We have played in World Cups, world championships and Olympics. The message is already out there. ... In Cuba, baseball is the No. 1 sport. People in Cuba had their doubts about us coming and about the results.

If we could win Monday, it would be the greatest victory in Cuban baseball history.

I think the message has been delivered. Baseball is baseball in all parts of the world ? be it in the big leagues, be it amateur. You have to value baseball as such. It's not about the price of the player but the heart with which the baseball is played. Our team is a team that has fought for unity. The soul of our team is unity. There aren't any stars.

Our message is already out there from our international competitions. I think we showed people that baseball is spoken here, baseball and nothing else.

What Cuba has shown to the world is not only that we could play up to par with other major leaguers. We are not professional, we are amateur. We don't get paid for doing this. We deserve a high place in baseball because we do this with sacrifice, with human value and courage and sportsmanship, and because we give our utmost in order to come to the field and show what good baseball is all about.

This is the greatest victory in the history of Cuban baseball because our opponents were major-league players.

I hope the Classic remains and those responsible for eliminating baseball from the Olympic Games were able to see the great show that baseball is all about.