Cuba, after two shocking losses in a row, it is
virtually difficult to advance to the quarterfinals on one’s own power, and
the glory of being the ‘world’s strongest amateur baseball’ has become a thing of the past. Cuba is in danger of packing early in the group stage of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Cuba won a 13-4 victory over Panama in the third match of Group A in the first round of the WBC finals held at Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan on the 10th, but it was not enough to laugh. The day before, Cuba had a close game with Italy that went to extra time, but eventually knelt down 3-6 at the end of the game. Cuba, which was beaten 2-4 by the Netherlands on the 8th, is now 1-2, making it virtually difficult to advance to the quarterfinals on its own. As for Cuba, they have to take on Taiwan, the last opponent in the group stage, and stake their fate on the results of other teams.
Cuba has reigned as the strongest country in amateur baseball in the past. Cuba rose to the top by winning gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where baseball was adopted as an official Olympic sport, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and the 2004 Athens Games. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they won silver medals behind the United States and South Korea, respectively.
However, he failed to participate in the finals of the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, and he has never won the WBC yet. They have not reached the semifinals since their first runner-up in 2006.
The sluggishness of Cuban baseball is complex. Since the mid-2000s, wooden bats have been used in international competitions, and the firepower of existing players who are accustomed to aluminum bats in amateur baseball has declined. Aluminum bats have more distance than wooden bats.스포츠토토
In particular, as a large number of top players defected, the ‘power leak’ effect was also great. As of last year, there were 26 Cuban players playing in the major leagues. Aroldis Chapman (35), who became a 7-time MLB All-Star by throwing fastballs exceeding 160 km/h, defected during an international competition in 2009, and Jordan Alvarez, who won the World Series champion with the Houston Astros last season. 26) Also left Cuba in 2016. Starting from this tournament, Cuba bowed down its pride by selecting players from exile abroad as representatives, but did not give a chance to players who abandoned their homeland during the international tournament. Chapman, Alvarez, and Jose Abreu (36, Houston Astros) did not participate in this tournament.