Former Cuban president Fidel Castro blamed Cuban sports leaders, including himself, for “falling asleep in the laurels” after Cuba’s humbling second-round exit from the World Baseball Classic.
Defending Classic champion Japan blanked Cuba 5-0 on Wednesday to eliminate them from the global showdown of Cuba’s most beloved sport, ending 50 years of podium finishes by Cuban squads.
Not since the 1959 Pan American Games had Cuba failed to finish in the top three of a major international tournament and not in 38 events had it failed to reach the final.
“The guilty are we who did not know to correct our errors in time,” Castro said in an article on the Web site Cubadebate.
Castro, 82, was critical of those who guided the squad, saying the team was “unobjectionably beaten and needed to get the pertinent lessons.”
“I must indicate that the direction of the team in San Diego was terrible,” Castro said.
Castro also blamed US organizers for including Cuba in a group with Japan and South Korea, what he declared was placing the world’s three best teams in the same bracket to ease the semi-final path for political rival US.
“The most important thing for the organizers was to eliminate Cuba, a revolutionary country that has resisted heroically and that could have won in the battle of the ideas,” Castro wrote.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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