There's no truth to the rumour Elvis was spotted recently in a Prince George shopping mall.
But this week, don't be surprised to see Yoelvis Fiss and some of his Cuban national baseball teammates checking out the retail shops around the city. And if it's anything like 2011, the last time they were in the city for the World Baseball Challenge, stores would be wise to stock up on car tires, lawn mowers, TVs and children's clothing.
The return of the Cubans to Citizen Field is a coup for tournament organizers because when they come to play baseball, they never fail to attract a crowd. Fans love to see them play because they're so good at what they do. Opposing teams love the challenge of trying to top one of the world's most powerful baseball nations. That happened just once in 2011, when Chinese Taipei scored a round-robin tournament victory over Cuba.
Tournament co-chair Jim Swanson says the Cuban team automatically draws the interest of other countries wanting to come to Prince George.
"Why else would the Bahamas or Germany come here, you have to get the Cubans in," said Swanson. "For team recruitment, it all lynchpins on Cuba and Japan because they do almost everything together."
The team favoured to win the five-team World Baseball Challenge which starts Thursday is known in Cuba as Ciego de Avila Tigres (Tigers), a club team in the Nacionale Series. As league champions in the 2011-12 season they earned the right to come to Prince George. The Tigres finished 45-42 this past season, fifth in the league, tied with the Havana-based Industriales, the team considered the New York Yankees of Cuban baseball.
Prince George baseball fans might remember shortstop Yorbis Borotto, who played a starring role for Cuba at the Word Baseball Challenge in 2011. Borotto became the starter on the national team after Eduardo Paret retired.
Three of this year's team -- infielder Raul Gonzalez, pitcher Yander Guevera, and pitcher Vladimir Garcia -- were also with Cuba at the World Baseball Classic in March. Garcia played in Prince George in 2011 and started the 2013 World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game. The Netherlands scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Cuba 7-6 and eliminate them from the Classic. Fiss, a hard-hitting outfielder who has also played for the national team, is making his first trip to Prince George.
For the World Baseball Classic due to personal reasons, Cuba did not have outfielder Rusney Castillo, considered by a source close to the team as their best player, on a par with Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers or Yoennis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics. Castillo is on the 24-player roster coming to Prince George.
Other Cuban players on the team who have international experience are pitcher Yadir Rabi, infielder Mario Jorge Vega and outfielder Isaac Martinez.
One player the Cubans wont have is Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, who started three games for Cuba at the 2011 World Baseball Challenge, who signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Philles for six years for $48 million. Gonzalez left Cuba in February and obtained a work permit for the U.S. while living in Mexico.
Cuban manager Roger Machado was part of the national team as a catcher in the 2000s who played in the 2002 World Baseball Challenge in Grand Forks with legendary Cuban catcher Ariel Pestano.
The source said the Cubans have been interviewed a number of times on national TV over the past few weeks talking about the trip to Prince George and their ambition to come home with the championship they won in 2011 and 2002 (when it was played in Grand Forks). Cuba defeated Chinese Tapei 10-5 in the 2011 World Baseball Challenge final.
Cuba is sending two journalists to cover the tournament and the team has expressed an interest in having all of the team's games broadcast live in Cuba. Each team will play six round-robin games. Cuba's first game is Friday at 7 p.m., against Japan. Cuba also plays Chinese Taipei (Friday, 3 p.m.), USA (Saturday, 7 p.m.), Canada (Sunday, 7 p.m.), Japan (Monday, Aug. 19) and Chinese Taipei (Tuesday, Aug. 20, 7 p.m.). The top four teams qualify for the playoff round.
The final is set for Thursday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m.
