Lázaro Madera

Lázaro Madera Blanco

• Born June 17, 1962

Outfielder Lázaro Madera is a former Cuban Serie Nacional MVP. He is listed as the brother of Abel Madera and Yosvani Madera; presumably, they were half-brothers as their mothers had different last names. Madera starred for the Vegueros when they dominated Cuban baseball in the 1980s.

Madera had his first big season in 1983-1984 when he led the Serie Nacional with 64 runs. In the 1984 Series Selectivas, Lázaro led with 63 runs and tied Pedro José Rodríguez, Sr. for the most RBI (38). He stole 37 bases to lead the 1984-1985 Serie Nacional.

Lázaro led in 1986-1987 with 40 RBI. In 1989-1990, Madera led the loop with fifteen doubles. He also cracked 20 home runs, tying Lázaro Junco for the western zone lead. He batted .400 to lead Cuba in 1990-1991 to be named Serie Nacional Most Valuable Player.

Madera made his only appearance with the Cuban national team in the 1991 Intercontinental Cup. He hit .429/.444/.500 as Cuba's main DH. Had he qualified, he would have been 4th in the event in average, leading Cuba. Hitting 7th in the Gold Medal game, he went 2 for 4 with a walk and a run as Cuba edged Japan 5-4 for the title.

In 15 seasons in Cuba, Madera hit .324/.365/.522 with 264 home runs, 909 runs and 1,093 RBI in 1,507 games.