Goodyear, AZ: Vladimir came up to the majors on May 28, 2021, a day that he mentioned with pride as his rise to get to the majors has not been easy. Vladimir is a proud Cuban from the province of Pinar Del Rio, a province that has produced many national titles and some very good players for Cuban baseball. Among those top players were, Omar Linares (considered one the best players in Cuban baseball history), Yobal Dueñas and Daniel Lazo. Vladimir began his baseball career at the age of 11, left it and returned to baseball at the age of 16.
Since the beginning he always wanted to be a pitcher and follow some of the great pitchers of his home team Pinar del Rio. Pitchers like José A. Contreras, Pedro L. Lazo, Faustino Corrales y Omar Ajete where pitchers that were the backbone of the teams winning seasons. When I asked him why pitching? He laughed and said that his hands were not good for defense and his bat performance worse. He explained how as a child developed a strong are throwing rocks at palm trees trying to knock down coconuts (that is a ritual with poor youngsters in Caribbean countries.)
From the age of 16 he began to take baseball seriously and focus all his attention on his ability to play and pitch. The results paid off and soon he was selected to the Cuban Juvenile Team, from there he continued to develop and made it to the major team, Pinar Del Rio where he won the Rookie of the Year award for Pinar. After much thought he decided to leave the following year.
Leaving your family, your friends and home at a young age to pursue a dream is not easy. I have interviewed and befriended several Cuban players who have left the larger of the Antilles to come the USA and play professionally. It’s not about the money as many might think. Though money is an incentive especially for youngsters living in a country blockaded by the most powerful country in the world and thus deprived of many of the basic items that any young person has abundantly here in the states
Another major factor that perhaps only phycologist can explain is that you can’t expect a young athlete of any country to give all he, or she must give to reach the pinnacle of their sport but has not proven themselves against the very best in the world. That is the Cuban dilemma. Their system allows for the development of many youths in whatever God giving talent they have; in the case of Vladimir the resources are there in a country that has free education and health and gives a lot of resources to develop its youth. Thus, Vladimir develops and in 2013 he reaches that peak and wins Rookie of the Year in his first year in the pros in Cuba. However, though you believe you are good, how good are you? If you really want to test yourself in baseball, you need to play in the USA in MLB where the best baseball is played.
Thus, Vladimir decides to leave Cuba in his next year with Pinar. However, it’s not as easy as just arriving in the states and getting drafted. After going to a third country and eventually coming to the U.S. in 2016 he is signed by the Reds.
it took several years to reach the majors and like many Cubans before him he reaches the majors in time to contribute his talent. Now here in the states playing for his first team, the Colorado Rockies he is nominated for the 2021 NL Rookie LatinoMVP award.
When asked about being on the ballot for the NL LatinoMVP Rookie he said that he was honored, “I am very glad to be part of this club of Latinos in baseball for this award. It’s emotional to think that you’re on a list with other great Latino players and be recognized for our efforts.” He explained that he was super happy to hear that there is an award for Latinos in baseball. He stated, “It’s good to be recognized because we Latinos are very much into the game, we are aggressive and we enjoy the game, we will always be giving 100% of our efforts.
