Yosvani Peraza Marín (Gordo) (born 2 febbraio 1979 in

Pinar del Río Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños'' ...

, Cuba) is a baseball catcher in the Cuban National Series and Cuba national baseball team. Peraza played for Cuba in the 1996 World Junior Baseball Championship, hitting .429 with 20 total bases in 21 at-bats and 8 RBI. He was second in average and probably first in slugging on the Gold Medal winners. Josh Bard beat him out for All-Star catcher honors in the event. Peraza also was in the 1997 Junior Pan American Games. In the 1997 World Junior Championship, he again led Cuba to Gold, hitting .500 and slugging .875 with 10 runs and 9 RBI in 5 round-robin games. He was named to the All-Star team at catcher this time. He debuted in the Cuban Serie Nacional in the 1997–1998 season. Peraza hit .333/.387/.544 for

in 2000-2001. In the

2001 World Port Tournament 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, he went 0 for 11 to tie

Bárbaro Cañizares Bárbaro Rafael Cañizares Hernandez (; born November 21, 1979) is a Cuban-American former first baseman. Listed at 6' 3", 230 lb., Cañizares batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Havana. Career in Cuba Cañizares played from 19 ...

as Cuba's worst hitter. In the 2001–2002 season, Gordo batted .251/.326/.367. The next season, he hit .283/.338/.495 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI. In 2003-2004, the hefty catcher produced at a .301/.343/.487 clip with 16 homers and 67 runs batted in. He tied Loidel Chapellí and

Osmani Urrutia Osmani Urrutia Ramírez (also spelled ''Osmany'') (born June 29, 1976 in Jobabo, Las Tunas Province, Cuba) is a Cuban baseball player. He plays right field for the Las Tunas Magos of the Cuban National Series and for the Cuba ...

for the league lead in RBI and was three homers behind leader Reinier Yero. Peraza batted .326/.389/.550 with 16 circuit clouts and 65 RBI in the 2004–2005 Serie Nacional. In 2005-2006, he hit .303/.422/.544 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI, tying for 8th in the Serie Nacional in homers. Peraza kept it up in 2006-2007, batting .322/.389/.533 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI. He tied Yohenis Cespedes for third in home runs, trailing

Alexei Ramírez Alexei Fernando Ramírez Rodriguez (born September 22, 1981) is a Cuban former professional baseball shortstop. He has played for the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and Pinar del Rio of the Cuban National Series ...

and

Joan Carlos Pedroso Joan Carlos Pedroso Brooks (born July 23, 1979, in Las Tunas) is a first baseman for Las Tunas of the Cuban National Series, and the Cuba national baseball team. He was the backup first baseman for Cuba at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, tak ...

. He finished 6th in total bases and 8th in RBI. He was just 2 for 20 in the playoffs, though. In the

2007 World Port Tournament The 2007 World Port Tournament was an international baseball competition held at the DOOR Neptunus Familiestadion in Rotterdam, the Netherlands from August 2–12, 2007. It was the 11th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Ta ...

, he was far better than he had been in the 2001 event, hitting .419/~.486/.710 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI in nine games. He tied Pedro Alvarez and

Alfredo Despaigne Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez (born June 17, 1986) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He played for the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career In 2009, Despai ...

for second in homers, one behind

José Julio Ruiz José Julio Ruiz Barzán (born March 24, 1985) is a Cuban professional baseball player who is a free agent. After playing in the Cuban National Series for Santiago de Cuba (baseball), Santiago de Cuba from 2003 through 2009 and for the Cuba natio ...

. He easily led in RBI, 10 ahead of Despaigne. He tied Despaigne and

Jordan Danks Jordan Cooper Danks (born August 7, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. Early life Danks graduated from Round Rock High Scho ...

for second in hits (13), behind

Carlos Tabares Carlos Alberto Tabares Padilla (born July 8, 1974, in Habana Vieja) is a center fielder for Industriales of the Cuban National Series. He has also been a frequent member of the Cuban national baseball team, including appearances at the 2006 Wo ...

. He tied Danks for second in average, trailing Despaigne. He was also third in slugging and OBP. His dominant performance helped him win World Port Tournament

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors. In the

2007 Baseball World Cup The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

, Peraza backed up

Ariel Pestano Ariel Osvaldo Pestano Valdés (born January 31, 1974), better known as ''El Veterano'' ("The Veteran"), is a Cuban baseball catcher, and is known as one of the greatest catchers in Cuban history. He has won both silver and gold medals in the Ol ...

and got into three games. He was 2 for 7 with a long 3-run homer against Thailand as Cuba won Silver, its first time falling short of Gold in a Baseball World Cup in 25 years (and in 1982, it was because they sat out). Peraza continued his slugging into 2008. In the Cuban All-Star Game, he hit a walk-off homer against Jorge Longo in the bottom of the 9th to give his Occidentales a 6-5 win over the Orientales. He won MVP honors. Peraza hit .336/.465/.672 in the 2007–2008 season with 25 homers and 77 RBI in 79 games. He was 4th in the Serie Nacional in slugging and third in homers behind

Alexei Bell Alexeis Bell Quintero (born October 2, 1983), is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder. Career In 2008 in the Cuban National Series, Bell hit for 31 home runs and drove in 111 RBIs in only 90 games in the regular season. In addition, he to ...

and Yohenis Céspedes. He also ranked among the leaders in total bases (tied with

for 9th with 180), RBI (5th) and walks (tied with

Yoandy Garlobo Yoandy Garlobo Romay (born January 12, 1977 in Jovellanos, Matanzas Province, Cuba) is a baseball player who starred for Cuba at the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Garlobo was the designated hitter for Cuba at the tournament, where he had a .480 ba ...

for 8th with 60). His 37 intentional walks were 14 more than runner-up Garlobo as he led the circuit. Peraza was named to the Serie Nacional All-Star team at DH. Peraza backed up

Michel Enríquez Michel Enríquez Tamayo (born February 11, 1979 in Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud) is a retired Cuban baseball third baseman. Biography and career Enríquez, who plays third base for Isla de la Juventud in the Cuban National Series, led th ...

at DH for Cuba in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

and batted cleanup twice. He was 4 for 9 with a homer and 3 runs in the event, putting him third on the Cuban squad in average, slugging, OBP and OPS behind

Frederich Cepeda Frederich Cepeda Cruz (born April 8, 1980) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for who is currently a free agent. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Yomiuri Giants. Career Cepeda signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nip ...

and Yoenis Céspedes. Peraza powered Cuba to a 5-4 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

; pinch-hitting for

with a 4-3 deficit, 2 outs and one on in the bottom of the 8th against Rich Thompson, Peraza smacked a game-winning 2-run homer. He got three hits in a win over Mexico but then came up empty in his third game, against Japan. Peraza hit .329/.462/.663 in 2008-2009 with 23 homers, tied for 5th in the league. He was 4th in slugging behind

Yulieski Gourriel Yulieski Gourriel Castillo (born June 9, 1984), commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Serie ...

and

. He led with 24 intentional walks. Defensively, he was second with 11 passed balls but threw out 20 of 38 attempted base-stealers. A motorcycle injury ended his 2009–2010 season early.

References

External links

*
Harry Wedemeijer's international tournament stats
*Defunct IBAF site
Baseball-FeverBaseball guru
*
Radio CocoBaseballdecuba.com
*1997–1998 Baseball Almanacs
World Baseball Classic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peraza, Yosvani 1978 births Living people Cuban baseball players Baseball catchers 2013 World Baseball Classic players Sportspeople from Pinar del Río