(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Riccardo Schiroli and others)
IN MEMORIAM
...Higinio Vélez Carrión...
(1946 - 2021) |
 President Cuban Baseball Federation and coaching-legend Higinio Vélez passed away
Nederlands
 HAVANA (Cuba) -
Higinio Vélez Carrión, the President of the Cuban Baseball Federation, passed away on Wednesday (May 12) at age 74.
After a successful career in coaching, Higinio Vélez became President of the Federación Cubana de Béisbol in June 2008.
It was announced that mister Vélez passed away from complications of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which he battled for weeks at the Doctor Luis Díaz Soto Hospital Militar Central in the Cuban capital.
Higinio Vélez was buried on Thursday at the Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón in Havana.
Two weeks ago, on April 27, Cuba's National Baseball Commissioner (Comisionado Nacional de Béisbol) Ernesto Reynoso Piñeiro also passed away from corona-complications at the same hospital.
Mister Reynoso was only 55 years old and was the Commissioner for twenty months since September 2019.
As Baseball Commissioner, he fully executed the new Cuban baseball development strategy to make communication more fluid.
Through June 2019, he was the First Secretary of the Communist Party in the Isla de la Juventud Special Municipality.
Higinio Vélez Carrión was born on July 27, 1946 in Songo-La Maya, a municipality that is located northeast of Santiago de Cuba in the south of the country.
There, he learned baseball from his father and he kept loyal to the sport ever since.
Vélez became a very talented player (he was a short stop and relief pitcher) and always wanted to improve his skills and teach others, which made him a natural coach.
He attended the Escuela Superior de Educación Física (Higher School of Physical Education) in Havana and two of his fellow-students were Jorge Fuentes Fleitas and Carlos Manuel Martí Santos, who also became successful coaches.
Last month, Martí led Alazanes de Granma to the Cuban Championship-title.
Vélez developed into a well-respected, much-liked and knowledgeable coach, who was very successful at both the club-level as well as the international level.
As a longtime coach and as National Baseball Director/Federation President, Higinio Vélez traveled around the world with the Cuban National Team when it participated in international tournaments.
Representing the Cuban Federation, that also included visits to Haarlem and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, when Cuban teams participated in the Haarlem Baseball Week and the World Port Tournament.
When the World Championship was organized in the Netherlands in 2005, Vélez was the Manager of Cuba, whom the then led to the title.
...Higinio Vélez as Manager...
...of Cuban National Team... |
In the early seventies, Higinio Vélez became an Assistant Coach of Mineros in Santiago de Cuba, where he learned the trade of coaching from the team's Manager Roberto Ledo.
Vélez then led the teams of Mineros, Serranos and Orientales in Santiago de Cuba, before becoming the Manager of Avispas de Santiago de Cuba, one of the most successful teams in Cuban baseball.
Vélez led the team to four Championship-titles by winning the Final of the Serie Nacional (1989, 1999, 2000, 2001).
At Santiago de Cuba, Higinio Vélez coached several wellknown players, who also played for the Cuban National Team.
Amongst them are Manuel Benavides Muñoz, Reutilio Hurtado Pimentel, Rey Isaac Vaillant, Orestes Kindelán Olivares, Rolando Meriño Betancourt, Antonio Pacheco Massó, Gabriel Pierre Lazo, Alexis Rodríguez Rodríguez, Rubén Rodríguez Medrano, Norge Luis Vera Peralta and Braudilio Vinent Serrano.
Another longtime player was outfielder and powerhitter Fausto Álvarez Rizo, who played his entire career for Santiago de Cuba with whom he played in seventeen seasons in the Cuban Serie Nacional.
Álvarez also played for Santiago de Cuba when Higinio Vélez was the Manager.
Making his debut at age 45, Fausto Álvarez played in the Dutch big league in four seasons (2006-2009) for Amsterdam Pirates with whom he won the Championship-title in 2008.
Hereafter, he played two seasons for UVV, including another season in the highest division in 2011 at age 50.
As he showed to be a successful coach, Vélez was asked to be the Manager of the Cuban National Team in 1987 for the Pan American Games, which then were held in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA).
Vélez accepted the position and led Cuba to the Gold Medal.
In an interview, Vélez said that back then, he was a young coach who maybe accepted the position too soon.
During the tournament, he made some mistakes and was replaced again, despite ending up in first place.
Vélez continued his coaching career with Santiago de Cuba and became very successful.
Besides winning the four Cuban titles in the Serie Nacional, Vélez also led the team to the title in the Series Selectivas three times and the Copas Revolución twice.
In 26 seasons as Manager, Vélez won 892 games and lost 565.
In 2001, Higinio Vélez was asked back as Manager of the Cuban National Team in what was a mandate by Cuban leader Fidel Castro himself.
Vélez accepted the position and another successful period of Cuban baseball began.
In his first year back as Manager, in 2001, Cuba captured the title at the 34th World Championship in Taiwan by winning the Final against the USA, 5-3.
Amongst the players in the Cuba Team then were José Ariel Contreras Camejo, Yobal Dueñas Martínez, Orestes Kindelán Olivares, Pedro Luis Lazo Iglesias, Omar Linares Izquierdo, Germán Mesa Fresneda, Antonio Pacheco Massó, Ariel Pestano Rosado, Maels Rodriguez Corrales and Luis Ulacia Alvarez.
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...Announcement of the passing of Higinio Vélez on Cuban Television... |
For Cuba, this event was the end of an era and a generation, as several of these wellknown players retired from the National Team.
Despite that, the next generation, also proved to be successful under the leadership of Higinio Vélez.
Two years later, the World Championship was held on home-soil in Cuba and again, the team won the title.
In 2005, Vélez guided Cuba to another title during the Championship in the Netherlands.
There were more titles under the leadership of Vélez.
In 2003, he led Cuba to another first place at the Juegos Panamericanos (Pan American Games) in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).
And in 2004, Cuba won the Gold Medal at the Olympic Games in Athens (Greece).
In March 2006, Vélez also was the Manager of Cuba during the inaugural edition of the World Baseball Classic.
Cuba then was part of a strong field of participants, which included many professional players (Major League) playing for their respective country.
But despite that, Cuba showed its strenghth in international baseball and surprised by reaching the Final, which it then lost to Japan.
Amongst the players that participated with Cuba in the first World Baseball Classic were Leslie Anderson Stephes, Ariel Borrero Alfonso, Frederich Cepeda Cruz, Michel Enríquez Tamayo, Maikel Folch Vera, Pedro Luis Lazo Iglesias, Roger Machado Morales, Jonder Martínez Martínez, Vicyohandry Odelín Sanamé, Ariel Palma López, Eduardo Paret Pérez ,Yadier Pedroso González, Rudy Reyes Erice, Osmani Urrutia Ramírez, and Yulieski Gurriel Castillo, who since 2016 plays in the Major League for Houston Astros.
After completion of the World Baseball Classic, Vélez was replaced as Manager.
A year later (2007), he was asked to head the Dirección Nacional de Béisbol.
Vélez took this taks upon him and led the Cuban National Baseball Commission through 2014.
In June 2008, he was elected to his current position as President of the Federación Cubana de Béisbol.
He also was the Vice-President of the Confederación Panamericana (Pan American Confederation).
Vélez, who also was wearing uniform number 39, not only became known for his baseball-knowledge, his knowledge of the game-rules and his successes, but also for something else.
During games, he kept on walking back and forth in the dug-out, something he had always done during his long career.
In an interview he said that this was his way of controlling the game and leading the team.
He said that while walking around, he kept the players alert, asked them about situations and let them be prepared to enter the game.
...Higinio Vélez with Italian...
..journalist Riccardo Schiroli...
(© Photo: Riccardo Schiroli) |
Higinio Vélez also performed his coaching skills outside of Cuba.
Vélez showed to be a great teacher and also coached several youth-teams and gave clinics for youth-players.
He worked as a coach in Mexico, Nicaragua and Italy.
In 1995, Vélez was the Manager of the baseball-team of Parma, with whom he captured the Italian Championship-title and won the European Cup.
My respected Italian journalist colleague Riccardo Schiroli worked closely with Vélez when he coached at Parma.
Back then, Riccardo covered the games of Parma as a radio-commentator for Onda Emilia.
In an In Memoriam, Riccardo wrote that Higinio Vélez was a winner.
,,There is nothing more to add.
Higinio was a man of great intelligence.
He and I have only ever talked about baseball.
I considered him a friend.
And I will miss him''.
The author of this story also had had the honor of meeting Higinio Vélez several times.
Amongst that were the World Championships in 2001 (Taiwan) and 2005 (Netherlands), but also when he was with the team as Cuba's Federation President during a Haarlem Baseball Week and a World Port Tournament.
Before games, sitting in the dug-out, he was always friendly and always greeted you.
Higinio Vélez liked discipline in his team, but also the collective work.
He had a lot of knowledge, was passionate and dedicated in what he did.
He had a quiet appearance, but when needed he could get into heated arguments with umpires to defend his team and his players.
Something he clearly showed during the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
Despite all his successes, Higinio Vélez always stayed humble.
After the news that Higinio Vélez had passed away was announced by the Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educación Física y Recreación (INDER), many tributes and condolences followed.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez was amongst the many, who expressed their condolences.
''COVID-19 continues to claim valuable lives, hitting families and dreams.
This is what I thought when I learned of the death of Higinio Vélez'', the President reacted.
The Cuban Baseball Federation spoke of ''deep pain and a devastating blow''.
It continued: ,,We are left with his successful career as a manager and for the federation.
It will always be a reference.
Condolences to family, friends, students''.
In a statement, INDER said:
,,He always did what he considered best for Cuba and his Béisbol.
He was right and wrong, but he never let his guard down and nothing made a dent in his loyalty to Fidel and the Revolution.
Condolences to family and friends.
He was a tireless worker.
Dedicated to the maximum, refused to give in to difficulties, he always gave his heart to the 'bullets', aware that the work defended is above all.
Rest in peace, Higinio Vélez''.
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...Higinio Vélez with WBSC-President Riccardo Fraccari... |
Riccardo Fraccari, President of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), sent the following message:
,,The World Baseball and Softball Confederation is dismayed and saddened by this great loss for our sport.
Higinio played a decisive role in the development of baseball in Cuba and throughout Latin America.
His achievements as manager of the Cuba team and his excellent work as president of the FCB and vice president of the Pan American Confederation will always be remembered.
Personally, Higinio was a close friend.
I had a long professional relationship since his time as a coach in Italy, so his departure is especially moving.
His passing is an enormous loss.
On behalf of the WBSC and the entire global baseball and softball family, I send you our deepest condolences and ask you to extend our deepest condolences to his family and the entire community of the Cuban baseball''.
Paul Seiler, the Executive Director of USA Baseball, said:
,,As I write this note, it is difficult to believe that I am doing so to send you and all our friends in Cuba our good thoughts and prayers for Higinio's death.
At times like this, it is difficult to find the right words to really convey what our hearts feel.
Higinio was an incredible person in baseball, with an incredible passion and love for the sport.
In recent years, I felt that we were getting closer, and more than a competitor, I considered him a friend.
His friends here are praying for Higinio's family and for the entire Cuban Baseball Federation family''.
Stephen D. Keener, President of Little League Baseball International, reacted:
,,While there are really no words that can ease the pain and loss that everyone feels today, I hope they can take some comfort in knowing that everyone is in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
Higinio played a decisive role in the development of the relationship between the Cuban Baseball Federation and Little League International.
He became my friend during the process and I will miss him very much.
Rest in peace, my friend, knowing that the contribution you made to promote friendship between our organizations through the game of baseball was important and greatly appreciated''.
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News extends his condolences to the family of Higinio Vélez and wishes them a lot of strength with this big loss.
(May 14)
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