Adolis García, Yennier Cano and Lourdes Gurriel Jr have seen each before, not only did they play together in Cuba, but they were also part of the Tigres de Ciego de Ávila squad that competed for Cuba in the 2016 Serie del Caribe. The three players reunited on the field in tonight’s All-Star Game in Seattle.
Garcia who went hitless in tonight’s contest hit .207 during that Caribbean Series but was key in Cuba’s extra-inning 4-2 victory over the Dominican Republic champion Leones del Escogido smacking a two-run single off then big-leaguer Rafael Soriano. The outfielder leads MLB this year with 71 RBIs.
In Gurriel’s case he was a heralded prospect during that tournament, but only hit miniscule .182 during the competition. This season the native of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba has been a key bat for Arizona slashing .263/.316/.493/.809 with 15 roundtrippers and 54 runs batted in. The slugger went 1-for-2 in tonight’s game having a key homerun overturned by replay in the 7th inning.
Cano only threw four pitches in Cuba’s victory over DR yielding a walk. This season has been a breakout year for the flamethrowing righty has arguably been the best setup man in baseball posting a 1-1 record, 1.48 ERA and has also fanned 38 batters in 42 ⅔ innings of work. In tonight’s game he flashed his electric repertoire fanning two of the five batters he faced.
The selection of these three stellar players to the All-Star Game plus various others in today’s game and over the years show how much talent has immigrated to MLB from the largest of the antilles.