Last Thursday, Germán Mesa, bench coach of the Cuba team that finished in 11th place in the Premier 12, returned to the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Nicaragüense , where he manages defending champion Gigantes de Rivas. Upon his arrival he found the team in fourth place in the standings with a record of 5-9. Since his arrival the squad is 1-3 and is now in last place in the standings.
The only victory since he took over the reins of the team was given to him by fellow Cuban, Yuniesky García. The Gigantes have several Cubans on the roster such as position players Yosmany Guerra, Lázaro Alonso and Rusney Castillo. In addition to García, the pitching corps also has Pavel Hernández who also participated in the Premier 12 and made his debut last Sunday with the team.
The Antillean ,who has won three titles as a manager in the LBPN, was interviewed by colleague Agustín Cedeño from the press outlet named ‘Tumbó la cerca’ and can be viewed in its entirety on his YouTube Channel. Below, we I am going to share some fragments of this interesting interview:
At some point in life did you say: ‘Hey, I would have reached the Major Leagues?
Yes, who wouldn’t have liked to play in the Major Leagues? We all would have liked it.
During that time Rey Ordóñez debuted in the Major Leagues, do you remember?
Yes, Ordóñez was there, but he was not a star at that time, at that time the best shortstop in MLB was Ozzie Smith. I could have been there, but by my own decision I decided to stay representing Cuba.
Does Germán feel that he is the best shortstop in Cuba’s history?
No, no, not at all, a lot of very good shortstops have played in Cuba. Don’t put me in that predicament. I greatly admired Rodolfo Puentes, he was the best for me.
Of the Cubans played exclusively in the Serie Nacional, who has been the most complete player for you?
For me (Omar)Linares was the most complete. He was a complete player, hit for power, played any position, had incredible speed on the base paths, in my opinion he is the best player who has ever played in Cuba.
Why is it so difficult for Cuba to win in international events lately?
It has been difficult for us to win because regardless of the fact that the other teams have been improving gradually. We have also suffered a mass exodus. Many players have left the island, so we have to develop and use less experienced players, even with this disadvantage we are still competitive. Today that is the biggest problem that we are currently experiencing in Cuban baseball.