Frederich Cepeda Reaches 2,600 Hits — A New Chapter in Cuban Baseball History

May 6, 2026

Veteran switch-hitter Frederich Cepeda Cruz, from Sancti Spíritus, made Cuban baseball history on May 2, 2026, becoming the first player ever to reach 2,600 hits in Cuban domestic competitions. The milestone arrived during the opening day of the IV Elite Baseball League (Liga Élite).

The historic hit came at the Estadio Victoria de Girón in Matanzas — the very city where Cepeda recorded his first professional hit 28 years before. Playing for the Huracanes de Mayabeque, his current team, he connected a double and a single, driving in a run and scoring one of his own in a game his side lost 11-10 in ten innings against the Cocodrilos de Matanzas. But the scoreline barely mattered: what the baseball world celebrated was the magic number 2,600, accumulated over 28 years and five months of professional play, dating back to November 16, 1997, when he collected his first career hit against that same Matanzas side.

Of those 2,600 hits, 2,365 came in the Cuban National Series, 136 in Liga Élite play, and 99 in Superliga competitions. The vast majority — 2,266 — were achieved in the colors of his home province club, the Gallos de Sancti Spíritus, though Cepeda has also played for Centrales, Artemisa, Ciego de Ávila, Industriales, Ganaderos, Pinar del Río, Villa Clara, Matanzas, and now Mayabeque.

A decorated international performer, Cepeda won an Olympic gold medal at Athens 2004, multiple World and Pan American Championships with Team Cuba, and was unanimously selected to the All-Star team of the 2009 World Baseball Classic by the international press corps — a distinction he shared with Japanese first baseman Tae Kyun Kim as the only unanimous picks.

At 46 years of age, Frederich Cepeda stands alone as the all-time hits leader in Cuban baseball history, a living legend who continues to prove that greatness does not expire.