The ball is in playoff mode, with scores to settle

Of course, we cannot turn the page on the 64th National Series without addressing the blunder of its epilogue, with a desperate race to make up the games that should have been rescheduled during the regular season.

Had it been done that way, competitiveness would not have been undermined as it was; no team would have had the opportunity to take advantage of another since, at that time, all were on equal footing; the always uncomfortable moods of teams with nothing to lose and even less to gain in front of others—like Villa Clara, full of aspirations—would have been avoided.

Obviously, the National Baseball Directorate must be held accountable for what happened because it is responsible for organizing, planning, and, consequently, anticipating what occurs in the season. Faced with something so sacred, one must be answerable and take the necessary measures to avoid experiencing such a painful situation again.

It’s true that the baseball season suffered, like the whole country, from a hurricane; it endured rainouts and suspended games due to darkness, but those in charge lacked foresight in decision-making. If the Technical Congress, back in the now distant last September, had arranged for make-up games to be played within the tournament, we would not be witnessing the tarnished image left by something as sacred as baseball in its National Series.

None of the teams are to blame—their players gave their all for their jerseys and their fans. Some advanced; others did not. Neither Villa Clara nor Pinar del Río should feed the morbid social media provocations that invite them to attack each other. Those now wearing those uniforms, battling for the last playoff spot, knew how to fight in the name of the rich history of those teams—two of the four giants of Cuban baseball.

We are already in playoff time; let’s enjoy it with the high ethical and baseball spirit invitation left to us by Pinar del Río’s Alexei Ramírez when congratulating the Azucareros: “Enjoy it, you deserve it.”

So, let us enter the postseason field with Arnelio Álvarez de la Uz, who loaded the bases for us with his data.