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U.S. hoping to recoup baseball championship titles
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Davey Johnson, manager of the U.S. team that won the
Olympic-qualifying tournament in Havana, confirms
that its defeat in the World Classic was an alarm
call
BY A-MARIE GARCIA LAVIN –Special for Granma
International—
THE United States is anxious to
demonstrate that it has the greatest baseball team
in the world, affirmed Davey Johnson, manager of the
U.S. team that won the Olympic-qualifying tournament
for the Americas in that sport.
“To be eliminated from the 2004
Games in Athens and not winning the World Classic
where we were knocked out by Mexico, was an alarm
call for us.
The United States will have a
very different image in 2008 and 2009,” confirmed
Johnson.
The manager talked to the press
at the end of the final game against Cuba, in which
his team captured a “sweet victory”, he noted with a
smile.
The United States finished ahead
of Cuba in the Olympic qualifier, with a final score
of 6-1, thus assuring places for both teams at the
2008 Games in Beijing.
“There was a lot of pressure on
the players after what happened in Panama in 2003
when Mexico knocked us out of the qualifier for the
Athens Olympics. We have a reputation of being one
of the greatest baseball teams in the world, so
there was no way we could think about not
qualifying,” stated Johnson.
The man who led the New York Mets
to victory in the 1986 World Series believes that
this result will have a long-term significance: “We
needed to qualify at the first available
opportunity. It’s not just good for the United
States but for international baseball as well,
because we (the U.S. and Cuba) are the last two
Olympic champions.”
U.S. TO SEND ITS BEST PLAYERS
AVAILABLE TO BEIJING
“Baseball will return to the
Olympic Games in 2016,” affirmed Johnson, with an
air of conviction.
“I think that they – the IOC –
have the time to think about it and vote again. The
U.S. will send its best available players and will
apply an anti-doping policy similar to the one that
exists internationally. This will help us to come
back,” argued the manager.
The International Olympic
Committee (IOC) has decided to exclude baseball from
the Olympic program and the sport will be seen for
the last time in 2008.
“Baseball has grown throughout
the world; I would hate to see it permanently
outside of the Olympic Games. To help its comeback,
I’m sure the Major Leagues and the U.S. Baseball
Federation will put together a great team in 2008.”
Johnson mentioned that in
basketball, his country sends its best players
because the Olympics are held outside of that
discipline’s season, adding that in the US “baseball
is big business” and, for that reason, until they
negotiate a change of dates for the Olympics or the
World Series, “I don’t think we will see Major
League players at the Games.”
However, he guaranteed that “the
United States will send the best players we have
available to Beijing, something we haven’t done
before.”
Johnson concluded that, with the
pre-Olympic tournament, he had fulfilled his dream
of leading the Untied States in a final against
Cuba.
“The U.S. is hoping to bring home
the Olympic title, the same one we were unable to
defend in 2004,” he said, although he is unsure
whether he will remain as team manager.
Johnson, who also managed the
Baltimore Orioles, explained that he has retired
from the Major Leagues and is hoping to stay on as
team manager for his country, although he did not
confirm it: “We have talked about it with the
Federation, if they need me, I’ll accept.”
Prior to the Olympics, the
experienced coach has other commitments in the
pipeline: the World Cup in Taiwan and the
Pan-American Games in 2007, “where the United States
will be much better prepared.”
SIMILAR TASTES AS FIDEL
Johnson stated that before
finding out that President Fidel Castro was
convalescing, he had hoped to see a Cuba-U.S. final
with Fidel in the crowd.
“I was hoping that Fidel would be
at the game and would sign a ball for me.
I know that he likes baseball and
used to smoke Cohibas. He doesn’t smoke anymore, but
we have these two things in common,” he commented.
The former U.S. pilot first
visited Cuba at the beginning of the 1990s.
“Cuba grows on you. The longer
you’re here, you see the beauty of the people, the
landscape, the sea, the countryside, it’s like our
country’s roots, agriculture and cattle-farming.”
Johnson went on: “The people of
Cuba and the United States are similar; it’s a shame
that politics separates us. We’re neighbors.”
Johnson also praised the island’s
baseball program, which explains the level of the
sport throughout the country.
The manager mentioned how
impressed he was with certain players: “Some of them
are at Major League level. People underestimate the
first baseman and the ninth batter on the Cuban
team, (Eduardo Paret and Georvis Duvergel), but
they’ve got it.”
Johnson also described the Cuban
baseball players as “talented and fast.” He said
that “there are very few errors with the batting and
pitching, and that’s why they’re stable. Gourriel,
for example, is an all-round player; he plays as if
he were an older guy.”
Neither did the U.S. coach spare
praise for his Cuban counterpart Rey Vicente Anglada:
“He’s got a good way of working, rapport with the
players and the way he directs them is very good.”
He concluded by saying that the
United States won the Olympic title in Sydney in
2000 and Cuba did it in 2004. “I would like to us to
meet again in the final in Beijing, as a rematch,
although it may happen beforehand in other events.”
BILLY BUTLER: THIS HAS BEEN MY
BEST TRIP ABROAD
U.S. left fielder Billy Butler,
who plays with the Wichita Wranglers in the Texan
league, commented: “My greatest wish is to play in
the Major Leagues, but helping my country qualify
for the Olympic Games is something that can’t be
compared.”
Butler added: “I would love to be
part of the U.S. team in Beijing and bring home the
gold medal again, but by then I should be playing in
the Major Leagues and I wouldn’t be available.”
Twenty-year-old Butler recalls
that when they told him he was going to Cuba to play
in the tournament, “I felt a bit confused because of
everything they say about Cuba in my country.”
However, he continued: “I’ve had
a great time; it’s a great place to visit.
The people are really friendly,
and they always want to help you. I’ve seen a lot of
great things and it’s been a great experience for
me.”
“I’ve been to other countries but
I think maybe this has been my best trip abroad. I
thought that coming here, the Cuban people would
hate us because of the relationship between the two
countries, but everyone’s been really nice. You have
an idea of Cuba, but when you come it’s not like you
think. It’s totally different. With Fidel being ill,
I thought there might be some confusion, but
everything is really peaceful,” he added.
The youngster was voted “Most
Valued Player” in the Minor Leagues All-Star Game.
“It’s the fifth time I’ve been on the U.S. team. I
always try to prioritize playing for my country
before my personal interests.” |
