WILLIAMSPORT, PA — New York Yankees’ Cuban starting pitchers Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes, put a smile on the faces of all of Team Cuba before the Little League Classic on Sunday night at Journey Bank Ballpark at Bowman Field. Cortes was wearing a Team Cuba jersey and went to the Team Cuba section behind home plate and brought Rodón with him.
Nestor Cortes showing love to Team Cuba in Williamsport, as we are just hours away from MLB’s Little League Classic ⚾️🇨🇺
🎥: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports #LittleLeagueClassic #RepBX #LatinoSports #MLB pic.twitter.com/dUteGocbtw
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) August 18, 2024
Cortes, 2022 AL LatinoMVP Starting Pitcher of the Year, was born in Cuba, and grew up in Florida, while Rodón, 2021 AL LatinoMVP Starting Pitcher of the Year, is a Cuban-American from North Carolina.
Rodón spoke with Latino Sports about his interaction with Team Cuba and his results on the mound this season.
“We’re both of Cuban descent so I thought it was pretty cool to say hello to them, give back and let the kids have a good time,” he told Latino Sports.
Rodón is having a bounce back season after a rough 2023, which saw him battle injuries and inconsistent play on the mound. His ERA is 4.34 on the year, nearly 2.5 runs lower than it was in 2023 (6.85). He’s racked up 148 strikeouts in 134 innings this season compared to 64 across 64.1 frames a year ago.
Carlos Rodón signed a six-year/$162 million deal with the Yankees during the 2022-2023 offseason – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
“I feel more comfortable. I refined some things around the arsenal and changed my pitch usage. There’s always ways to get better,” Rodón told Latino Sports.
In his most recent start against the Tigers, he struggled and gave up four earned runs in 3.1 innings. He talked about the outing and how he rebounds after a bad start:
“Sometimes you just clear it and move onto the next one.. sometimes you have to take a deep dive and look at what I can attack to improve the next start.”
Rodón is thrilled that the Yankees are continuing their winning ways and wants to keep it going and go into the Postseason on a high note. Entering Monday, August 19, New York stands 73-52, currently tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the American League East lead.
Interview with Yankees SP Carlos Rodón on interaction with Team Cuba 🇨🇺 and his thoughts on the season. pic.twitter.com/zBwTlFSKo1
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) August 19, 2024
Throughout the interview, Rodón gave high praise to Gerrit Cole, talked about how he loves learning from him and considers him a friend off the field. Additionally, he mentioned how appreciative he is of Yankees’ pitching coach Matt Blake and all the work they’ve done together to help him improve. Rodon enjoys playing the guitar and collecting salt water fish tanks, when he’s not playing baseball.
The game, MLB’s Little League Classic, didn’t go the way of the Yankees last night as New York lost 3-2 in 10 innings to the Detroit Tigers, which showed more bullpen vulnerabilities with Clay Holmes and Mark Leiter Jr. blowing saves.
The Puerto Rican Marcus Stroman did his part turning in one of his best starts of the season with six scoreless innings and five strikeouts. The 33-year-old right-hander really enjoyed the experience of interacting with the kids and thinks that MLB should keep these events going.
Yankees SP Marcus Stroman talks about the Little League Classic experience. pic.twitter.com/TYOPJOmW4R
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) August 19, 2024
Former chief baseball officer of Major League Baseball Joe Torre, announced that the 2025 Little League Classic will return with the New York Mets playing the Seattle Mariners.
It was a unique and fun environment with just 2,530 people in attendance — pretty surreal that an MLB game was played there and the kids got everything they could’ve asked for and more, while experiencing Williamsport as a great baseball town with a lot of Little League tradition.
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