Liván Moinelo continues reaping successes in Japanese baseball

August 23, 2020

The star Cuban pitcher Liván Moinelo works every day (or almost) in professional Japanese baseball.

He has brief participation in games, but very efficient: one inning each time, at the level of the eighth, to secure the victories of his Softbank Hawks.

It is a highly specialized job, in which control, velocity and good breaking pitches decide the fate of games that are almost always close on the scoreboard.

The Pinar del Río native has taken the pulse of the Japanese circuit, a league of rigor in which while home runs are not hit excessively, getting outs is not exactly a simple matter either, as tact and intelligence to decipher pitches abound in the opposing batter's box.

The numbers leave no doubt about the effectiveness of the Cuban right-hander, who after 27 appearances on the mound exhibits an ERA of 1.73 and a WHIP of 1.23.

The Hawks are not just another team in Japan's main baseball event, but the most important one in the last three years, when they dominated unquestionably in the Japan Series.

Therefore, Moinelo's work takes on importance and is better appreciated when we talk about 21 games held and the same number of hold points (leader), one save and just one loss.

In 26 official innings of action, the left-hander has allowed 18 hits, one home run, 14 walks and just five earned runs, which clearly indicates how many runners he has stranded near the moment of putting away the bats.

For more arguments in his favor, let us remember that there are already 49 strikeouts inflicted, at a rate of 16.96 per every nine innings, and that the ratio against walks (14) expresses a notable 3.50 in favor of the strikeouts.

One more detail: the numbers of hits and walks allowed alert us that several times he has found himself tangled up with few options on the scoreboard, but he has known how to untangle the mess and return to the dugout smiling.

That "killer" left-hander was badly needed in Cuban baseball, and even more so on the national team, where his position does not seem to be in question right now.

However, for Liván Moinelo to shine in Cuba's uniform it will be necessary to keep him motivated and in perfect physical condition (between spring and summer), using him in his comfort zone and in games with a lead or with winning chances.

The Arizona Pre-Olympic Tournament, in March 2021, will provide the opportunity for his brilliant closes, which could mean the long-awaited trip to Tokyo in the summer.