Raúl Valdés at his 46 years of age has made 15 starts in the Serie del Caribe and to many is a legend in this tournament. The crafty lefty from Mariel, Cuba either owns or is at the top of the list for the majority of pitching records in the Caribbean Classic.
In 85 innings of work in the tournament the Cuban hurler has struck out 61 batters one shy of the , has an ERA of 3.39 and boasts a 1.02 WHIP. The left-hander has also won six games in the series tying his countrymen Camilo Pascaul for the all-time lead.
Dominican manager Gilbert Gómez had this to say about the Cuban’s availability tonight in the championship game,”, He is going to be available, but really the fact that he has one strikeout left is not going to make us be as aggressive in using it or not. Depending on how the game goes. I understand that Raúl is going to have that record sooner or later, because he still has about 20 years of throwing left.”
Valdés who has won over 50 games in the Dominican Winter League is arguably the league’s best pitcher over the last 15 years. The transplanted Cuban also has the distinction of having pitched for every team in the Dominican circuit.
Valdés also pitched the Olympic baseball bronze medal match against South Korea, helping the DR secure their first medal in the nation’s history in the sport. If the Antillean has one more strikeout in him it will propell him into Serie del Caribe immortality. But regardless when one talks about pitching in the LIDOM or the Caribbean Series believe it that Raúl Valdés’ name is brought in that conversation.
El timonel de los @TigresdelLicey Gilbert Gómez nos habla sobre la posibilidad de @RaulValdes56 ver acción en el juego de mañana. #pelotacubana #LIDOM #SerieDelCaribe2024 pic.twitter.com/nTBJPlTUw6
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) February 9, 2024