By Yasel Porto
The topic of the new president of the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) has caused great debate in all spaces and platforms where Cuban baseball is discussed, first because of the duality of powers (National Director of Baseball and President of the Cuban Baseball Federation) and because many considered the task should have been given to someone else.
But apart from these opinions about the complexities of having to official positions (despite how much they depend on upper-level officials) in the most complex and important sport within Cuba, and the better qualities of other candidates, this article is related to the words addressed to Juan Reinaldo Pérez by an important official in American baseball.
It was no other than Paul Seiler, head of the FCB’s equivalent (USA Baseball), who not only congratulated the native of Villa Clara, but also set a date for a possible meeting with his Cuban counterpart.
“On behalf of USA Baseball, accept our most sincere congratulations for your election as President. As you know, both our baseball-loving nations have had a long history of competition on the field, involved in the friendship and respect of both our Federations,” así stated the message sent by Seiler and reproduced by the Cuban digital site Jit.
Further on, he spoke about the possibilities of a meeting between the two of them, aiming to draw future strategies. “”We believe that you will travel to Colombia for the upcoming COPABE Congress and we hope to congratulate you in person as well as to discuss a future association between both our National Federations.”
USA Baseball is the governing body of everything related to non-professional baseball in the US, as well as every national team for international tournaments, including the World Baseball Classic.
Precisely, the country’s victory in the 2017 WBC has been the best international result since Paul is heading this respected institution.
The main relations between this entity and the FCB have been regarding the USCT-Cuba Friendly Series. Such an event has had two main interruptions, in 1998 for over a decade, and then after the pandemic.
