Eduardo Paret Pérez (born October 23, 1972 in Santa Clara) is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

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 ...

player. He is a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

for Villa Clara 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. ...

, and for 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 de ...

. Paret was the starting shortstop on the Cuban teams that won

gold medals 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 bee ...

at the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

and 2004 Summer Olympics and second place at the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puer ...

. He was named

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 ...

of the 2005 World Cup of Baseball after going 12 for 19 with 8 stolen bases in the tournament. In July 1997, Paret and his Villa Clara teammates Osmani García and Angel López spoke with Cuban defector

Rolando Arrojo Luis Rolando Arrojo Avila (born July 18, 1965) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched from to . Arrojo made his mark with the teams from Villa Clara in the Cuban National Series, where he still is the all-time leader in hit b ...

by telephone. As a result, they were banned from Cuban baseball for "maintaining contact with baseball traitors." The ban has since been lifted. On July 28, 2006,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

.com reported that Paret and Yulieski Gurriel had defected from Cuba and into Colombia. . Days later, Gurriel denied the report.

References

External links

* 1972 births Living people People from Santa Clara, Cuba Banned Cuban baseball players Olympic baseball players of Cuba Olympic silver medalists for Cuba Olympic gold medalists for Cuba Olympic medalists in baseball Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Baseball players at the 1995 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Pan American Games 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 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games {{Cuba-baseball-shortstop-stub