Before the World Baseball Classic was introduced in 2006, the Baseball World Cup was an event held each year from 1938 until 2011. The idea for this was championed by International Baseball Federation president Leslie Mann. But it was on this day in 1998 that Cuba claimed its 22nd gold medal, defeating South Korea.
Cuba went a perfect 10-0 in the tournament and tallied 33 runs in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals to claim the gold medal. In Pool A, where they were grouped with Japan, Dominican Republic, Italy, China, Panama, Spain, and South Africa, they only allowed ten total runs to score in the seven games in group play. The Baseball World Cup MVP second baseman Antonio Pacheco claimed his sixth gold medal with the Cuban National Team.
Aside from Pacheco, Cuba was led by third baseman Omar Linares and first baseman/designated hitter Orestes Kindelan. Also, this was the first year professional players were allowed to play in the Baseball World Cup, but only a few teams used professional players. With these changes taking effect, Cuba still continued to capture three more gold medals in the next three cups, with tougher competition against the pros.
In their finals against South Korea in 1998, Cuba was tasked with facing Byung-Hyun Kim, and Cuba’s bats were firing out the gate. They put up four runs in 5 innings against Kim, with 10 of 24 batters reaching successfully. Future major leaguer Hee-Seop Choi went 0-3, striking out twice. Cuba sent out future MLB pitcher Jose Contreras, who would throw a complete game and punch out 13 batters, walking 0 batters. Antonio Pacheco went 4-4 with two doubles, scoring twice. The duo of Kindelan and Linares would go a combined 1-6, with Kindelan drawing three walks and scoring twice also.
At the end of the Cup Series, Cuba would have eight players named All-Stars for their performances on the diamond. That list includes catcher Juan Manrique, first baseman Liodel Chapelli, Antonio Pacheco, Omar Linares, outfielders Oscar Machao and Robelquis Videaux, Orestes Kindelan, and pitcher Yosvani Aragon. Kindelan also led the average, home runs and RBIs. Will we ever see national team perform the way this team did?
Photo Credit: Members of Cuba’s team celebrate their 4-3 victory in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-final game between Cuba and Australia at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on March 15, 2023. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)
