THE national baseball team that will represent Cuba in the World Classic was announced yesterday, March 2, during the televised "Roundtable" program on that event, which also gave the timetable for broadcasts of the tournament on Cuban radio and TV.

Carlos Rodríguez, national baseball director, described the characteristics of each player as he announced their names, giving a summary of their playing records both nationally and abroad.

The sports officials noted the commitment and excellent performance of those selected, including the five from the pre-selection who did not make the final cut: catcher Vladimir García, pitchers Yosvani Fonseca and Luis M. Rodríguez, outfielder Yoenis Céspedes, and infielder Yorelvis Charles. These five will continue training just in case of any last-minute difficulty.

Journalist Sigfredo Barros of Granma daily commented on other teams playing in the Classic, noted the absence of top professional players, and was optimistic about Cuba’s final selection.

Experienced Puerto Rican journalist Elliott Castro, editor of the sports page of the Claridad newspaper said in a telephone hookup that there are big expectations in Puerto Rico about Cuba’s presence, and predicted the event’s success.

Fans in Havana, Sancti Spiritus and Villa Clara, representing the country’s baseball aficionados, put their questions and expressed their optimism regarding Cuba’s upcoming performance in its greatest challenge in history.

Angel Iglesias, vice president of INDER and head of the delegation, noted the role of the international media in promoting Cuba’s presence at the classic, and emphasized that the island’s strengths are discipline, unity and collective action.