Beginning of Cuban Baseball 53rd Series Confirmed for Nov. 3

The 53rd Cuban Baseball Series will begin on Nov. 3 in the central city of Santa Clara, 206 km east of the capital, the Baseball National Federation confirmed last Wednesday.

The official inauguration will be held at the Augusto Cesar Sandino stadium with a duel between the reigning champion, Villa Clara and runner-up Matanzas.

However, unlike previous tournaments, season openers will be held simultaneously in seven other stadiums around the country.

Isla de la Juventud and Pinar del Rio will also play in the first subseries Nov. 3-5, in the Capitan San Luis park; the Las Tunas-Artemisa game will be held at the 26 de Julio park of the latter city; and the Cienfuegos-Mayabeque game will take place at the Nelson Fernandez park.

Industriales will also flex its muscles against Santiago de Cuba, at the Guillermon Moncada stadium. Sancti Spíritus will face Guantánamo at the Nguyen Van Troi park; Ciego de Ávila will meet Holguín as visitor, at the José Ramón Cepero; and Granma will have Camaguey as its opponent at the Cándido González.

The game between Granma and Camaguey could change somewhat due to the interest of Granma provincial authorities in hosting the subseries, as it coincides with the 500th anniversary of the city of Bayamo, which was founded on Nov. 5, 1513.

The Federation also informed that as of Dec. 30 there will be a New Year’s break and games will restart on Saturday, Jan. 4, with the selection of reinforcements for the playoffs. The next day, the All-Star game will be held.

The second part of the series runs Jan. 11-March 17 with a Jan. 30-Feb. 10 recess for the Caribbean Series, if Cuba’s presence is finally approved, with the team of Villa Clara representing the country.