2024-04-07 09:51:42
Text: Editorial Cuba Noticias 360
Foto: RL Hevia
The spectacle that represents the Little League baseball final in Cuba has not escaped controversy either, as frequently happens with issues related to the island’s national sport.
This weekend the representative novenas of the cities of Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus will engage in a heartbreaking duel, whose winner will get a direct ticket to the World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but quarrels began to pepper the party before the voice of play ball.
A recurring theme on social media over the course of the week has been the location chosen to celebrate the grand final of the best of three games. Following the logic of bringing sport and entertainment together, the ideal setting would have been the recently renovated Natilla Jiménez baseball park in Santa Clara, a facility that has even now been enabled for night games.
However, the Sancti Spiritus team had the status of host according to the competition regulations, so such a change was ruled out, especially knowing that being local, fundamentally at this level, represents an important plus.
The sports authorities of Sancti Spíritus initially announced the José Antonio Huelga stadium to host a match for the national title, a coherent decision based on the conditions that the emblematic venue meets in terms of logistics.
However, the Roosters’ house is a park designed for adults to play and the spectacle would be tarnished before the national television cameras, when precisely the objective of developing baseball among children is for them to do so in the appropriate conditions for it.
The request arose from within the local team to move the final to a space more similar to the one they usually use. It was then that the El Pollo field emerged as the main protagonist, a softball stadium modified for children’s baseball, located next to the EIDE Lino Salabarría.
The park, named in reference to the father of softball in the province, according to a report in the local newspaper Escambray, has received intensive training these days from dozens of volunteer hands to live up to an event that has caught on quickly and deeply in the country’s fans.
Although you can still find the occasional post of disagreement on the networks – because we know that Cubans will never agree on baseball matters – the table is already set for this Saturday at 10:00 to begin the first meeting.
As for the forecasts, the balance seems to be balanced. Although Santa Clara, national monarchs in 2022, arrives with slight favoritism on paper, the status of hosts makes the yayaberos become a tough nut to crack.
The home team won the eastern zone pennant undefeated, after beating Morón (Ciego de Ávila), Camagüey and Bayamo 2-0 in the previous phases. The “leoparditos” of the center, for their part, will present themselves with a 6-1 balance after eliminating Cienfuegos (2-0), Matanzas (2-1) and Pinar del Río (2-0).
The winner of the very final will have the honor of representing Cuba for the second time in the Little League World Series, traditionally held in August. Last year, the Bayamo team became the first Antillean representative in these contests and left a pleasant impression on the grass.