Ariel Osvaldo Pestano Valdés (born January 31, 1974), better known as ''El Veterano'' ("The Veteran"), is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n baseball

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

, and is known as one of the greatest catchers in Cuban history. He has won both

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

and also played catcher on Cuba's

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 ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

in March 2006 and March 2009. In Cuba, Pestano plays with the Villa Clara Naranjas 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 ...

Personal life

Pestano was born in Caibarien, Cuba.

References

1974 births Living people 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 2008 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games 2003 Baseball World Cup players 2005 Baseball World Cup players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Pan American Games gold medalists in baseball Pan American Games bronze medalists in baseball Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean 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 Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games {{Cuba-baseball-catcher-stub