a medal around our necks. We were only together for 30 days, but the relationships built during those 30 days will last a lifetime. I'm honored to say that I was the manager for this great group of young men.

"We may have come up short of the medal we wanted, but we did not come up short on character. The way the game ended today, it challenged us to the very last pitch and we proved that we were up to the challenge."

Gonzales bookended the tournament with victories for the U.S., posting his second terrific performance in just over a week. After striking out 10 in seven innings against Japan in the opener, Gonzales fanned nine and scattered six hits without walking a batter in eight strong frames to earn the win against the Netherlands on Sunday.

For the tournament, Gonzales was 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, allowing just two runs on nine hits in 16 innings of work. He struck out 19 batters and walked just two.

After the Netherlands scored twice in the ninth to cut the U.S. lead to just one, Dan Child (Oregon State) came out of the bullpen to strike out the only batter he faced for the final out of the game, leaving the tying run stranded at third. The save was his second of the tournament.

Kyle Farmer (Georgia) led the charge offensively, driving in two runs, while D.J. Peterson (New Mexico) finished his day at the plate 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

The Netherlands got the scoring started in the top of the third when Shaldimar Daantji roped a leadoff double just inside the right-field line, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a chopper just over the mound that went for an infield single by Michael Duursma.

It took Team USA until the fifth to get on the board after managing just one hit off of Netherlands starter and four-time Olympian Rob Cordemans through the first four frames.

In the fifth though, it took just two pitches for the U.S. to tie the game as Austin Cousino (Kentucky) lined the first pitch of the stanza into right-center for a double and Farmer brought him in on the next one with a single to right.

The U.S. pushed two more runs across in the bottom of the sixth, knocking Cordemans out of the game in the process. Johnny Field (Arizona) got the ball rolling with a single to right and Jose Trevino (Oral Roberts) followed with a double to left-center. The Netherlands went to the bullpen for Orlando Yntema but Peterson greeted him rudely, pulling his first pitch into left for an RBI single.

The Red, White and Blue went on to load the bases with just one out and Farmer came through once again, lifting a sacrifice fly to right to score Peterson and put the U.S. up 3-1.

In the seventh, Michael Lorenzen (Cal State Fullerton) manufactured another run for Team USA to make it a three-run advantage. He worked a leadoff walk and quickly moved up to second on a balk that resulted in the ejection of Netherlands manager Brian Farley. A sac bunt by Trea Turner (North Carolina State) then advanced him to third before a wild pitch allowed him to race the 90 feet to home to put the tally on the scoreboard at 4-1.

That final run would prove huge as the Netherlands put together a furious ninth-inning rally in an attempt to spoil Team USA's bid for the bronze. Although the home nation inched within a single run after a pair of RBI singles and put the tying run on third, Child dropped a 3-2 slider on the outside corner to Daantji to end the game.

The contest marks the final game for the Collegiate National Team this summer. It finishes with an overall record of 12-5, including a 5-2 record during Honkbal Week.

Four of the team's losses came in a hotly-contested seven game series against Cuba. That series saw the two teams split the first six games before the seventh and final contest went to a 10th-inning tiebreaker. Not only was the final game tied at the conclusion of nine innings, so was the cumulative run total for both teams as both squads had scored 33 runs at that point.

Cuba wins the 26th Haarlemse Honkbalweek! | 22-07-2012

Today, Cuba took the gold at the 26th Haarlemse Honkbalweek! After hotly debated victory over Puerto Rico, they managed to secure their victory.

Yuliesky Gourriel scores the winning run and is awarded MVP award.

Player of the Game: Norberto Gonzalez (PRI)

26th Haarlemse Honkbalweek - The awards | 22-07-2012

This tournament has many prizes. Besides the prices for the teams, there are several individual prizes to obtain.

Team prizes

1. Cuba
2. Puerto Rico
3. USA
4. Netherlands
5. Japan
6. Chinese Taipei

Individual prizes

Best hitter: Michael Duursma (NED)
Best pitcher: Marco Gonzalez (USA)
Press award: Ariel Pestano (CUB)
Homerun king: Yoshiki Eto (JPN)
Best defensive player: D.J. Peterson (USA)
Most popular player (Carl Angelo award): Hsiao Po Ting (Chinese Taipei)
Most valueable player (Jacques Reuvers award): Yulieski Gourriel

Yulieski Gourriel (left) named the MVP of the tournament winner and mentor Victor Mesa. (Photo Courtesy: Michael Rose)
The Cuban southpaw Norberto González made a wonderful work to Puerto Rico in the final on Sunday to give the first title to Cuba in Haarlem in 14 years.

On the left our American correspondent and author Peter C. Bjarkman Award gives the recipient the Cuban press Ariel Pestano and right with Victor Mesa Champions Trophy 2012 in Haarlem. (Photo Courtesy: Michael Rose)

Giants to host semis, final of World Baseball Classic

Arizona, Miami join San Francisco as venue sites for 2013 event

By Mark Newman / MLB.com | 07/25/12 1:00 PM ET

It is David Wright being tackled on the field by other giddy Major League Baseball players after his walk-off double for the United States. It is the passion and the pageantry of Puerto Rico vs. the Dominican Republic, maybe in the Latin gateway of Miami. It is 28 nations from around the globe testing their brand of baseball against the others, and wondering if Japan can somehow make it 3-for-3 with their own signature style.

The World Baseball Classic returns next spring for a third time with an expanded field playing at sites around the globe, and a major milestone was reached on Wednesday with the announcement of MLB's own host venues.

World Baseball Classic Inc. announced that the Giants will host the semifinals and final at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Second-round games will be hosted by the Marlins at Marlins Park. First-round competition will be hosted by the D-backs at both Chase Field and their Cactus League home of Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz.

It is San Francisco's debut as a host city for the World Baseball Classic, succeeding San Diego's PETCO Park (2006) and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (2009) as host of the semifinals and final. What remains to be seen is whether Japan can celebrate yet another title on the Giants' field, having won both previous World Baseball Classic tournaments.

"The Giants are excited to have been selected by MLB to host the Championship Round of the World Baseball Classic," said Giants President and CEO Larry Baer. "We believe that AT&T Park will be the perfect venue to showcase the best baseball players in the world as they represent their countries and compete in this one-of-a-kind international tournament. We look forward to bringing this international competition to one of the most international cities in the world!"

Miami will be a second-round host venue for a second time, having also done so in 2009 at Dolphin Stadium, and this time it will have a retractable roof. Arizona previously hosted first-round action at Scottsdale Stadium in 2006.

"We are very pleased to partner with three franchises that will prove to be outstanding hosts of the 2013 World Baseball Classic," said Paul Archey, MLB senior vice president of international business operations. "The Giants, the Marlins and the D-backs share our commitment to continuing the game's remarkable global growth, and their world-class cities and ballparks will welcome the unique brand of enthusiasm inspired by the World Baseball Classic."

"Miami, Phoenix and San Francisco are three culturally diverse, baseball-loving cities," said Timothy Slavin, director of business affairs for the MLB Players Association. "We're confident each of these communities and venues will provide an unforgettable experience for players and fans from around the world."

International venues that will host 2013 World Baseball Classic games, pool composition and game dates will be announced on the event's Web site in the weeks ahead along with information regarding ticket availability. Visitors to the site can see a video interview with 2013 U.S.A. manager Joe Torre; a multimedia look back at previous tournaments; news and an overview of the bracket. Fans also are encouraged to like the World Baseball Classic Facebook page for updates.

Venues hosting games during the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers were announced previously, and include Armin-Wolf-Baseball-Arena in Regensburg, Germany; Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City, Panama; XinZuang Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan; and Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla.

Mayky Perez selected to the Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings

Posted July 25th, 2012 by DPL & filed under DPL News,
Perfect Game has selected highly touted pitching Prospect Mayky Perez-RHP to the 2012 Perfect Game All-American Classic in San Diego CA. The PG All-American Classic will be broadcasted by CBS sports from Petco park.

2012 Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by RawlingsDate: Sunday, August 12
Time: 6:00 pm PDT / 9:00 pm EST
Location: PETCO Park, San Diego, California
Television Broadcast: Live on CBS Sports
Radio Broadcast:ESPN Radio 1700 AM San Diego
Mayky Perez-rhp 6’4″ 195lb September 26 1996 Home town: San Pedro de Macoris

Mayky is physically impressive, he has a XL frame, long limbs, athletic body with muscle tone. He throws from a 3/4 arm slot, has a quick arm and does it easy. He’s mechanically sound but can improve his time above the rubber to get his arm in more of a power position. He pounds the strike zone and is not afraid to go after hitters. His present FB velocity works at 87-90 (92) he has natural down hill life with occasional 2 seam life down in the zone to RHH. His CB is developing into an above average pitch as he gets tight rotation on it with solid command. He has a feel for a CH with deception and movement. He has shown a lot of improvement in his development since we initially scouted him 10 months ago, come July 2nd 2013 Mayky will undoubtedly be one of the best arm in Latin America.

SAN DIEGO– July 19, 2012 –

Today officially marks the release of the full 48-player roster for the 2012 Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings. The nation’s top high school baseball players will descend upon San Diego to play in the 10th annual baseball showcase, featuring an East versus West matchup. The 2012 game will be played Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. PDT at PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres, and will be nationally televised live on CBS Sports Network.

The Perfect Game All-American Classic is more than just a game. It is part of an ongoing commitment to the fight against childhood cancer, with ticket proceeds benefiting Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Since 2003, the Perfect Game All-American Classic has generated nearly $685,000 for charity.

“We are excited to once again be back in San Diego for the nation’s premier high school baseball game, the Perfect Game All-American Classic,”said Brad Clement, Vice President, Development of Perfect Game USA.“This is our fourth year playing at PETCO Park, and we are happy to be working with our partners to ensure a top-notch event and showcase the best players to the country. The icing on the cake is how the game benefits the local community by giving back to Rady Children’s Hospital.”

The Perfect Game All-Americans will be led by a stellar coaching staff for the 2012 match-up.Clyde Metcalf of Sarasota High School in Sarasota, Fl. will lead the East squad. Metcalf has been a head baseball coach for 31 years, winning six state championships. His teams have compiled twenty-five 20-plus win seasons while at Sarasota High School.

Managing the West squad will be Marc Johnson of Cherry Creek High School in Cherry Creek, Colorado. In addition to eight State Titles, Johnson’s teams have won 26 league championships and more than 375 of his players have gone on to play baseball in college. Six of his players have been first round draft picks and more than 75 have gone on to play professional baseball.

“I am impressed with the extraordinary high school talent the All-American Baseball Classic brings to the forefront of the baseball world each year,” said Jerry Ford, President of Perfect Game USA. “These 2013 prospects have the ability to represent the next wave of Major League stars.”

Perfect Game All-American Classic alumni have had a significant presence in Major League Baseball’s first-year player drafts. Since the game’s inception in 2003, 117 alumni have been selected in the first round, including this year’s first overall pick Carlos Correa , last years first overall pick Gerrit Cole (2011) and past no. 1 picks Bryce Harper(2010), Tim Beckham (2008), and Justin Upton (2005). The game has also produced over 50 players that are currently on a Major League Baseball roster or whom have played in the Major Leagues. A record 19 Perfect Game All-Americans were taken in the first round of the 2012 draft, 16 of which played in last year’s game.

The Perfect Game All-American Classic is considered the nation’s marquee prep event. Participants must have just completed their junior year of high school, be in good academic standing and display qualities off the field that embody baseball’s ideals, including discipline, determination and hard work.

For the full 2012 roster please visit the Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings roster page.

For information regarding credentials, please contact Jesse Lovejoy at JesseL@sdhoc.com.

Tickets to the game can be purchased at Padres.com.

Hector Roa Jr. signs with the Astros

Posted July 25th, 2012 by DPL & filed under DPL News,
Hector Roa Jr, 6’2″, 190lb, March 1, 1995

The Houston Astros pick up a quality bat and power projection. Hector Jr. grew up in the United States and found his way to the Dominican Republic to further develop with known trainer Jovanni Sabino and his father Hector Roa Sr in San Pedro de Macoris. Roa Sr. was a journeyman minor league player with AAA experience, his journeys and experience helped mold his son into a professional ball player.

Hector Jr has good hand eye coordination and pitch recognition. He participated in the DPL*PG International Series where he went 3 for 6; 1-3B, 1-HR, 2-R, 4-RBI. His short stroke and bat speed gave him an edge against DPL hurlers. Roa has always had the ability to hit in games but has yet to define a position. He presently plays 3b and the outfield. Hector Roa Jr agreed to sign with the Houston Astros for $110,000.00.

Congratulations to the Houston Astros, Jovanni Sabino and the Roa family!

noticias/News

Baseball Week in Haarlem is over, let the Olympic Games begin

Special from Pim van Nes (http://www.mister-baseball.com)

Julio 27, 2012

At approximately half an hour flying from London, the ten days Week of international baseball in Haarlem was completed last Sunday.

The 26th edition of Haarlemse Honkbal Week is considered as a successful baseball event with almost 60.000 fans for six nations from 3 continents: from the Americas USA, Cuba and Puerto Rico, from Asia Japan and Chinese Taipei and from good old Europe the Netherlands. 20 games were scheduled, 19 were played, 16 with a score gap of 3 runs or less This small gap also applied to all games of Chinese Taipei, the team that remained without a victory during the ten days in Haarlem. The Americas took the first three spots in final ranking: Cuba for gold, Puerto Rico for silver and USA for bronze. First without medals was Europe with the Netherlands and second and third without medals were the Asian delegations from Japan and Chinese Taipei.


Writer Peter C. Bjarkman (right) American correspondant in Cuba was requested to present the Press Prize to veteran Cuban catcher Ariel Pestano.

The tournament started with a rain delay, however on Friday 13th that is just usual bad luck. But the rain came back on Saturday and Sunday and every day the two games scheduled were postponed for only an hour or so. The fans in Haarlem kept on walking, biking and driving to the stadium despite of rain falling down on them those days. On Monday, conditions got much worse and the two games were re-scheduled to next two days, without causing double-headers for any team involved. Wednesday night clash Netherlands-Cuba was the last game to be re-scheduled due to rain. To this purpose one final ranking game was cancelled definitely: the one for fifth place.

During these wet and cold days Cuba had lost their first two games: 2-3 versus Puerto Rico and 2-5 versus USA. In their game 3, delayed to Tuesday, the reputed players of manager Victor Mesa were close to their third defeat, when trailing 0-1 against Chinese Taipei. Then the Red Machine warmed itself up in the last two innings: 2-1 final. By beating Japan 12-1 on Thursday and the Netherlands 4-0 on Friday, Cuba speeded up from last in ranking to third before the play-offs. Paired with USA (second) and having come back from 0-3 behind, they used the tie breaking tenth inning to win the game (5-3), to clinch a spot in the gold medal finale and to win by 4-3 the seven games series versus USA, which had started with five games in Havana.

Puerto Rico was a pretty latin surprise in Haarlem, where the organization was still remembering the no-show by Venezuela two years ago. Puerto Rico did show up in the Netherlands this month and immediately stunned the local fans with a well deserved victory over Cuba: 3-2. Already on Day 2 they were the sole leader in the ranking, because also the Netherlands were defeated: 5-2. Puerto Rico conserved this position till the end of the preliminary round with all 5 games won. In Saturday’s semi finale the Netherlands were beaten once more by Puerto Rico, which entered the gold medal finale on Sunday as the favorite for many fans in the stadium. Puerto Rico went ahead 1-2, but Cuba tied the score and won the game by 4-2.

The tournament was quite balanced. Six out of fifteen games of the preliminary round resulted in 1 run difference, nine games had a maximum difference of two runs or less and twelve had 3 runs or less difference in the final score. Even all games losing Chinese Taipei always finished short after the winner with 3 runs or less difference. Apart from the 0-4 for Cuba against the Netherlands, the only two big gaps were 18-3 for the Netherlands against Japan and 12-1 for Cuba also against Japan. After their 18 runs against Japan, the Netherlands suffered from a 3 games streak of shut-outs: 0-1 against USA and Puerto Rico and 0-4 against Cuba. However, Dutch short stop Michael Duursma turned out to be the best hitter of the six teams tournament with a batting average of .429.

Milestones in over 50 years of history for Haarlem Honkbal Week were run 4000 scored by Antonio Candelaria (Puerto Rico), homerun 700 by Frederich Cepeda (Cuba) and hit 7000 by Ariel Pestano (Cuba). Pestano (38 years of age) also got awarded the Press Prize of Haarlem Week tournament, which invited a jury of five baseball writers who had attended the entire schedule, included the rain-outs: those of Haarlems Dagblad, Haarlems Weekblad, USASports.nl, BaseballdeCuba.com and Mister-Baseball.com. The senior of this jury, 71 years old Peter Bjarkman from USA was requested to present this press prize to Pestano during the cheerful closing ceremony after the fifth Cuban victory in the tournament: the gold medal finale versus Puerto Rico (4-2).

On Friday in London, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge will open officially the first Olympic Games of this century without baseball and softball.

Jorge Soler is off to a decent professional baseball start for the Cubs in Arizona