Yunesky Maya Mendizula (born August 28, 1981) is a Cuban-born

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

for the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their hom ...

of the Mexican Baseball League y actualmente juega con las Águilas Cibaeñas del Cibao en República Dominicana. He has previously pitched for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

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), ...

and

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'' ...

of the Cuban National Series. He was part of the

Cuban 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 des ...

at the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

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 ...

Career

Cuba

Maya led the Cuban National Series with a 1.61

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 2004–05, and followed that up with a 7–9 record and a 3.79 ERA in 2005–06. In the 2008–2009 Cuban National Series Season Maya finished with a 13–4 record and seven complete games, and finished second amongst League Leaders in ERA with 2.22 ERA. He was also second in Strikeouts with 119, behind

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 ...

who had 130 (after the season, Chapman defected and signed with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

). On this performance, Maya won Cuba's equivalent of the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

. During six Cuban National Series seasons, Maya accumulated a record of 48–29 and an ERA of 2.51. In Summer 2009, Maya was expelled from the Cuban national baseball team; the official newspaper Granma referred to "grave problems of indiscipline", presumably following a failed attempt to leave the country without permission. In September 2009, Maya successfully fled Cuba. After living in the Dominican Republic for about nine months, the United States Department of Treasury authorized Maya to sign with a Major League Baseball team.

Washington Nationals

On July 31, 2010, Maya signed with the

. Maya zoomed through the Nationals minor league system, making only five starts, before getting the call to the majors when rosters expanded in September. In the minors, he started two games for the GCL Nationals; one game for the Potomac Nationals; and two games for the Syracuse Chiefs, combining for innings pitched and an overall ERA of 3.38 ERA. He pitched five inning in his first major league start was on September 7, 2010, against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

(which also saw the big league debut of Met

Dillon Gee Dillon Kyle Gee (born April 28, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins. In addition, Gee pitched for the ...

). After a rough start (allowing a three-run homer in the first inning to

Ike Davis Isaac Benjamin Davis (born March 22, 1987) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. From 2010 through 2016, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, and New York Ya ...

), he retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced. On May 29, 2011, Maya was recalled by the

to take the rotation spot of

Tom Gorzelanny Thomas Stephen Gorzelanny (born July 12, 1982) is a former American professional baseball pitcher who is currently the pitching coach for the minor league Amarillo Sod Poodles. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, C ...

, who was placed on the disabled list.

Collin Balester Collin Thomas Balester (born June 6, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2008 to 2015 for the Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers, and Cincinnati Reds. Balester has also playe ...

was optioned to Triple-A

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

to make room. He was designated for assignment on May 25, 2013. However, the Nationals got him back and sent him outright to the Syracuse Chiefs.

Atlanta Braves

On December 11, 2013, Maya signed a minor league contract with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. On July 11, 2014, Maya was released by the Braves organization.

Doosan Bears

On July 25, 2014, Maya signed with the Doosan Bears of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

on a one-year, $175,000 contract, replacing

Chris Volstad Christopher Kenneth Volstad (born September 23, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is a 2005 graduate of Palm Beach Gardens High School. He has played in MLB for the Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Pit ...

in their starting rotation. Maya pitched to a 2-4 record and a 4.86 ERA in 11 games started for the Bears, who brought him back for the 2015 season. On April 9, 2015, Maya no-hit the

Nexen Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Se ...

at home in a 1-0 victory, the 12th no-hitter in the 33-year history of the KBO. He threw 136 pitches and struck out 8 batters in his effort. On June 16, 2015, Maya was released by the Bears after the team signed Anthony Swarzak. He had struggled to a 8.17 ERA since hurling his no-hitter.

Los Angeles Angels

On February 2, 2016, Maya signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Maya spent the season with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees before electing free agency on November 7, 2016.

Rieleros De Aguascalientes

On June 18, 2018, Maya signed with the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. History Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning o ...

of the Mexican League. He was released on August 1, 2018. He made 4 starts and went 1-1 with a 7.13 ERA and 8 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.

Saraperos de Saltillo

On March 1, 2019, Maya signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. He was released on April 13, 2019 after making 2 starts going 0-1 with a 15.63 ERA and 4 strikeouts in 6.1 innings. After the 2020 season, he played for

Águilas Cibaeñas The Águilas Cibaeñas (English lit. ''Cibaoan Eagles'') is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Republic's Dominican Professional Baseball League, winter baseball league. Founded on January 28, and based in Santiago de los Caballeros, S ...

of the Dominican Professional Baseball League(LIDOM). He has also played for Dominican Republic in the

2021 Caribbean Series The 2021 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was the 63rd edition of the international competition featuring the champions of the Colombian Professional Baseball League, Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Panamanian ...

Diablos Rojos del México

On December 14, 2022, Maya signed with the

of the Mexican Baseball League.

References

External links

*
Career statistics and player information
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maya, Yunesky 1981 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Defecting Cuban baseball players Doosan Bears players Cuban expatriate baseball players in South Korea Gulf Coast Nationals players Gwinnett Braves players KBO League pitchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Mexican League baseball pitchers National baseball team players Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games medalists in baseball People from Pinar del Río Potomac Nationals players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Salt Lake Bees players Saraperos de Saltillo players Syracuse Chiefs players Washington Nationals players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players