Ray Pinto Marrero, originally from baseball powerhouse Cuba, is trying to help develop the games he calls "the sports of balls and strikes" in Uruguay.
Baseball was first introduced in the South American country in 1915 by Alberto Suppici, a physical education teacher. The effort lasted until 1924. In 1945 Ruben Saetone and the Christian Youth Association (Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes) organised a four-team tournament that lasted a couple of editions.
In the early 1950s, baseball activity started to grow again in Uruguay, thanks to students emigrating to the country from baseball hotbed Venezuela. They formed a Commission for Baseball Activities (Comisión de Actividades de Baseball) chaired by Professor José E.Esperón. The National Baseball and Softball Federation (Federación Uruguaya de Baseball y Softball) was founded on 14 April 1953.
Uruguay appeared on the international stage at the end of the 1960s.
Today, Ray Pinto Marrero, a Cuban immigrant, has the goal to revive baseball in Uruguay. At the end of 2018, he founded the Baseball and Softball School of Uruguay and he named it after Nelson Mazzella Magalanes, one of those students who originally brought baseball to Uruguay.
Ray Pinto's school has so far a total of 40 persons involved and is looking for more support.
The school on FACEBOOK
As of now, Uruguay is a WBSC Member with a softball federation chaired by Aldo Claudio Comastri. Playing baseball is for now challenging because the country lacks dedicated venues.
Uruguay has a ten-team men's softball league. Three women's teams are active in the country. Games are played every Sunday at the Parque Rivera in Montevideo.
Cover picture courtesy of Marcelo Bonjour/El Pais.com.uy
