Frank Camilo Morejon, Cuba’s most underrated catcher

Today, we take a look at one of the most underrated Cuban catchers in the game, the defensive juggernaut, Frank Camilo Morejon.

When we think of Cuban catchers Ariel Pestano, Yasmani Grandal, Pedro Medina or Juan Castro. One catcher that is rarely spoken of is Frank Camilo Morejon of Havana’s Industriales Blue Lions. Morejon has been the backbone of the national team for years.

His worth isn’t measured with the bat but more with his defense and the way he handles the national team’s pitching staff. Morejon has been a stalwart with the team for the last decade. In Cuba’s incursions in the Caribbean World Series the last six years he was a key figure in four of them. A thrombosis in his right arm kept him out of the 2019 CWS.

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In 2015, Caribbean Series he guided pitching that was undermanned with nine pitchers due to defections to a championship, Cuba’s first in the tournament in more than half a decade. When he is behind the plate the team’s ERA is about a run lower.

When he has participated in the Caribbean World Series the team has always made at least the semifinals of the tournament,” Our goal is always to do the best possible and demonstrate that the baseball on the island is one of high quality. In this tournament every team is tough, they are all champions of their leagues,” said Morejon to me in 2017. He has also been part of the World Baseball Classic team in the last two tournaments and plenty of other national teams in international events.

”No tournament is like any other, but in international tournaments, all the teams are going to give their 110% and fight until the end. In these types of tournaments, one can never let their guard down.”

Playing in the Exterior

Although he never opted for the Majors, Frank Camilo Morejon has played plenty in professional circuits outside of Cuba. He played for the Kitchener Panthers of the Inter-county Canadian Baseball League in 2016 where he hit .321 with two dingers and 25 runs batted in during the 2016 season.

In 2018 he signed to play in the Italian Professional Baseball League with Parma Clima where he hit  .224 during the season but turned it up during the playoffs hitting .455 for the team in leading the team to the league final.

It was rumored that the Campeche Pirates of the Mexican League but that was all put to an end by the coronavirus pandemic,” Campeche was interested in me, but everything has been put on hold for now”, said the Cuban backstop.

Plenty of catchers have been more heralded than Frank Camilo Morejon but not many have meant to their ball clubs what the native of Havana has meant to his clubs. The catcher in his career has been one big intangible and a player you want on your side during a big game.