Eduardo Paret Pérez

He was born in the Condado neighborhood of the city of Santa Clara

He began in the National Series 1989-1990 in which, as the heir to his idol and teacher Pedro Jova, he compiled an astronomical 366 with just 17 years of age.

He did not demonstrate exceptional defensive skills, but thanks to his dedication and the help of his coaches, especially Pedro Jova, his manager between 1992 and 1997, he was able to compete on equal footing starting in 1993 with the great star of that position.

Among other things, he was a key player in the three titles and two consecutive subtitles achieved by Villa Clara under Jova's direction.

Performance

Between 1993-1996 he had overall performances superior to Germán Mesa, which allowed him to continuously integrate Team Cuba starting with the Central American Games held in Puerto Rico in 1993. However, he had to watch the games from the bench in most occasions when he coincided with Germán, not only because Germán was the undisputed starter at the position, but also thanks to the unfair stubbornness of Cuban coaches who left the regular lineup unchanged almost all the time regardless of whether the score reflected a substantial advantage in favor of the Cubans, something quite common in that era.

Paret in the Cuban National Team

Internationally he showed early promise that suggested a future star at the Youth World Championship held in Havana in 1990. At that world championship he was chosen as the shortstop of the All-Stars and the Most Valuable Player for finishing among the top hitters and leading in appearances, at-bats, runs scored, hits, triples and stolen bases.

At the World Championship in Chinese Taipei in 2001, he returned to the National Team as the regular shortstop ahead of Germán Mesa, but he appeared erratic in defense, making three errors in few plays, the only ones he committed in World Championships, Olympics, World Classics and Intercontinental Cups, and also offensively.

After the World Championship concluded, we learned from a coach on the team's coaching staff that Paret played under great pressure. On one hand there were the usual and natural offers for him to play professional baseball, and on the other, the pressure from Cuban delegation officials who constantly checked on him to prevent a possible defection and made sure that the aforementioned coach never left his side for an instant, as well as the rigor of the competition itself after several years without playing in major international events and the full knowledge that he had to perform well, since he had a star like Germán on the Cuban bench.

But Paret demonstrated his stellar class from that bitter moment onward and established himself as the undisputed number one Cuban shortstop and integrated all national teams from that date until the II World Baseball Classic. From 2005 he was the captain of Team Cuba. In 2005 he was chosen as the best player in the World by the IBAF thanks in large part to his great performance at the World Championship held that year in which he was the best shortstop and the Most Valuable Player.

Return to the Country

Starting in 2006 his performance began to decline in the offensive aspect and in speed, although not in the power of his arm and defensive quality.

In the 2008-2009 National Series he played just about twenty games, as he received permission to undergo fertility treatment with his wife, a process that extended until 2010 and prevented him from playing until the Eastern Zone Playoff between Los Naranjas and Las Avispas of Santiago de Cuba.

His return could not have been better. Moments after taking his defensive position he made two defensive gems on ground balls over the second base bag that drove the fans wild. One of his spectacular plays prevented a hit to center field by Héctor Olivera Jr.

On offense he came to bat to a warm reception from his fans and hit a line drive for two runs, slid in with the outfielder's throw to second base and minutes later scored another. When shortstop Luis M. Navas and second baseman Héctor Olivera anchored at second, they came over in a sportsmanlike gesture to embrace someone who has been an example as a player and as a person.

Had it not been for his absence from Cuban baseball in the last two seasons, he would have better numbers than those he already has in National Series baseball. He is among the leaders in almost all offensive departments with the exception of home runs, RBIs and batting average. He is also among the leaders in plays, assists, double plays, innings and games played.

He made his debut with Cuba's main team at the Central American Games held in Puerto Rico in 1993. By 1996 he would be the shortstop starter during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games where he batted .375 and committed no errors on defense. Cuba and Paret would be crowned Olympic champions at that event.

In 1997 he stopped being part of the national team due to a suspension imposed by Cuban baseball authorities, resulting in Paret's absence from Team Cuba for four years. His return to the team would be in 2001 during the World Cup held in Taipei, China, in which Cuba would win the title after defeating the United States in the final.

Paret would crown himself again at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, winning his third Olympic medal afterward, this time silver, in Beijing 2008. He was also the shortstop starter in the First World Baseball Classic, reaching second place after losing in the final against Japan.

In summary, Paret participated in 3 Olympic Games (2 gold medals and 1 silver), 2 World Classics (silver medal in 2006), 6 IBAF World Championships (4 gold medals and 2 silver), 3 Pan American Games (3 titles) and 3 Central American and Caribbean Games (3 titles).

In 2011 Paret announced his retirement as a player and went on to coach other baseball players