Although the fifth World Baseball Classic is still five months away, it seems that, if the starters do their job of advancing the game, Cuba could be able to achieve the goal of advancing to the second round of the demanding competition. At least that is what can be glimpsed, if we look at the endorsements of the three relievers who shone in the Japanese Professional League.
In that circuit, recognized as the second highest level on the planet, in which pitching is one of the finest, the names of Raidel Martinez, Yariel Rodriguez and Livan Moinelo were the top of the headlines of many media outlets.
There is no doubt that Martinez was the great protagonist of the show on the mound. We already know that he won the Most Valuable Player award for his team, and that he finished as the leader in games saved becoming the third Latino to win this award, according to the specialized site beisboljapones.com. The award had been previously achieved by the Dominican Rafael Dolis, in 2017, with 37 saves, and the Venezuelan Roberto Suárez, author on two occasions of that feat, first in 2020, with 45, and last year, with 42.
However, what is amazing about the Pinar del Río-born player is his indicators throughout the campaign, which at the end of the regular calendar were as follows: in 55 innings and two thirds he struck out 62 opponents, gave away a pallid 12 tickets, was hit for an anemic 157, and his effectiveness was 0.97 clean runs per nine-inning game. In other words, it is difficult for the opponent to step on the mound when the lanky shortstop is on the mound.
The Camagüey-born Rodríguez, with 1.15 ERA and 60 strikeouts, received the award for best middle reliever, which is the pitcher who comes to preserve the lead. He reached 45 games in which he fulfilled this task, an award he shared with Atsuki Yuasa, who reached the same mark. Dominicans Marcos Mateo (43, in 2017) and Joely Rodríguez (44, in 2019) and Cuban Liván Moinelo (40, in 2022) had been the only Latinos to achieve that award before him.
Moinelo himself, with the SoftBank Falcons, back in the Japanese postseason, signed a 24-game save streak and a 1.03 ERA. But keep in mind that he struck out 87, giving him an average of 14.87 strikeouts per nine-inning game.
Unlike Raidel Martinez and Yariel Rodriguez, members of the Chunichi Dragons, out of contention for the first four places in the league, Moinelo will continue on the field, as his team will be facing Seibu Lions on Friday. The left-hander from Pinar del Río will be joined by Yurisbel Gracial and Alfredo Despaigne.
By the way, the strong slugger from Granma sent a message to SoftBank, since he is in the last year of his contract. In September he had a phenomenal closing of the season, with seven homers out of the 14 he hit in the season, in which he had an offensive performance of 269 average, 338 slugging percentage, 444 slugging and 783 ops, with 40 runs batted in.
As the Japanese stadiums opened last Friday for their postseason, let us review their format, which is different from ours and that of the MLB in the United States. The league has two segments, Central and Pacific. In the first, the Yakult Swallows finished on top, and in the other, the Orix Buffaloes dominated. Both are seeded for the final of each zone, with the Swallows awaiting the winner between the Dena Stars and Hanshin Tigers, occupants of second and third place in the central zone, while the Buffaloes await the winner between the Falcons and the Lions. The champions of each group will play for the championship.
Translated by ESTI
