From the ball as from life, Garlobo is gone young.

There is weeping in Jovellanos, in the country and certainly outside this Island. The baseball player Yoandry Garlobo Romay has died. The news hit me in the face on the night of July 15th and I could not help but think of the ballplayer, more than the man.

Those of us who were not close to him, those of us who are not his friends, neighbors or relatives, those of us who do not know him, like me, only think of the athlete, in a Cuba team suit. But he, he is gone prematurely.

One of the most admired baseball players of Matanzas got into the heart of the Island with his performance in the I World Classic, in 2006, from which he returned as a hero. Those of us who lived those moments could not forget his start as a starter against Panama and his saving hit in that extra inning.

Garlobo is dead and I’m running to Google. Since his debut with the Cocodrilos de Matanzas in the 37th National Baseball Series, he completed a total of 16 seasons and averaged 335, in more than 2,000 at-bats and 1,263 hits.

Flora Romay, his mother, told a colleague that Garlobo was a short and chubby boy and that is why he was excluded from the school of initiation to the sport, the EIDE.

The boy was devastated, but «he continued to play in the pleasures and grounds of the town. Fortunately life has rewarded his tenacity.»

Garlobo was born on January 12th, 1977 in Jovellanos, land of the Sanchez family. He left at the age of 46. As from the baseball field, he has also left life very young.

Photo: Ricardo López Hevia

Written by Eva Luna Acosta Armiñán.