Jorge Fuentes

Jorge Fuentes Fleitas

Jorge Fuentes has managed for many years in Cuba and guided the Cuban national team for a decade. He is the only person to manage two teams to Gold Medals in the Olympics.

Fuentes guided Cuban teams to Serie Nacional titles in 1981-1982, 1984-1985 and 1986-1987 in the 1984 Selective Series. That got him the job as the manager of the national team, which he first guided in the 1987 Intercontinental Cup. He would lead Cuba to a Gold Medal in that event and followed with Golds in the 1988 Baseball World Cup, 1989 Intercontinental Cup, 1990 Baseball World Cup, 1991 Pan American Games, 1992 Olympics, 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games, 1993 Intercontinental Cup, 1994 Baseball World Cup, 1995 Intercontinental Cup, 1995 Pan American Games and 1996 Olympics. His run of 11 straight Gold Medals came to a crashing halt in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup, when the Japanese national team routed Cuba in the finale, costing Fuentes his job at the helm.

In the meantime, Fuentes was still winning pennants in the 1987-1988 Serie Nacional, 1988 Selective Series, 1991 Selective Series, 1994 Selective Series, 1996-1997 Serie Nacional and 2001-2002.

Fuentes piloted the Nicaraguan national team in the 2005 Baseball World Cup, when they had an excellent round-robin performance but faltered in the final round to finish 6th. He coached for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He managed the Piratas de Campeche to a 56-53 record in the 2014 Mexican League.

Sources include A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman