Norberto González Miranda (born 10 October 1979) is a former baseball player who was a left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Cuban national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team () represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is generally made up of players from the domestic Cuban national baseball system, though it has at times included professional players who defect ...

and

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 178,368 in 2022. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, ...

of the

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

, where he played for 18 seasons. Representing Cuba, González was a two-time Olympic medalist, winning gold at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

and silver at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. He also won a silver medal at the inaugural edition of the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

in 2006.

Career

González was born on 10 October 1979 in the city of

, Cuba. He made his debut in the

in 1998 with

. In the

2005–06 Cuban National Series The 45th season of the Cuban National Series ended with another title for Industriales. Though the Lions failed to win their division, they won close-fought series throughout the playoffs and won their 11th championship. Regular season standings ...

, pitching alongside national team stalwarts

Yosvani Pérez Yosvani Pérez Ruiz (born January 23, 1974, in Rodas, Cienfuegos Province, Cuba) is a left-handed pitcher for Cienfuegos of the Cuban National Series, and the Cuban national baseball team. Pérez was part of the Cuban roster at the 2006 Wo ...

and

Adiel Palma Adiel Palma López (born August 20, 1970) is a Cuban left-handed pitcher for the Cuban national baseball team and Cienfuegos of the Cuban National Series. Palma was on the gold medal-winning Cuban team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver ...

, González maintained a 3.97

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

and notched 90

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 133 innings. However, his record was only 6–10, as Cienfuegos stumbled to a 35–54 record. In 2009, he reached 100 wins in the Cuban National Series. González announced his retirement at the end of the

2012–13 Cuban National Series The 2012–13 Cuban National Series was the 52nd season of the league. Villa Clara defeated Matanzas in the series' final round. The season involved a pause of approximately eight weeks, to allow players of the Cuba national baseball team to part ...

after 16 seasons with Cienfuegos, and a record of 139 wins and 121 losses. However, in April 2014 it was reported that González would join

Italian Baseball League The Italian Baseball League (IBL, ), officially known as the Serie A (), is the top-level baseball league in Italy. Founded in 1948, it is governed by the Italian Baseball & Softball Federation (FIBS), which has its headquarters in Rome. Many o ...

team Netunno 2, where he played in 2014 and 2015.

International career

In 2006, González was selected to represent Cuba at the inaugural World Baseball Classic, where he played as a reliever. He substituted Vicyohandri Odelín (who had replaced starter Ormari Romero) in the final game against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the first inning after Romero and Odelín allowed four runs. He pitched 3.1 innings, giving up no runs, and was replaced by

Yadier Pedroso Yadier Pedroso González (June 9, 1986 – March 16, 2013), born in Guanajay, Havana Province, Cuba, was a right-handed pitcher for the Cuban national baseball team and La Habana of the Cuban National Series. Pedroso was part of the Cuban team ...

in the fifth inning. Cuba would go on to lose the game 6–10. González was part of the Cuban team that participated in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

and

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

Personal life

González has two sons, Andy and Alex, who also play baseball. In June 2024, he and his sons left Cuba for the Dominican Republic, where they settled in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

to train at the Yuan Pino Academy, hoping to sign with a Major League Baseball team.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Norberto 1979 births Living people 2005 Baseball World Cup players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Olympic baseball players for Cuba Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Olympic silver medalists for Cuba Olympic gold medalists for Cuba Olympic medalists in baseball 2013 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2015 WBSC Premier12 players Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Pan American Games gold medalists in baseball Pan American Games bronze medalists in baseball Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Baseball players from Cienfuegos Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Italy