Cuban baseball is once again in mourning: on Saturday, Lázaro Madam Baró passed away in the town of Agramonte, his birthplace in the province of Matanzas, reported sports journalist Yasel Porto on his channel Dporto Sports News on Facebook, who described him as "an emblematic figure of the game" and one of the "illustrious crocodiles" of Matanzas sports.
Madam Baró was at the center of two of the most glorious moments in the baseball history of the Athens of Cuba.
He was champion with the Henequeneros in the 1969-70 season, under the management of Miguel Ángel Domínguez, marking the first title for the province within the National Series, with a record of 50 wins and 16 losses.
Years later, he repeated the feat by winning the championship of the 1976-77 season with the Citricultores de Matanzas, coached at that time by Juan Bregio.
In addition to his two crowns, Madan Baró was part of the inaugural match at the Victoria de Girón Stadium, the second largest venue in Cuba, with a capacity of between 22,000 and 27,000 spectators.
After hanging up his spikes, the player from Matanzas did not distance himself from the sport that made him famous.
"After his retirement, he worked for a long time as a coach, staying quite active and connected specifically to Matanzas baseball," noted the sports channel in its publication.
The family legacy was also evident in baseball: his son went on to compete in the National Series, although with less prominence than his father achieved during his standout years in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.
The death of Madam Baró occurs just 40 days after the passing of Lázaro Junco, known as "Papá Jonrón" and regarded as the best power hitter in the history of Cuban baseball, with 405 home runs over 18 seasons.
Both shared province, era, and the same golden generation that shaped the identity of baseball in Matanzas.
This string of losses also includes the death of Armando Capiró in November 2025, the first player to reach 100 home runs in the National Series and a winner of six world championships, marking the end of a generation that defined Cuban baseball in the 1970s and 1980s.
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