By Robiel Vega/ @robielcuba87
Baseball is a sport full of statistics, maybe the sport with the most stats, and some of them are more meaningful than others. However, whenever a player reaches a milestone it becomes relevant. During the games of Tuesday, March 15, two of the most experienced National Series players made history by joining two important clubs in Cuban baseball.
The most remarkable one was Santiago de Cuba’s Danny Betancourt, who reached 150 career victories with his fourth win of the season, becoming just the 21st pitcher to do so and the fifth from Santiago de Cuba. Before him, only four other legends from that province had reached the milestone: Braudilio Vinent (222), Ormari Romero (194), Norge Luis Vera (176), and José Luis Alemán (174).
Danny, about to turn 41, surpassed legend Omar Carrero, who ended his 17-year career with 149 wins and 105 losses. Right now, he is tied to lefties Yulieski González (150-150) and Norberto González (150-135), but has a better .569 winning percentage with a 150-114 record.
Another pitcher from the same province who might reach the milestone is right handed starter Alberto Bicet. He has the same record as Betancourt for the current season (4-2), and a career ledger of 147-88, for a phenomenal .626 winning percentage, 23rd all time and seventh among pitchers with over 150 wins.
Another player, Artemisa’s Dayán García, drove in his 500th run, becoming the 150th player to reach the milestone. The third sacker did it in his 11th season and after 3,487 plate appearances, for an RBI every 6.97 PA.
Dayán has had some very good seasons in terms of RBI. The best of them all has been 2018-2019, when he drove in 74 runs, between the teams of Artemisa (39) and Sancti Spíritus (35) as a reinforcement. Last season he batted in 51 runs in 73 games, by far the best producer in his team. In one of his first campaigns, the 49th season (2009-2010) with the disbanded Vaqueros de La Habana, he drove 66 in 89 games.
Among active hitters, there are some who are close to the milestone. The closest are Dainier Gálvez, from Isla de la Juventud, and Yariel Duque, of Matanzas, with 475, they are followed by Ciego de Ávila’s Osvaldo Vázquez with 465 and Granma’s Lázaro Cedeño with 461. The two former might have a shot at the milestone during the current season. Vázquez and Cedeño, is is going to be more difficult, taking into account their current performance.
