Omar Linares Extends Contract in Japan

November 5, 2023

Former Cuban player Omar Linares extended his contract as a coach for the Chunichi Dragons, a team in Japan's minor league baseball.

The work contract is through the Cuban Baseball Federation and the institution was represented at the official signing of the document by its president Juan Reynaldo Pérez. Sports journalist Tony Díaz shared images on X of the moment.

Swing Completo reported that Niño Linares will return to his duties as a coach with Chunichi Dragons, a team where he played as an athlete between 2002 and 2004.

Omar Linares was hired in 2016 to coach the Japanese team. The Asians are satisfied with his work because he has improved the performance of their players.

Also renewing a contract with the Chunichi Dragons was pitcher Frank Abel Álvarez, who said that this team has been crucial for his sports career and that the contract renewal comes thanks to three years of hard work with the Japanese franchise.

"They have helped me grow as an athlete and as a person. Thanks to what I learned in Japan, I can contribute more to Cuba's national baseball team," Álvarez said.

While different baseball leagues around the world are improving with the presence of Cuban players, both as coaches and as athletes, the National Series is getting worse and worse, it's in decline.

This week renowned former pitcher José Ariel Conteras, who lives in Florida, stated that "the National Series in Cuba is going to end," after seeing the recent performances of the island's team in the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile.