2004 Olympics Baseball Champion receives Replacement Gold Medal

13/06/2012

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece the Cuban national team won the Gold Medal, defeating Australia in the final by a score of 6-2. Besides stars Yulieski Gourriel, Frederich Cepeda, Pedro Lazo and Ariel Pestano, Cuba also featured a young shortstop from Pinar del Rio.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece the Cuban national team won the Gold Medal, defeating Australia in the final by a score of 6-2. Besides stars Yulieski Gourriel, Frederich Cepeda, Pedro Lazo and Ariel Pestano, Cuba also featured a young shortstop from Pinar del Rio.

Alexei Ramirez left Cuba in September of 2007 and eventually signed with the Chicago White Sox in Major League Baseball. Since then he has played in a total of 657 games for the team from Chicago’s Southside, batting .274 with 70 homeruns, 319 runs and 312 RBI.

According to a recent report by Associated Press Ramirez lost his Gold Medal in 2008, when his wife brought belongings and luggage from the Dominican Republic to Chicago. The White Sox knew how much the Gold Medal meant to Ramirez and contacted the IOC earlier this year and arranged for a replacement.

Before the Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros game last Friday, Ramirez went to the outfield to stretch and warm up, when he got surprised. His former teammate, countryman and mentor Jose Contreras, a pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies who is currently sidelined with an elbow injury, came to Chicago and handed him the medal.

Ramirez’ reaction was priceless according to AP, “I got really choked up because I felt like I was in Athens getting that medal all over again. There are many athletes that have won championships but as far as being able to win a gold medal in the Olympics, it is really rare. So it’s really special to me.”