Cuba to be well presented in S. Korean baseball championship series

▲ Jose Miguel Fernandez of the Doosan Bears celebrates his RBI single against the Samsung Lions in the bottom of the third inning during Game 2 of the second round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Nov. 10, 2021. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Oct. 29, 2021, Odrisamer Despaigne of the KT Wiz pitches against the Kiwoom Heroes in the bottom of the first inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Oct. 24, 2021, Ariel Miranda of the Doosan Bears pitches against the LG Twins in the top of the third inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Korean Series-Cuban players

Cuba to be well presented in S. Korean baseball championship series

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- When the Korean Series begins Sunday, Cuba will be represented by three players from both sides, all of them key members who can swing the momentum in their team's favor in the South Korean baseball championship final.

The top-seeded KT Wiz have Cuban right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne in their rotation. He went 13-10 with a 3.39 ERA in 33 starts in his second Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season. The indefatigable ace led the regular season with 188 2/3 innings, one year after also topping all pitchers with 207 2/3 innings.

Despaigne will have to keep his countryman, Doosan Bears' designated hitter Jose Miguel Fernandez, in check if the Wiz are to win their first championship.

Fernandez is batting .469 (15-for-32) in seven postseason games this season, and was voted the MVP of the previous round against the Samsung Lions by going 5-for-9 with three RBIs in a two-game sweep. Four of those hits came in an 11-3 victory in Game 2 Wednesday night.

Fernandez batted 2-for-7 against Despaigne in the regular season this year.

Despaigne went 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in three regular season starts versus the Bears this year.

A third member of the Cuban contingent is the Bears' left-hander Ariel Miranda, who has yet to appear in this postseason while dealing with a fatigued shoulder. Doosan manager Kim Tae-hyoung said Wednesday Miranda had resumed throwing and that he plans to put the Cuban ace on the Korean Series roster.

Miranda put together an MVP-worthy regular season, leading the way with a 2.33 ERA and a league-record 225 strikeouts.

Miranda, though, had worse regular season numbers against the Wiz than anyone this season, posting a 4.26 ERA in five starts covering 25 1/3 innings.

There have only been six Cuban players in KBO history since the league opened gates to foreign players in 1998. Francisley Bueno (Hanwha Eagles), Yunesky Maya (Bears) and Adonis Garcia (LG Twins) came before the current trio, and none of them played in the Korean Series.

Fernandez, who joined the Bears in 2019, won the Korean Series title that same year.

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