Maels Rodríguez Corrales (born October 15, 1979) 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 ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

silver medalist. He set 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. ...

record for strikeouts in one season after he struck out 263 players in just 178.1 innings of play during the 2000–2001 Cuban National Series season. In that season he won 15 games while also leading in walks granted with 76. He led the Gallos de Sancti Spiritus to the playoffs that year and was eventually awarded the

Cuban National Series Most Valuable Player Award The following is a list of most valuable players ( es, jugadores mas valiosos or ) in the Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of ...

, the second player from that team to ever win the award. In six seasons of play in Cuba he went 65-45, having 1,148 strikeouts in 938 innings of work while having a 2.29 ERA. He allowed a batting average of .177. He attempted to defect from Cuba to play in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, but a subsequent arm injury derailed his chances. He was the second pitcher in Cuban player history to throw 100 mph or more and his mark of 100.5 mph;

Aroldis Chapman Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (; born February 28, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball relief pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Chica ...

is the only pitcher with a higher mark, having thrown 101.2 miles per hour.

References

* * 1979 births Living people Defecting Cuban baseball players Olympic baseball players for Cuba Olympic silver medalists for Cuba Olympic medalists in baseball Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in baseball Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games 20th-century Cuban people {{Cuba-baseball-bio-stub