Nine Cuban baseball players will compete in the , which begin this Tuesday with the Wild Card round. They are distributed among seven of the twelve teams qualified for the postseason, in both the American League and the National League.
The most notable matchup in the first round features two Cubans facing off against each other: Yordan Álvarez, with the Houston Astros, and Miguel Vargas, with the Chicago White Sox, will go head-to-head in the American League Wild Card Series.
Álvarez enters the postseason as the best Cuban hitter of the season. The outfielder concluded the campaign with a batting title in the American League with an average of .316, as well as 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 runs batted in, 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, have two Cubans in the postseason. Yandy Díaz led the American League in hits with 180 and finished with a .293 batting average, 22 home runs, and 85 RBIs; he was a key player in the winning of the division title for the East in late September.
His teammate in Tampa Bay, Víctor Mesa Jr., completed 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 player Víctor Mesa adds a historic dimension to his first appearance in the playoffs.
In the National League, Andy Pagés joins 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, in addition to leading his position in Defensive Runs Saved, with 17.
The Atlanta Braves add two Cubans to their playoff roster: reliever 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 wildcard series.
Related videos:
Filed under: