Pinar del Río (Vegueros) outfielder Roel Santos is going to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown.
At least his jersey is.
Moments after his Cuban team clinched the 2015 Caribbean Series title with a 3-2 victory against Mexico, Santos was busy signing his jersey and handing it over the Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson for eventual inclusion in the Hall of Fame’s Viva Baseball! exhibit.
“It’s obviously extremely special and it makes me very proud to know that my jersey is going to be in the same place with best players in the highest level of baseball,” Santos said in Spanish. “All of the legends and all of those big figures? It’s amazing and a big honor for me.”
Idelson was in the Dominican Republic on Saturday for the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies. He took the 45-minute flight to San Juan to watch the Caribbean Series finale.
“The Caribbean Series has an important place in baseball’s calendar as an important winter event,” Idelson said. “The fact that Cuba came here and won the event and with everything going on in that country, I think an artifact that symbolizes the time in Cuba is incredibly important. For their starting center fielder to give us his jersey helps us truly explain the phenomenal Caribbean Series that Cuba had.”
Written by Jesse Sanchez, CubaSí
February 10, 2015
