Carlos Alberto Tabares Padilla

Cuban baseball player. Known as "El lince Giraldillo" or "El pequeño Tabares". Center fielder; member of the Industriales team. Included in the list of more than 47 players with 1,000 or more hits in National Series.

He was born in the municipality of Habana Vieja. He grew up in a family of athletes and at six years old he began practicing artistic gymnastics, following his brother, who practiced this sport, and his sister who practiced rhythmic gymnastics. Shortly after he switched to fencing, but he still didn't feel fulfilled; at 7 years old he played ball in the neighborhood, where he was observed by a coach who invited him to attend the special area of the Ciudad Escolar Libertad complex, with Venancio Perdigón, the athlete's first coach, and Domingo Perdomo, who placed him in center field, a position he has always maintained.

He has an affable character, enjoys music and dancing, is cheerful, which has made him popular among Cuban fans. He has a daughter; family is very important to him.

A graduate with a degree in Physical Culture from the University of Sciences of Physical Culture and Sports, Manuel Fajardo, he is pursuing a master's degree on batting techniques in Cuba. His uniform number is 56.

Known as "El Pequeño Tabares," he set out from childhood to be a good center fielder, based on his father's stories—who was a catcher and center fielder—and later over the years by observing the styles of Víctor Mesa and Javier Méndez.

At 17 years old he was on the Constructores team in the Development League, and before it ended he was selected for the Industriales team on December 28, 1992; he wasn't a regular player, but was given opportunities. In that first series he batted 27 times and got nine hits. Little by little he earned the position of regular.

In the 1991-1992 season, he became one of the main outfielders on the roster directed by former player Jorge Trigoura.

In 1996 he played abroad for the first time, in port tournaments in Holland where he was the batting champion. In 1999, although he had a good series, he was not included in the national pre-selection.

He has been a batter over .300 average, and his fielding in center field has been unforgettable, such as the one he made at the 2003 Santo Domingo Pan American Games against the American team, or those made in the 2004 playoffs against Pinar del Río at Estadio Capitán San Luis, and at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

He participated with the Cuba team in the 1998 Italy World Series, before that he never had the opportunity as there were men of the caliber of Lourdes Gourriel, Ermidelio Urrutia, José Estrada, among others.

He is included in the list of more than 47 players with 1,000 or more hits in the National Baseball Series; from the beginning, he helped the Industriales team, to the point that when he has been injured, the energy of the center fielder is always present on the bench of the blues. He has a popular phrase with his skin on the field said during the I World Baseball Classic 2006, which has remained for posterity. His dedication, discipline, and statistics classify him as a good player.

The most difficult moment in this ballplayer's life was when he lost his father on March 27, 2003, before returning to the ranks of the Cuba team. He would have liked to share this sporting triumph with him, as he always did.

His last series was number 56 in the year 2017; in January 2018 his official retirement from active sports was celebrated. In Cuban baseball he left memorable fielding plays, such as that of Athens 2004, timely hits, such as the home run that wasn't against Ciego de Ávila in the 2012 final. And he left, of course, his skin on the field. And the joy with which he authenticated a unique way of playing baseball.

Now he has the challenge of being the second in command at Industriales under Víctor Mesa. He says he will learn everything possible so that in the future he can fulfill his dream of being the technical director of the blue lions. He is 43 years old and is excited about his new role as third base coach: "I'm going to like this job."

National Champion six times with the Industriales team: 1992, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2010.

Champion of the 2003 Santo Domingo Pan American Games.

World Champion Italy 1998, Havana 2003.

Olympic Champion in Athens, Greece 2004.

Runner-up in the I World Baseball Classic 2006.

Records
In the 2006 national season, leader in stolen bases of the tournament with 24.
In 2002, leader in sacrifice hits with 18.
In 2003, leader in sacrifice flies with 8.