Loidel Chapellí

Loidel Chapellí Jiménez

• Bats Left

• Born November 17, 1971 in Camaguey Cuba

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Biographical Information

Loidel Chapellí was a productive hitter in the late 1990s and early 21st Century in Cuba and was a member of the Cuban national team for a couple years. He is the twin brother of Laidel Chapellí.

Loidel Chapellí spent his Cuban career with Camaguey. In 1997-1998, he hit 32 doubles to lead the Cuban Serie Nacional. He joined the Cuban national team in 1998, after the team's disappointing finish in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup. During the 1998 Central American Games, Chapellí starred, hitting .500 and leading the tournament with 13 runs. He tied two others for the lead with 3 homers as Cuba won the Gold Medal. He was 2 for 6 in the 1998 Haarlem Baseball Week. In the 1998 Baseball World Cup, Chapellí proved that was no fluke. Loidel batted .417/.512/.806 that tourney with 3 homers, 14 runs and 11 RBI in 10 games as the first baseman during Cuba's Gold Medal run. He was named the Cup's All-Star 1B that year for his performance.

Chapellí batted .250/.364/.357 in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, his last major tournament with the national team. He was 0 for 2 with 2 walks and a run in the disappointing Gold Medal loss to the Australian national team. He was with Cuba for the 1999 Baltimore Orioles-Cuban National Team Exhibition Series.

During the 2002-2003 Cuban Serie Nacional, Chapellí hit .367, 8th-best, and drove in 71 runs.

In the 2003-2004 Serie Nacional, he drove in 67 to tie Yosvani Peraza and Osmani Urrutia for the league lead. He was just 2 for 16 - albeit with 4 walks - during 2004 Haarlem Baseball Week. In 2004-2005, his 12 intentional walks tied for the lead in the Serie Nacional. He batted .341 that campaign, tying Yulieski Gourriel and Alexei Ramirez for 9th in the league. He hit .404 in the 2005 Super League, third behind Roger Poll and Urrutia.

Chapellí batted .351 and slugged .512 in 2005-2006 for another solid season. He slipped to .311 with only two home runs in 2006-2007 and there appeared to be conflicting signals about whether he had intended to retire after the campaign or not. It was unclear whether he would play in 2007-2008 or not.

Through 2006-2007, Chapellí had hit .328 and slugged .491 in 3,920 AB in the Cuban leagues.

Sources

2004-2007 Baseball Almanacs, IBAF site, A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman, Harry Wedemeijer's international tournaments stats, Story on Chapelli's questionable status for 2007-2008 with career stats through 2007