Fréderich Cepeda is Cuban baseball royalty. The switch-hitting outfielder was been a key part of the powerhouse Cuban National Team for 15 years during the early to mid 2000’s. The slugger has been lethal to pitching in the World Baseball Classic.
He is one of the most exceptional hitters to never come stateside and although he has never played in the Majors he has definitely had his share of hits against big league pitching in the international arena, just ask Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka
The slugger is a key cog of the Sancti Spiritus Roosters lineup and was protection in the lineup for Yuli Gurriel for more than a decade in Cuba. Cepeda has more than 2000 hits and 300 homeruns during his career in the National Series.
“It was a beautiful thing to hit my 300th homerun at my home park, reaching that milestone was something special”, said Cepeda to the Cuban Baseball Digest after reaching that milestone. Since Cuba switched to the wooden bat in 1999 Cepeda is only the second player to reach that milestone, Joan Carlos Pedroso only having hit with the wood.
In the final game of the 2006 World Baseball Classic against Japan he drove in three runs and his late game roundtripper brought the Cubans within one of the team from the land of the rising sun. Cuba eventually was defeated 10-6, but the bat of Cepeda kept them in the game. The outfielder was part of the WBC All-Tournament team in 2009. For his career in the tournament he hit .381 with six longballs and leads all Cuban with 23 runs batted in for the tournament.
List of players who have at least one career with RBI with Cuba in the World Baseball Classics:
🔹Frederich Cepeda – 23
🔹Alfredo Despaigne – 21
🔹Yuli Gurriel – 16
🔹José Abreu – 9
🔹Michel Enriquez – 8
🔹Osmany Urrutia – 7
🔹José Miguel Fernández and Yadil Mujica – 6
🔹Yoenis Céspedes, Ariel Pestano, Yasmany Tomás, Erisbel Arruebarrena, Yoan Moncada and Eduardo Paret – 5
🔹Yoandry Garlobo, Yurisbel Gracial, Roel Santos, Ariel Borrero and Luis Robert Jr-4
🔹Alexei Bell and Víctor Víctor Mesa – 3
🔹Yosvany Peraza, Yadir Drake, Alexei Ramírez, Yoelkis Guibert, Alexander Ayala, and Guillermo Avilés – 2
🔹Héctor Olivera, Eriel Sánchez, Frank Camilo Morejón, Yosvani Alarcón, Yoelqui Céspedes, Guillermo Heredia, Raúl González, Andy Ibáñez, and Lorenzo Quintana – 1
🔸 A total of 36 players have combined to drive in 173 runs for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic.
▪️WBC 06′ – 41 RBI
▪️WBC 09′ – 34 RBI
▪️WBC 13′ – 45 RBI
▪️WBC 17′ – 22 RBI
▪️WBC 23′ – 31 RBI