The next Cuban star?

[caulfield12]

The young star, the man with the name that buzzed with every baseball conversation I had in Havana and whose talent on the field was blinding, was (CF/RF Yasmani) Tomas. He is 6-feet-1 of thick muscle and fast hands. In the three games I saw, he cracked several extra-base hits, including a line-drive homer to left. The sounds of Tomas's dinger went: cheer, crack, roar.

 

Impoverished, isolated, beautiful, police-state Cuba is no paradise. There are reasons its people try to leave. Despite their high quality of play, its baseball leagues typically never field foreign players. The pay and conditions are too miserable. But as a fan, I will say this: Its ballgames are about baseball, and I loved that.

 

On the field, the play was fast, sometimes uneven. After Tomas threw out a runner from deep right—an unworldly 300-foot heave—the Industriales booted an easy double play. In one game, there were seven errors. The balls and infield seemed unusually bouncy.

 

After one game, I squeezed myself out of the narrow, crammed exits and walked to the parking lot. The players were trickling out a door, still in full uniform. They mingled with the crowd, which, like them, lives mostly on state allowances. Most players earn around $60 a month, while national stars can make supplements of up to $500 a month, said Peter Bjarkman, an author and expert on Cuban baseball.

 

Tomas, who is rumored to be one of the next big targets for major-league teams, emerged. He wore a Cuban national team warm-up jacket over his barrel chest. Somebody called his name. He approached and greeted a band of a half-dozen people. He held the hand of a pretty pregnant girl and chatted, just a big kid after his game.

 

The 1970s-era team bus honked. The players weeded themselves out of the crowd. As each climbed onto the bus, he high-fived the driver.

 

Write to John W. Miller at [email protected]

 

 

[Jose Abreu]

Are you sure my name wasn't mixed up with this guy or something?

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

He is a 23-year-old OF/DH.

 

Here is a video of him hitting a moonshot in the WBC this year....

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltJjQ-iTj2c

 

Here is a video of him and a bunch of other Cuban players. Interestingly enough, the video is bookended by Jose Abreu and Yasmani Tomas highlights.

 

Tomas hits a couple HR at 6:12 in the video. He is #24, and the second video (last one of the whole clip) is just a BOMB to left field. Looked like a homerun derby shot, wow.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0oBLjZ1vts

[Jake]

If you put enough of these Cuban dudes on the same team, you're bound to end up pairing up two guys that hate each other

 

I mean, you can't really make managerial decisions based on that, but I think about it

[ILMOU]

If you put enough of these Cuban dudes on the same team, you're bound to end up pairing up two guys that hate each other

 

I mean, you can't really make managerial decisions based on that, but I think about it

 

Looks "short and quick" as Hawk would say. His body looks like a combination of Puckett/Uribe/Cey.

 

Quite a rump on that young man. The male J Lo?

 

Disturbing, yes.

[LittleHurt05]

If you put enough of these Cuban dudes on the same team, you're bound to end up pairing up two guys that hate each other

 

I mean, you can't really make managerial decisions based on that, but I think about it

 

 

The same can be said about any roster. I bet it's rare that all 25 guys on a baseball team like each other, just like in any other work setting, there's bound to be somebody that grinds your gears.

[ILMOU]

If you put enough of these Cuban dudes on the same team, you're bound to end up pairing up two guys that hate each other

 

I mean, you can't really make managerial decisions based on that, but I think about it

 

Never much bought into the chemistry thing in baseball. Don't care if the team gets along. It's such an individual sport that I don't think it matters.

 

My opinion is forged by the early days of my fandom in the '70's. The dynasties of that era, A's then Reds then Yanks, we're full of players that couldn't stand one another.

[TheTruth05]

Never much bought into the chemistry thing in baseball. Don't care if the team gets along. It's such an individual sport that I don't think it matters.

 

My opinion is forged by the early days of my fandom in the '70's. The dynasties of that era, A's then Reds then Yanks, we're full of players that couldn't stand one another.

 

I agree, and when teams are winning, teammates become much easier to put up with I suppose.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Never much bought into the chemistry thing in baseball. Don't care if the team gets along. It's such an individual sport that I don't think it matters.

 

My opinion is forged by the early days of my fandom in the '70's. The dynasties of that era, A's then Reds then Yanks, we're full of players that couldn't stand one another.

 

I think chemistry helps teams that aren't talented enough to be better. I don't think it will ever stop a highly talented team from being bad, and I don't think it would ever make a really bad team good, but I think it can boost an average team with low expectations in to being a playoff team when everyone has fun and loves playing with each other.

[SoxAce]

I agree, and when teams are winning, teammates become much easier to put up with I suppose.

 

I've had Don Cooper's quote at the top of my sig (well.. sigs.. as I've had a few, but his quote has always stayed... as well as Oizo ) since 2005. Every year the chemistry thing comes up and every year it usually gets squashed.

Edited December 28, 2013 by SoxAce

[Jake]

The same can be said about any roster. I bet it's rare that all 25 guys on a baseball team like each other, just like in any other work setting, there's bound to be somebody that grinds your gears.

 

It's not so much that I would be dissuaded by the thought that they aren't all going to be buddies -- it is just often floated that the presence of many Cubans on the roster should be interpreted as a reason to continue going after them, which may not actually be a good reason to justify further pursuit of Cuban players

[The Ginger Kid]

Like Abreu's highlight reel, this guy is teeing off on 80 mph hanging breakers.