Luis robert game-worn cuban jersey.

[kitsula]

I have operated baseball tours of Cuba for the last 20+ years and have amassed a collection of Cuban baseball jerseys. In the fall of 2015 I stayed in the same hotel as the Ciego de Avila Tigres and encountered several players in the lobby. I asked if any wanted to sell their uniforms and the first to respond was 18-year old Luis Robert, then in his third season in the Cuban National Series and enjoying his first big year in the league. I purchased the uniform, a road jersey with his name on the back and now wish to use it to raise funds to support Cuban friends who are reeling under the weight of both the US blockade and the pandemic.

Cuban players sell their uniforms to raise hard currency. They can't sell their uniforms from the current season, but sell ones from earlier years. The iniform is either from the 2014-15 or Robert's rookie season of 2013-14 season. Whichever is the case, it is surely the earlierst Robert jersey anywone will ever have.

The recipients of the funds will include the family of Connie Marrero, Luis Zayas, one of two surviving Havana Sugar Kings living on the island, and Sigfredo Barros, the longtime baseball beat writer for Cuban's national newspaper.

The item will be the first of five prizes offered in a raffle scheduled for September 15th. Tickets are $25 each or 5 for $100. Other prizes include an original editorial cartoon that appeared on the sports pages of the Vancouver Province depicting a Barry Bonds autographed baseball with a fountain pen and syringe sticking out of the ball. Another prize is an original silkscreen in the style of Andy Warhol depicting Fidel Castro's image on a can of Campbell's soup labelled baseball.

If you are interested in aiding this cause, please email me and I will send instruction about how to purchase tickets.