Norge Luis Vera: Paradigm of Cuban Pitching
- Submitted by: admin
- Sports
- 06 / 01 / 2010
Norge Luis Vera, one of the best Cuban pitchers at present, was born on August 3, 1971 in the picturesque beach of Siboney in Santiago de Cuba.
Vera, member of Santiago de Cuba baseball teams, made his debut in 1994-95 National Series (SN) with 3-0 as a reliever pitcher. Opponent hitters had a batting average of .223 in 46 innings, a performance that earned him the right to receive his first opportunities as a starter in the subsequent campaign.
Vera, with 183 pounds and 6.3 feet tall, could not do justice on that occasion, but his pitches were nearing 95 miles per hour and he followed attentively the instructions given by former star pitchers Braudilio Vinent y Jose Luis Aleman.
That, along with his great effort, made him to complete 7 games of 11 he started in the following season that he ended with 8 wins and 3 losses.
In that series he pitched 3 of his 32 lifetime shutouts, and thanks to improving his control, he struck out 48, and walked 18 in 93 innings.
Thanks to the arms of Osmari Romero and Vera, the Santiago de Cuba Wasps that included sluggers Orestes Kindelan and Antonio Pacheco, qualified for 1998 playoffs against their heated rivals the Industriales Lions.
Vera was designated to start sixth game at Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana when the Home team just needed one more victory to win the pennat. The Wasps took an early lead by a home run by catcher Meriño and the visitors won 1 x 0 to tie the Final Series 3-3.
That was the preamble that led to the victory of Santiago de Cuba over Industriales that season.
That year Vera became part of the national team and participated in the 1998 Baseball World Cup. He won 1 and lost 0 in that event and ended with an average of 4.70.
His performance was brilliant while pitching against the Baltimore Orioles in 1999 in the U.S.A, after replacing starter Jose Ariel Contreras he pitched seven innings with three runs and three hits to give the victory to Cuba.
That year he made up the team for the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, and in the semifinal round against the host team, Vera entries earned runs in the second and third innings, so he was replaced by Jose Ibar, who finished the game.
According to Arnelio Alvarez's statistics Vera concluded the 1999-2000 series with excellent results. He got 17 victories and lost 2 games. Eight shutouts, 100 strikeouts compared to 32 walks in 157 innings, with just one home run allowed.
In Sydney 2000 Olympic Games he concluded with an 1.23 ERA. The following year at the Chinese-Taipei Baseball World Cup (BWC) he won two games and finished with a 0.47 ERA.
The 2002-03 season was disastrous for him with only one victory and two defeats, but he was back to his feet in the following and along with Pedro Luis Lazo and Vicyoandri Odelín were the most excellent arms in Cuban pitching that season.
The 2003 BWC which took place in Cuba he finished 3-0 and in a great show, defeated Taiwan in the semifinals in seven innings, and his relief against Panama for five and a third inning led to the Cuban victory.
He was the only pitcher who has filed semifinal and final victories in World Cup history.
He pitched a shutout in the final game of the Olympic qualification of COPABE. He only allowed two hits and a run against the United States in the decisive match of the Pan American Games-2003; in which Cuba retain his trophy.
In the 2004 Olympics, he managed victories against Greece, and it came out against the Netherlands to pitched four scoreless frames against them.
However, the right handed was absent from the first World Baseball Classic because he was not in good shape.
In the 2008 Olympics, Vera (2-0, 1.69 ERA) defeated the United States and Japan to contribute decisively to the silver medal of the Cuban team.
In World Classic II he allowed just five hits in 10 2 / 3 innings. He pitched the important game against Mexico, which gave the ticket to Cuba for the second round.
On November 2, 2009, before the start of the 2009-10 season, he suffered serious injuries to his face which required reconstructive surgery which jeopardized his career.
However, he returned in the middle of the season and end up with a balance of three victories and a defeat.
Vera shows on each game to have the stamina of the best pitchers, those that have given prestige to the uniform of the Cuban national team in recent decades.
In that series he pitched 3 of his 32 lifetime shutouts, and thanks to improving his control, he struck out 48, and walked 18 in 93 innings.
Thanks to the arms of Osmari Romero and Vera, the Santiago de Cuba Wasps that included sluggers Orestes Kindelan and Antonio Pacheco, qualified for 1998 playoffs against their heated rivals the Industriales Lions.
Vera was designated to start sixth game at Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana when the Home team just needed one more victory to win the pennat. The Wasps took an early lead by a home run by catcher Meriño and the visitors won 1 x 0 to tie the Final Series 3-3.
That was the preamble that led to the victory of Santiago de Cuba over Industriales that season.
That year Vera became part of the national team and participated in the 1998 Baseball World Cup. He won 1 and lost 0 in that event and ended with an average of 4.70.
His performance was brilliant while pitching against the Baltimore Orioles in 1999 in the U.S.A, after replacing starter Jose Ariel Contreras he pitched seven innings with three runs and three hits to give the victory to Cuba.
That year he made up the team for the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, and in the semifinal round against the host team, Vera entries earned runs in the second and third innings, so he was replaced by Jose Ibar, who finished the game.
According to Arnelio Alvarez's statistics Vera concluded the 1999-2000 series with excellent results. He got 17 victories and lost 2 games. Eight shutouts, 100 strikeouts compared to 32 walks in 157 innings, with just one home run allowed.
In Sydney 2000 Olympic Games he concluded with an 1.23 ERA. The following year at the Chinese-Taipei Baseball World Cup (BWC) he won two games and finished with a 0.47 ERA.
The 2002-03 season was disastrous for him with only one victory and two defeats, but he was back to his feet in the following and along with Pedro Luis Lazo and Vicyoandri Odelín were the most excellent arms in Cuban pitching that season.
The 2003 BWC which took place in Cuba he finished 3-0 and in a great show, defeated Taiwan in the semifinals in seven innings, and his relief against Panama for five and a third inning led to the Cuban victory.
He was the only pitcher who has filed semifinal and final victories in World Cup history.
He pitched a shutout in the final game of the Olympic qualification of COPABE. He only allowed two hits and a run against the United States in the decisive match of the Pan American Games-2003; in which Cuba retain his trophy.
In the 2004 Olympics, he managed victories against Greece, and it came out against the Netherlands to pitched four scoreless frames against them.
However, the right handed was absent from the first World Baseball Classic because he was not in good shape.
In the 2008 Olympics, Vera (2-0, 1.69 ERA) defeated the United States and Japan to contribute decisively to the silver medal of the Cuban team.
In World Classic II he allowed just five hits in 10 2 / 3 innings. He pitched the important game against Mexico, which gave the ticket to Cuba for the second round.
On November 2, 2009, before the start of the 2009-10 season, he suffered serious injuries to his face which required reconstructive surgery which jeopardized his career.
However, he returned in the middle of the season and end up with a balance of three victories and a defeat.
Vera shows on each game to have the stamina of the best pitchers, those that have given prestige to the uniform of the Cuban national team in recent decades.
Source: PL
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