Cleveland Sports Forum

OF INTEREST

Yandy Diaz reached 50 consecutive games on the bases.

After two defeats in a row, the leaders of the championship, the Leones del Caracas, returned to the path of victory, to get a split in the series against the Zulia Eagles, and beat them in the second duel, with by a score of 7-5 in the stadium of the University City of Caracas. The Cuban Yandy Diaz, in his first at bat, had managed to keep his on base streak in tact at 50 consecutive games covering the 2016-2017 & 2017-2018 seasons when he doubled to right field in the first inning. He found three of his teammates on the bases in bottom of the seventh inning and managed to catch a pitch to his liking thus hitting the first Grand Slam of his career in any League he has played.

Cuba achieves second victory in Pan-American under-23 baseball.

With little batting, the Cuban army counted today in its 2-0 triumph against Brazil in the premiere of the sub-23 category held in Panama.

The Cubans led by the Villa Clara Ariel Pestano barely had five hits, but had three doubles. The key player was Havana shortstop Yorbert Sanchez , who had two hits, including a double, and drove the first run in the fifth inning. Lefty Ulfrido García, owner of nine victories in the current LVII National Baseball Series, won the second game for Cuba.

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Carlos Correa brings joy to his people

Santa Isabel -

Hundreds of people gathered early this Saturday in the public square of this southern town to start the Christmas festivities at the event "Santa Isabel gets up and celebrates with Carlos Correa."

The activity, which will last until night hours, was organized by Correa and his family and aims to bring joy to his companions after the devastating passage of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the country on September 20.

As part of the dynamic of the event, Correa distributed toys, took pictures with his fans and shared with adults and children. On a platform located in one of the corners of the square, several musical groups delighted the audience, while several sponsors offered gifts to all who came to the place.

"The main concept of this activity is to bring happiness to the people of my town and to bring happiness to children after Hurricane Maria, because some will not be able to have gifts this Christmas because their families are going through great needs", explained the shortstop of the winning team of the World Series, the Houston Astros, in an aside with the press.

The player added "It was a pleasure" to be able to share with the citizens of the town of Santa Isabel and with the children of that town.

Difficult days after Maria

When recalling those first days after María passed through Puerto Rico, Correa explained that it was difficult for him to concentrate and that he felt devastated when he saw how the island was.

"It was difficult to concentrate while I was in the United States and I could not communicate with my family here to know if they were okay or not. During those days, I played terrible, I did not have any kind of concentration. Baseball was not the important thing these days. When I could hear from them, obviously I could concentrate again. I knew they were well and healthy even though they lost a lot of things. The most important thing is that they were alive, "said the athlete.

"When I arrived here the thing that struck me most was seeing a different Puerto Rico. Seeing the trees in the middle of the streets. Return to the park where I practiced every afternoon, which is no longer a park. Now the horses are inside the park and the grass reaches their knees. To the truth, it was devastating to see him, "he added.

The athlete said he plans to communicate with the managers of the Major Leagues to see if he can manage aid to rebuild the park in which he developed the skills that have made him an excellent player.

OF INTEREST

Yandy Diaz was 0-2 but walked to load the bases in the top of the sixth inning with Leones trailing 1-0. Diaz was removed for a pinch runner. Leones scored twice to take the lead but ended up losing the game 5-2. Diaz did manage to keep his on base streak alive and now has reached base in 51 consecutive games.

Puerto Rico falls to Venezuela in the Premundial U23

The leader Yadier Molina said that the opportune hit did not arrive in the reverse

The Venezuelan pitchers tied the bats of Puerto Rico and Venezuela inflicted the first setback to the Puerto Ricans beating them yesterday 3-1 in the Premundial Baseball Tournament U-23 played in Panama. The Puerto Ricans, who won via a 10-0 knockout over Colombia on Friday, set their record at 1-1. Meanwhile, Venezuela now moves to 2-0.

Panama had no mercy and defeated Costa Rica 29-0 in the Premundial U23

With a super KO, Panama knocked out Costa Rica in the second game of the U23 Premundial 29-0 in 5 innings in the Rico Cedeño de Chitré stadium. The great work of Edmundo Sosa hitting 4-4 ​​with a home run, four RBIs and a pair of doubles led the Panamanian team to get their second consecutive victory of the championship.
Jose 'Chema' Caballero also excelled at 2-3 with a Grand Slam and 6 RBIs at the end of the game. John Nuñez on the mound was the winning pitcher with 5.0 innings and one hit allowed.


DAY 2 Results !!! WBSC #U23
WorldCup Pan Am Qualifier
No.16 DOM 4-10 No.6 MEX
No.9 VEN 3-1 No.11 PUR
No.5 CUB 2-0 No.18 BRA
No.15 PAN 29-0 NR CRC

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Erik Gonzalez (Leones del Escogido, SS) - 2-3, 2 H, 1 SO - It looks like the middle infielder may be showing signs of busting out of a multi-game slump. After going hitless in his past four games Gonzalez's bat finally woke up as he recorded two hits in Saturday's contest.

Ronny Rodriguez (Aguilas Cibeanas, 3B) - 0-4, 1 R, 1 SO - The utility player got some run at the hot corner his Saturday game. For only the second time in the Dominican League he ended up going hitless but it's only one game. Hopefully it's not the start of a slump as it would be a shame to see Rodriguez all of a sudden go cold at the plate when he was having an excellent start.

VIDEO CUBAN STREET BASEBALL - BASEBALL 5

https://youtu.be/12xoIJtMQgE

Championships

WBSC announces street baseball competition will take place in Havana.

Posted: November 15 2017

In Cuba, baseball is the national sport. But for most Cubans, having the gear to play the game is expensive. The perfect solution may be "street baseball" which has all the fun of the game without much of the pricey equipment.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has announced that Havana in Cuba will host this year’s new Baseball 5 Championships.

The inaugural edition of the street baseball competition is due to begin on 23rd November, and will be held in collaboration with Cuba’s National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER).

The tournament will serve as the semi-finals and finals of INDER’s Cuatro Esquinas Cuban street baseball competition, and will include men’s, women’s, mixed, and youth categories.

The Baseball 5 Championships will feature five-inning games played by five on-field players on each side, who will only be allowed to hit and field balls using their bare hands.

Beatrice Allen named vice president of WBSC

According the WBSC, the two-day competition is designed to function as a pilot in order to develop the new discipline of street baseball further after the introduction of Baseball 5 Street Baseball at the Friendship Games in Burundi in August.

WBSC has also launched street baseball initiatives such as Baseball 5 in Havana and Mini Baseball in Taiwan with the aim of building a strong baseball community over the next decade.

"The WBSC is committed to the development of this new Baseball 5 discipline, and we believe it has enormous potential to be another key attraction that will further our sport's position among the leaders in the youth space, while helping to bring more sporting opportunities to underserved communities," said Riccardo Fraccari, president of the WBSC.

"We are also particularly excited that the Baseball 5 Championships in Havana will crown champions across four categories, including mixed - this is something completely new for our sport and follows the Olympic movement's forward-thinking and inclusive direction."

Dubbed "Baseball Five", the urban variant of the game had its global debut today in Havana.

The "Baseball Five" is an adaptation of a street game practiced in Cuba under the name of "Four Corners", in which four players participate. There is "batting" - only towards a half of the court - a rubber ball using the hand and bases.

The new idea involves the participation of five players, the "batting" is free within the limits of the whole court, the bases are run and five innings are played.

The rules are quite similar between the "Baseball Five" and the Four Corners, although according to the organizers, as the modality is extended, it will be in constant evolution, and they are open to incorporate some feasible suggestions that arise on the fly.

Puerto Rico blanks Argentina in the Premundial U23

Puerto Rico directed by Yadier Molina scored his second win of the tournament. Five pitchers from Puerto Rico combined to blank the Argentina team 9-0 on Sunday in the third day of action of the U23 Baseball Premundial Tournament at the Omar Torrijos Stadium. The Puerto Ricans returned to the winning route and now are 2-1, while the Argentines have not known victory in three games. "The outcome was expected. We hit very well, the 'pitching' again was very good, very happy for that. It is what we need. The boys had more at bats. It really was a super good victory, "said the coach Yadier Molina at the end of the game. The righty Joe Alsina was the winner of the game with five and a third innings of work. He gave up four hits, two walks and struck out five batters. He was sensationally relieved by Luis Amaury Sánchez, who entered in the bottom of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and one out followed by Angel Alicea, Jose Ayala and left-hander Christian Flecha. Puerto Rico accumulated 15 hits, three of them doubles.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE (LIDOM)

Erik Gonzalez (SS) - 0-4, 1 R - Gonzalez continued his early-season struggles in LIDOM as this hitless effort shrunk his slash line to .161/.206/.161 i nine games played this Dominican campaign. The only bright spot in yesterday's outing was that he scored his second run of the season, one day after scoring his first, in the fourth inning, when he reached base on a fielder's choice. Hopefully, Erik can turn his winter season around soon.

Anderson Polanco (RP) - 0.1 IP, perfect, 1 K - Polanco has allowed only one (unearned) run on two hits in extremely limited relief duty this winter (3.2 innings pitched in six appearances). Sunday's effort continued both trends (limited playing time and making the most of it).

Henry Martinez (RP)- H (2), 0.2 IP, perfect, 1 K - Like Polanco, Martinez also struck out one batter in an extremely short outing. Martinez, however, has seen more time on the mound this Dominican season. He has allowed four earned runs on nine hits in 16.1 innings pitched in twelve games. Three of those runs, on as many hits, came in one game, however. In his other eleven appearances, Henry's ERA and WHIP are both 0.59.

Yandy Díaz is day by day

Yandy Diaz , third baseman of the Leones del Caracas , will continue to be checked every day by the medical body of the Leones after being absent in the game yesterday (Sunday) for a pull in the groin , which he suffered on Saturday in Maracay .

The Cuban arrived on Saturday with 51 consecutive games on base in the LVBP when receiving a base in balls and later he was replaced by Harold Castro .

However, he appeared ready to play yesterday but saw no action and the coaching staff expects him to play this week, according to Ignacio Serrano .

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE (LIDOM)

Ronny Rodriguez (Aguilas Cibaenas, 2B) - 1-5, 2 K - While this was not one of Rodriguez's better days at the plate this season, it did represent a rebound from a hitless effort in his last outing on Saturday (0-4, 1 R, 1 K). Even with back-to-back subpar games, he is batting .311/.324/.407 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 31 games throughout the Dominican campaign.

Erik Gonzalez (Leones del Escogido, SS) - 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 E - Gonzalez also had an atypical effort of his winter season as a whole. In his case, however, it was better than usual. This solid offensive performance got his batting average back to the Mendoza Line, with his slugging percentage also standing at .200, and a .237 on-base percentage completing an unimpressive slash line. These numbers are worrisome for a guy who hit .256/.286/.431 in 40 Triple-A games this past summer and posted a similar line of .255/.272/.418 in 60 games with the Indians in 2017.

Henry Martinez (Leones del Escogido, RP) - W (4-1), 1.2 IP, perfect, 2 K - Martinez continued his solid winter season with his 11th scoreless outing and fourth win in 13 relief appearances. Given his performance this offseason, he should be one of the prospects to watch in High-A Lynchburg next season.

Dominican League: (LIDOM)

Erik Gonzalez (SS, Leones del Escogido) 2-4, RBI. Gonzalez is starting to heat up at the plate as he now has back to back multiple hit contest. Erik also has managed to chip in an RBI in each of the last two games to bring his winter ball total to three. He got off to a very slow start in the Dominican, but lately has shown signs of turning it around.

Ronny Rodriguez (2B, Aguilas Cibaenas) 0-3, BB, SO. Rodriguez struggled Tuesday night as he is fighting his was through a mini-slump at the dish. He recently had a five game hitting streak, but the three games since it came to an end he is hitting just .083. He still has a solid .304 average and 17 RBIs in 32 games this offseason despite the very small blip.

A cloud of doubt covers Yandy Díaz

- Leones del Caracas is in suspense by Yandy Díaz . The third baseman traveled to Cleveland to perform medical examinations on the orders of the Indians, due to discomfort in the groin that affected him in recent days. "We hope for the results of the exams from the United States and the decision of the Indians to know the fate of Yandy this season and if he can return," said Jose Manuel Fernandez, sports manager of the club.

Since his first games of the season, Yandy Díaz had problems in his groin for which the manager of the team, Mike Rojas, has given him several days of rest so as not to risk the health of the player. .

However, during the weekend the injury was exacerbated, which is why the Cleveland Indians decided to call him to perform medical exams in the United States.

"He will travel to the United States as a result of having aggravated the groin in his last at-bat on Saturday," confirmed Luis Avila, president of the Leones, who has doubts about the possibility that the Cuban returns to Caracas this season. "We have to wait for the result of the test and the position of Cleveland in this regard. It is not easy to replace a player of that caliber. "

Diaz comes from playing 49 games in the Major Leagues and this season in the LVBP he has participated in eleven games with a .333 average, a homer and seven RBIs.

In addition, the Cuban reached base in 51 consecutive games which equaled the record in the history of the league together with José Castillo. Diaz, who helped Leones last season, has been on base in all the games he's played in the LVBP.

Mexico beats Puerto Rico in the Premundial U23

The Puerto Ricans saw their mark fall to 1-2 in the super round of the tournament

The Mexico team overwhelmed Puerto Rico 14-5 on Wednesday in the first day of the Super-23 U-23 Baseball Premundial tournament at the Remón Cantera Stadium in Panama.

The Puerto Ricans saw their chain of three victories stopped and now have a 1-2 record in the second phase of the event. Meanwhile, Mexico improved to 2-1.

Super Round Standings

VEN 3-0
MEX 1-1
PAN 1-1
PUR 1-1
DOM 1-2
CUB 0-2