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Fidel receives national baseball team
ON Sunday, March 5, at the Palace
of the Revolution, President Fidel Castro Ruz
received the selection for the national baseball
team that is representing Cuba at the World Baseball
Classic, minutes after they were presented with the
national flag at the José Martí national monument.
 For
almost two hours and in a friendly atmosphere, the
president chatted with the athletes, their coaches,
INDER leaders and Cuban reporters who are covering
the important sporting event, and inquired in a
detailed manner about their training, the indoor
stadiums with artificial turf where they will play,
the schedule, the event’s broadcast, the
continuation of Cuba’s National Series, and other
issues.
He was especially interested in
the special rules for pitching and asked how Cuba’s
pitchers had prepared themselves for that.
Fidel spoke of his love for
baseball since childhood, and recalled some
anecdotes of his experiences as a pitcher and
outfielder. Back then, games took place in sugar
mill communities, and players were only known within
a three-kilometer radius, he said.
“So, I understand what it means
for you to be known all over the world and for our
country to be well known everywhere,” the president
commented. “This is an honorable country and a
respected country, because it has known how to
struggle with dignity and courage.”
The president noted that this
would be the toughest competition ever faced by the
Cuban players, and that the nation was aware of
that; however, he said, there is a lot of confidence
in the quality and commitment of their players. “We
trust in your quality, your honor and your
firmness.”
Fidel pointed out the tremendous
performance of the Cuban team against the Baltimore
Orioles, and encouraged the selection to give it
their all on the field.
“I bid you farewell with the
words of Che: ‘Hasta la Victoria siempre!’” he
concluded. On Tuesday, March 7, the team departs for
San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they will be competing,
and their first game is against Panama on Wednesday,
March 8 at 2:00 p.m.
DELEGATION RECEIVES FLAG
The team representing Cuba at the
World Classic was presented with the national flag
on Sunday by Esteban Lazo Hernández, member of the
Political Bureau of the Party, at the foot of José
Martí Monument in Plaza de la Revolucion.
When the ceremony began, Osmany
Urrutia and Carlos A. Tabares, representing their
fellow players, laid a wreath at the foot of the
monument. Team captain Eduardo Paret, accompanied by
Michel Enriquez and Ariel Pestano, received the
national flag from the hands of Lazo.
Yulieski Gourriel read out the
players’ oath and emphasized that they will give it
their all on the field, with the assurance that they
are supported by more than 11 million Cubans.
In
final comments, Christian Jiménez, president of
INDER, praised the preparation efforts by the
national selection, their trainers and other
experts, all extremely disciplined. (Alfonso
Nacianceno)
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