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The Peruvian baseball team that will participate in the Pan American Games as of July 30 in Villa María del Triunfo established a shortlist of 25 players from different parts of the country, including seven naturalized athletes -who were born in Venezuela to Peruvian parents. The team is currently training at the modern baseball stadium that the Lima 2019 handed over to the Peruvian Baseball Federation.
This new baseball venue is a valuable contribution to improve the foundations of this sport. In addition to training camps, international tournaments can also be organized to have more contact with top teams. It will help improve the performance of players in the Olympic cycle and the first goal is Lima 2019.
“We compete against top teams such as Canada, Cuba, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, where big stars come from. Peru will aim to give all a surprise in the tournament. We’ve been working for more than one year, and we expect to obtain a good position. Also, we’ll have the support of our fans,” the Peruvian team coach Kenny Rodríguez said.
The Peruvian team even climbed one spot in the world ranking. It currently ranks 39 and it is number 5 in the South American ranking competing against Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina, behind Colombia and Venezuela that are top contenders. Therefore, the addition of seven Venezuelan baseball players to the team greatly improves Peru’s performance.
OUTSTANDING BASEBALL PLAYERS
Ishihara brothers, Ken and Jin, have stood out for several years in the Peruvian team. Ken is one of the main pitchers and Jin is one of the batters with the best records in the Peruvian team. Moreover, the outfielder Susumu Yoza stands out, and Julio César Vásquez is the most experienced player in the team as he is been playing for more than 32 years.
“Competing in the Pan American Games in Peru is a dream come true. With the infrastructure improvements, we’ll be ready for the competition. In a few days, we’ll participate in a training base in Cuba and we’ll compete in seven matches against Cuba’s senior and U-23 teams. This will give us a pretty good idea,” stated Ken Ishihara.
THE SPORT WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF RULES
In baseball, nine members of a team play against the opponent’s batters. The objective of the pitcher is to take the batters out of the game, and when he strikes out three rivals, the inning ends for them. As for batters, their job is to send the ball as far as possible to run the four bases of the diamond and score a run.
There is a total of nine innings per game and the team with the highest number of runs at the end of the ninth inning wins. If scores are still tied, as many extra innings as possible will be played.
It is important to remember that since the beginning of the 20th century, a group of enthusiastic athletes of Callao started to practice baseball in Peru. Although this sport was gradually promoted, it came quickly to Lima, and the Peruvian Baseball Federation was founded in 1926. Clubs were formed in Jesús María and Pueblo Libre, and more young people gathered due to their growing passion for this sport.
Video on Lima 2019 official Facebook account (click on here)
