HAVANA — A bench-clearing brawl in which a baseball player hit a rival in the face with a bat is the talk of the town in Cuba.
The melee between rival clubs Matanzas and Villa Clara was broadcast live on national television to shocked viewers Monday night.
After Villa Clara right-hander Freddy Asiel Alvarez plunked two batters in quick succession, Matanzas’ Demis Valdes charged the mound brandishing a wooden bat.
His vicious right-handed cut apparently missed the ducking pitcher or dealt only a glancing blow.
But the backswing caught Villa Clara first baseman Ramon Lunar in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Arnaldo Soler is a 23-year-old student in Havana. He called the incident “an embarrassment” for Cuban baseball.