On the Big Stage of the 20-nation, Superstar-Studded World Baseball Classic, today in faraway Taiwan the baseball-loving island of Cuba beat home-based Taiwan 7-to-1 in a raucus, sold-out stadium. While the U. S., Dominican Republic, Japan, and Venezuela are all loaded with Major League Superstars such as Trout, Ortani, Betts, etc., etc., Cuba this time is allowed a few Major League Superstars. Yoan Moncada, #10 and the Superstar switch-hitting Third Baseman for the Chicago White Sox and Cuba, had a homer, double, and single to help Cuba to a quick 6-0 lead in Taiwan's beautiful, sold-out stadium on the way to cruising to a 7-1 victory that is monumental to the team and to the Caribbean nation. Now Yoan Moncada and his Cuban teammates fly to Tokyo to participate in the World Baseball Classic quarter-fianls next week.
The four games at Taichung Stadium in Taiwan revealed a gritty and dedicated Cuban team, with the strong Fox Sports Network televising all four games live to baseball-loving nations around the world.
Not only did Yoan Moncada play excellent defense at Third Base and also belt six key hits in the last two games in Taiwan, he also was a vocal leader to the players who look up to him.
Above are the incredible final records of the teams in Group A of the World Baseball Classic played in Taiwan. All five teams finished with 2-2 records but Cuba ended #1 as champion for this reason: Cuba barely lost a 4-2 first game to Paises Bajos/Netherlands and then barely lost 6-3 in ten innings to Italy, before blasting Panama 13-4 and Taiwan 7-1. Scoring that many runs and allowing that few runs has crowned Cuba the Champion in Group A of the World Baseball Classic. The WBC guarantees $300,000 to each of the 20 teams and each Group winner also gets more money to be divided among the players. Cuban players such as Third Baseman Yoan Moncada and Center Fielder Luis Robert Jr., who are being well paid by the Chicago White Sox, are giving their shares of WBC money to the rest of the Cuban team...and, presumbably, other Major League WBC players will do the same with their teams. The USA's WBC Center Fielder, Mike Trout, has a guaranteed $430 million contract with the LA Angels, so Mike -- who also is swamped with millions of endorsement dollars -- doesn't need his WBC money, and neither do many other players in this star-studded World Baseball Classic.
This is Luis Robert Robles Jr. in his #88 WBC uniform for Cuba. As a star Major Leaguer for the Chicago White Sox, Luis and his teammate with both teams Yoan Moncada have been sharply criticized for playing for Team Cuba in the WBC. Luis responded to the U. S. media this way: "I dreamed of playing for Cuba. I left to play in the top echelon of baseball. But all the people I know in Cuba love baseball and are good people. They support me in the U. S. and I want them happy. I dreamed of playing for them in this Cuban uniform in the WBC." Born 25 years ago in Guantanamo, Cuba, Luis at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds is a very fast and powerful Center Fielder. When he joined the White Sox three years ago he was ranked the Top Major League Prospect in the world, just as Yoan Moncada also was. The informative Baseball Reference website reports that, in his three years in Chicago, Luis has been paid salaries of exactly $15.333 million dollars and he has, among lots of other toys, a multi-million-dollar mansion in Florida. But Major Leaguers like Luis only get the $40-or-so-million-dollars-a-year contracts when they reach Free Agency, when all 30 Major League teams can bid for them...including the obscenely rich teams such as the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, etc. And, while already a multi-millionaire, the young Luis has not reached his Free Agency stage yet. But, let it be known, that he is proud to be wearing his Cuban uniform in the World Baseball Classic.
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