2024-02-14 01:06:43
Text: Editorial Cuba Noticias 360
Foto: RL Hevia
Venezuelan José Tello spoiled Cuba’s party in the grand final of the Home Run Derby held at the Victoria de Girón as part of the Cuban baseball All-Star Series. The number 16 of the South American team, with his shirt untucked and cap turned backwards, sent nine balls into the stands of the Matanzas stadium to win the champion trophy.
His compatriot Juan Carlos Torres was one home run away, as well as Granma’s Yordanis Samón, in a competition developed in a time of two minutes with a 30-second rest. The last and fourth place belonged to Rafael Viñales from Las Tunas, who this time could only hit five home runs.
One of the special moments of the afternoon came with the presentation of the winning prize to Tello by two baseball legends in Matanzas: Wilfredo Sánchez and Lázaro Junco, the latter the first Cuban player to reach the figure. of 400 home runs and one of the greatest hitters of all time on the island.
Beyond the expectations generated by the Derby, an event that is always appreciated by the fans, the highlight of the day was the clash between the two Cuban teams participating in the quadrangular that did not leave anyone indifferent. No less than a whopping 30 runs were produced between both teams, although in the end the local team came out with a smile on their face.
With a score of 19-11, Armando Ferrer’s Crocodiles broke the undefeated record of the Stars led by Yuliesky González, who had just defeated the two foreign teams. The spotlight of this dissertation of hits went to Yurisbel Gracial, who showed that his MVP of the last Elite League was no coincidence and now hit a home run with the bases loaded.
For the losers, catcher Ariel Pestano Jr. stood out with his second homer of the contest, while veteran Dennis Laza also hit another ball out of the park.
Early in the day, Mexico registered the second victory of the contest at the expense of Venezuela with a narrow score of 6-5, to cause a triple tie at the top, with a balance of 2-1, along with the two representative teams. from Cuba.
However, the tiebreaker system places Matanzas in first place, so now in one of the semifinals a Venezuelan team that has not yet won in three presentations. In the other match, the stellar team will face the Mexicans for the other ticket to the final on Thursday.