Ifreidi Coss

Ifreidi Coss Gómez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.

• Born April 11, 1983

Ifreidi Coss was once one of the bright young pitching prospects in Cuba.

Coss debuted at age 18 in 2001-2002 and helped lead his Sancti Spíritus club into the finals, going 10-3 with a 1.94 ERA. He had a better record than Cuban national team members Maels Rodríguez and Yovani Aragón, his teammates. He was third in the league in ERA behind Jose Contreras and José Ibar. In the finals, he was excellent, tossing shutouts in games one and five against Holguín. He got the start again in the decisive game seven. After three more shutout innings, he allowed a solo homer to Ernesto Martínez in the 4th. He was promptly yanked in favor of Maels Rodríguez; his club went on to lose 2-1.

Coss joined the Cuban national team for the 2002 Intercontinental Cup; he was the team's third-youngest player after Kendry Morales and Yulieski Gourriel. Coss was 2-0 with one run in 10 2/3 IP in the event as his team won Gold. He was 8th in the event in ERA, second on Cuba behind José Ibar. He tied six others, including Roger Deago, Ibar and Yadel Marti, for the most wins. Ibar beat him out for All-Star honors.

Coss retired all three batters he faced in the 2003 Baseball World Cup and also appeared in the 2003 Americas Olympic qualifier, his last stint with the Cuban national team.

In 2003-2004, the young right-hander was 10-2 and led the Cuban Serie Nacional in winning percentage. He since has faded. He went 1-2 with a save and a 5.72 ERA in 16 games in 2007-2008. After that year, he had a career 51-33 with 21 saves and a 3.09 ERA.

Coss had a 2-7, 6.19 record in 14 games in 2008-2009 and did not pitch the next season.

Sources

• Baseballdecuba.com
• Radiorebelde
• Beisbolcubano
• A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman
• Defunct IBAF site
• 2003 Baseball Almanac