Ariel Osvaldo Pestano Valdés (born January 31, 1974), better known as ''El Veterano'' ("The Veteran"), is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n baseball

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

, and is known as one of the greatest catchers in Cuban history. He has won both

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

and gold medals in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

and also played catcher on Cuba's

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Lea ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

in March 2006 and March 2009. In Cuba, Pestano plays with the

Villa Clara Naranjas The Azucareros de Villa Clara (Villa Clara Sugarmakers) is a baseball club that plays in the Cuban National Series. Based in Santa Clara, the Naranjas have been one of the league's most successful Cuban squads over the last 30 years; winning ...

of the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...

Personal life

Pestano was born in Caibarien, Cuba.

References

External links

* 1974 births Living people Olympic baseball players for Cuba Olympic gold medalists for Cuba Olympic silver medalists for Cuba Olympic medalists in baseball Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Pan American Games medalists in baseball Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games {{Cuba-baseball-catcher-stub