More Respect for a Legacy and Fewer Names on a Paper.
Our people, with their extensive knowledge of the subject, raise the most interesting and diverse questions: Why is this player on the team and not that one? What criteria are used to select the team? Why isn’t the player from my province on the team, but the one from that province is, if they have the same performance?
The National Baseball Commission, along with the manager of the National Team, Germán Mesa, announced the roster of 27 players who will represent the country in the Copa América. Whenever a national team is confirmed, debate and controversy are inevitable, and reaching a general consensus is a monumental task.
Our people, well-versed in the subject, raise the most interesting and diverse questions: Why is this player on the team and not that one? What criteria are used to select the team? Why is the player from my province not included, but the one from that province is, if they have the same level of performance?
With the final roster of Team Acere for the Copa América, one unsurprising aspect is the absence of three veteran players with proven talent: Frederick Cepeda, Yordanis Alarcón, and Yordanis Samón.
All three saw their names floated among the 60 potential candidates, but it was an open secret that the final result would be the same: once again, they would be left out of the National Team. If their names were discarded during the previous competitive cycle, citing age as a reason for not fitting the national squad’s rejuvenation plan, why include them now?
An old proverb suggests that a timely retreat is better than a defeat, and it’s abundantly clear that a baseball player, like any other individual, must know when it’s time to step aside.
Perhaps it would have been wiser not to include their names on that list? As in all aspects of life, in baseball there are figures who, due to their significance and contributions to both the national team and their provincial team, deserve special respect and treatment. In the case of Samón, Alarcón, and Cepeda, I believe they deserve it, and it’s necessary.
Written by George Carlos Roger Suárez.
