Norge Luis Vera Peralta (born October 3, 1971 in Siboney,

Santiago de Cuba Province Santiago de Cuba Province is the second most populated province in the island of Cuba. The largest city Santiago de Cuba is the main administrative center. Other large cities include Palma Soriano, Contramaestre, San Luis and Songo-la Maya. Hi ...

) is a right-handed

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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, who has been a frequent member of the

Cuba national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been de ...

. In Cuba, Vera pitches for

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

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. ...

. He has been a dominating force for years, including the 1999–2000 series, when he led the league with a 0.97

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, 17 victories and eight shutouts—all in a 90-game season. He then pitched in the second game of the 1999 Baltimore Orioles–Cuba national baseball team exhibition series. Vera was seriously injured in November 2009, while trying to stop a fight as an uninvolved bystander in

Santiago, Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...

.Garcia, Anne-Marie.
Cuban pitcher who beat Orioles in 1999 in stable condition after blow to face
, The Canadian Press, November 10, 2009. He was struck in the face by a blunt instrument, sustaining several fractures to the upper jaw. Zadys Navarro, one of Vera's doctors, indicated that reconstructive surgery would be required. His son, Norge Vera, plays in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

organization.

References

1971 births Living people 2009 World Baseball Classic players 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 2007 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American 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 People from Santiago de Cuba Province 21st-century Cuban people {{Cuba-baseball-pitcher-stub