Benito Camacho Passes Away, One of Cuba's Best Baseball Coaches

November 9, 2021

After fighting for his life for several days, on Thursday, November 4th, one of the best coaches that Cuban baseball has had passed away.

Due to the virus that has so greatly affected Cuba and the world over the last two years, Benito Camacho was admitted this past weekend to the Salvador Allende hospital in the Cuban capital (Covadonga) and unfortunately his condition became increasingly complicated as the days passed.

Around four in the morning he suffered a cardiac arrest, and although there have been contradictions about the official cause of his death, COVID was definitely the main cause of his physical loss.

Since 1998 Benito was the physical trainer for the national team and general technical director, a position he held for more than a decade until 2010. He was the last one in that position who achieved great results, among which stand out the Olympic title in Athens 2004, as well as second place in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and several world championships (1998, 2001, and 2005). Also under Cuba during his team's preparation were the Pan American tournaments of 1999, 2003, and 2007, the Central American Games of 1998 and 2006, along with other events and important matchups such as the one against the Baltimore Orioles in 1999.

He was the successor in the position of Miguel Valdés, who currently resides in Miami and who maintains supremacy in terms of the amount of time in that responsibility.

His most recent involvement with baseball at an important level was his presence as an advisor to the Industriales management in the second stage of Anglada, who personally requested that he be part of the coaching staff.

José Benito Camacho Urrutia also worked for a long time in Mexican professional baseball, even as a manager in the Northern League where he remained until Industriales called him. In four of the five seasons as manager he achieved playoff qualification within the Aztec circuit and became the only foreign champion.

With Benito's death, he becomes one of the most important figures who have passed away due to the pandemic in the Cuban baseball community.