I'd like to repeat that Cuba is still a very good team. If this were to occur on a regular basis - using the mercy rule on us - it would be worrisome. |
It was a great spectacle. In games like this, baseball wins. |
It was not a gift that was given to Cuba. We were put in that pool. It was called the 'death pool,' the 'death group,' and we made it through to the final. |
Let me say that our pitchers now have a disadvantage because our pitchers usually have games where they pitch 125 pitches. And here they were limited to 65, 80 or 95. So our starters are used to playing seven or more innings. |
Let's fight together so this event won't be held every four years but rather every two, so the baseball world won't have to wait so long to enjoy this. |
Now we've shown what Cuba can do. Now we've seen the courage of the players when they went out into the field. |
Our players, when they play, don't think, I'm going to break my hand. Because the player that has money sometimes thinks, What happens if I break my hand? |
Our team doesn't give up. Our team continued to fight with courage but it was very difficult. |
Reaching the gold medal game wasn't a gift from anyone. Cuba was even included in the toughest group, the group of death. |
Some of the players are gone, but ... not all of them were stars. If we go back before the revolution, you will see that a lot of the Cuban players were playing in the major leagues. ... We have a large number of players. |
Some people say our athletes are isolated and besieged. Whoever wants to go into exile can just walk away or stand next to a policeman. Our players are not prisoners. Simply, our athletes are besieged because people want to turn them into merchandise. But they want to play for their country. They want to continue to play for the love of their flag ... They're not interested in millions. Whoever wants to leave can leave in peace. We all play without thinking about money. |
Some players are gone, but not all of them were stars. We have a large number of players. It is our national sport. All I can say is take a look at the quality of our players. We have quality and quantity. |
That means that Cuba is a great team because if not it would have lost many times under the mercy rule. But that's only happened twice. Our second-line pitchers did not come through and we couldn't use our best pitchers today. That was the fundamental cause of our defeat. |
The fans should be happy. That was a great show. They got to watch what baseball is in Cuba. |
The most important thing is that baseball and the sport won. The quality of Cuban baseball was demonstrated. |