Nine Cuban players will compete in the , which kick off this Tuesday with the wild card round. They are spread across seven of the 12 teams qualified for the postseason, in both the American League and the National League.
The most exciting matchup of the first round features two Cubans facing each other: Yordan Álvarez of the Houston Astros and Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox will go head-to-head in the American League Wild Card Series.
Álvarez arrives at the postseason as the best Cuban hitter of the season. The outfielder finished the campaign with the American League batting title, boasting an average of .316, along with 42 home runs, 106 RBIs, 109 walks, and an OPS of 1.033 in 158 games.
Vargas, for his part, signed a dream season with Chicago: a .250 batting average, 33 home runs, 93 RBIs, 106 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases in 159 games, numbers that establish him as one of the most complete players of the season.
The Tampa Bay Rays, the number one seed in the American League with a record of 98-64, are bringing two Cubans to the postseason. Yandy Díaz led the American League in hits with 180 and finished with a batting average of .293, 22 home runs, and 85 RBIs; he was a key player in the capture of the divisional title in the East at the end of September.
His teammate in Tampa Bay, Víctor Mesa Jr., finished the season with 14 home runs and 34 RBIs, and was recognized as American League Player of the Week in September. The son of the legendary Cuban baseball player Víctor Mesa adds a historic dimension to his first participation in the playoffs.
In the National League, Andy Pagés joined the Los Angeles Dodgers after recovering from a fracture that kept him out for a month. The outfielder returned to the active roster on September 21 and finished the season with a .274 batting average, 23 home runs, 85 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases in 134 games, also leading his position in Defensive Runs Saved, with 17.
The Atlanta Braves add two Cubans to their postseason roster: relief pitcher Raisel Iglesias and young pitcher Víctor Mederos. The San Diego Padres have Adrián Morejón in their bullpen, while Aroldis Chapman rounds out the group with the Boston Red Sox, who will face the New York Yankees in the other American League wild card series.
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