Cabo Rojo, PR– Juan “Igor” González, two-time American League MVP and 3-time LatinoMVP will join the technical coaching staff of the Puerto Rican National team that will be playing in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. González will be an assistant batting coach. Many here on the island are glad that he will be joining the team though many felt that he not, Yadier Molina should have been selected to be the team’s manager.
Though González has not been seen around the confines of MLB since he retired, he has been quite active in Puerto Rican baseball. González has gold medals as the manager of the Central American & Caribbean Games in Barranquilla in 2018. He also won gold in the Pan American games in 2019 in Lima and gold in the Caribbean Cup in the Bahamas in 2022. In addition, he has been a winning manager in the PR Baseball Double AA taking both, the Humacao Greys (2021) and the Cayey Bulls (2022) to the championships.
“It’s a privilege and honor to be part of the technical crew representing my country and sharing my experience with the players to give our country the best performance as our country needs it,” he stated in his press conference.
He continued, “My respect and admiration to Yadier Molina. We have always had mutual respect. It is time to help him. This is Puerto Rico, and we must give our maximum for our country.”
Many felt that he will be a key member of the team not only for his baseball experience, but because of his character and his ability to communicate with the players.
