Road to Tokyo: Jose Alguacil to manage Venezuela at WBSC Baseball Americas Olympic Qualifier

Road to Tokyo: Jose Alguacil to manage Venezuela at WBSC Baseball Americas Olympic Qualifier
26/03/2021
Venezuela will play in Group B of the Olympic qualifiera me will be pitted against Canada, Colombia and Cuba.

The Venezuelan Baseball Federation (FVB - Federación Venezolana de Béisbol) has named Jose Alguacil as the new manager of the Venezuela National Team that will be competing in the WBSC Baseball Americas Olympic Qualifier. Venezuela will try to earn the nation's first-ever berth into the Olympic Games baseball competition.

Alguacil will be the manager of the team, and will be joined by Ramón Borrego (bench coach), Carlos García (hitting coach), Darwin Marrero (pitching coach) and Cibney Bello (bullpen). Wilfredo Romero and Liu Rodríguez will be the third- and first base coaches, while Johan Hernández and Keito Homma will serve as trainers.

“It is a pleasure and a pride to have the opportunity to represent our country. It is a great responsibility,” said Venezuela’s new manager. “We are ready to face this challenge.”

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Alguacil replaces Carlos Subero in the managerial job. Subero led Venezuela to a 1-2 record in Group B of the 2019 Premier12, finishing the global battle in seventh place. Subero is not available for the Olympic Qualifier, since he’s now the manager of the Korean Baseball Organisation’s (KBO) Hanwha Eagles.

The 48 year-old manager spent almost 15 years as a coach in the San Francisco Giants organisation of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was the first base coach for the San Francisco Giants for three seasons. He managed Estrellas Orientales in the 2019 and 2020 seasons in Dominican Republic. At international level, he was a coach for the Spanish National Baseball Team during the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

World No. 9 Venezuela will play in Group B of the WBSC Baseball Americas Olympic Qualifier, against No. 8 Cuba, No. 13 Canada and No. 14 Colombia. The top two finishers from each group will advance to the Super Round, where they will each play two games. The team with the best Super Round record will be declared the winner and become the fifth National Team to advance to the Tokyo Olympic baseball tournament, joining world No. 1 Japan, No. 3 Korea, No. 5 Mexico and No. 18 Israel.

The WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier is expected to be held in early June in Florida, USA, with exact dates/venues still to be confirmed.


Tokyo 2020 – Olympic Baseball Qualifier