Pedro Medina

Pedro Medina Ayón

• Height 6' 2", Weight 193 lb.

• Born December 19, 1951 in Guanabacoa Cuba

Biographical Information

Pedro Medina spent almost a decade with the Cuban national team.

Playing for the Metropolitanos, Medina led the 1976-1977 Serie Nacional with 14 doubles. In the 1978 Selective Series, he paced the loop with 15 doubles for Habana.

Medina hit .385 for Cuba in the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games. In the 1978 Amateur World Series, the 26-year-old hit .316/.458/.421 as Cuba's main catcher. He threw out 2 of 5 attempted base-runners for the Gold Medal winners. Pedro hit .375 in the 1979 Pan American Games and then led the 1979 Intercontinental Cup with a .462 average while winning All-Star honors at catcher.

Pedro batted .452 in the 1980 Amateur World Series. Had he qualified, he would have led the tourney. He tied Lourdes Gourriel Sr. for the best mark on Cuba (Gourriel also did not qualify). In the 1981 Intercontinental Cup, Cuba failed to take Gold for the first time in Medina's international career. He hit .357 for the Silver Medalists and his homer tied the finale late before Cuba fell to Team USA.

For the 1981-1982 Industriales, Medina led the league with 58 walks. He was 3 for 8 in the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games as Cuba again settled for a Silver (the Dominican Republic got the Gold). Medina was back with a vengeance in the 1983 Pan American Games, going 10 for 15 to lead in average and he also led in runs (9). His four home runs tied the USA's Mark McGwire for the lead. Cuba was back in the Gold after the two Silvers in a row and they would win Gold in Medina's remaining international competitions.

Medina hit .455 in the 1983 Intercontinental Cup. He drew 51 walks in 1983-1984 to tie Pedro José Rodríguez Sr. for the league lead. In the 1984 Amateur World Series, the veteran faded to .200/.259/.480 while sharing the DH role with Lázaro Junco. Juan Castro had taken over as catcher for the national team.

With Habana for the 1985 Selective Series, Medina led the loop with 13 home runs and 35 runs, his last time leading a Cuban league in any department. Pedro hit .333 for Cuba in the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games and was 2 for 8 in the 1986 Amateur World Series.

Medina later became a manager. He guided the Industriales to the 1995-1996 Serie Nacional title. He coached for the Italian national team in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup. He also managed Grosseto in Italy from 2003-2005, winning the 2004 Italian Series.

Overall, Pedro played 17 seasons in Cuba and hit .295/.416/.483 with 221 homers, 886 runs, 869 RBI and 948 walks in 1,456 games. He threw out 331 of 776 attempted base-stealers. Through 2004, he ranked among the all-time leaders in home runs (21st), runners caught stealing (9th) and walks (11th).

Sources

• Baseballdecuba.com
• 2005 Guia Official de Beisbol
• A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman
• Defunct IBAF site