Kendrys Morales - Cuban Career

Cuban Career

Morales played in Cuba's equivalent of the United States' Triple-A level. With 16- to 17-year-olds in the category, he was the first starter of the pitching staff, and fourth in the batting order, and had the ability to hit home runs from both sides of the plate.

Morales joined the Cuban national baseball team in 2002 and immediately became a star player—despite being the first teenager to make the team in nearly twenty years. He was the cleanup hitter on the team during its dramatic 2003 World Cup championship. His grand slam in the final round against Taiwan secured a 6–3 Cuban victory, one game after hitting a home run that provided the winning runs against Brazil.

In his first—of two and a half—full season with Havana's Industriales, in 2002, Morales had a batting average of .324 with 21 home runs and 82 RBI, and pitched in a game during the regular season, setting seven rookie records in the process (including HR and RBI); and obviously becoming Rookie of the Year, being considered the best rookie history of Cuban baseball. In his second season, although he did not hit as many home runs as in his rookie season, due to a lesion, he finished with a .391 batting average.

Morales' stardom in Cuba was short-lived, however. He was sent back to Cuba from Panama during the Olympic qualifying round in November 2003 for making contact with an agent. It was the last time he would suit up as a Cuban.