Old photos of the stellar former Major League pitcher Orlando 'El Duque' Hernández from the time when he was "sanctioned" in Cuba have been released on the Internet.
The specialized journalist Yasel Porto shared on his Facebook profile several images of what he described as the worst stage of the brilliant baseball player.
"Very rarely publicly circulated photos of when the star of Cuban pitching Orlando 'El Duke' Hernández was unjustly suspended from Cuban baseball (1996-97) and could only play in popular tournaments, like the one being held at that time in 'El Globo'," he explained.
The photographs show the Duke training at a sports facility located in the Guajay neighborhood, wearing a New York Yankees t-shirt, the team he would join a few years later, after definitively leaving Cuba.
The dream of the former pitcher of Industriales to play in the Major Leagues would come true, despite those in his homeland who wanted to sideline him and exclude him from active sports.
History changed since 1998, with a very different and superior reality that made him more popular and legendary thanks to his feats in the best baseball in the world. First with the New York Yankees and then with the Chicago White Sox, winning 4 World Series rings with memorable performances," Yasel Porto detailed in the post.
Duke Hernandez was sidelined by the Cuban regime from national and international events after his brother, the baseball player Liván Hernández, defected from the national team in Monterrey, Mexico, during a world championship in 1995.
Orlando left the country on a boat in 1997 from Caibarién, leaving behind the best record of games won and lost in Cuban baseball (126-49) before being suspended.
In the United States, he won four World Series champion rings, three with the New York Yankees (1998, 1999, and 2000) and one with the Chicago White Sox (2005).
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under: