Yoenis Southeran: ‘Every Cuban’s dream is to come home’

We spoke to Yoenis Southeran about many topics, one of the main ones being his opinion about a unified Cuban team.

Yoenis Southeran was the original Yoenis, before we knew about Céspedes he was already established. The first baseman was very overlooked for years, between him and Giorbis Duvergel Guantanamo had a talented tandem for years.

During his 15 seasons in Cuba, he hit .292 with 123 long balls, 570 RBI’s, and a slash line of .384/.464/.849. I remind you Cuba played 90 game season for all of these seasons. Yoenis Southeran hit .300 six times during that span. The infielder was very versatile in the field and even set a record in Guantanamo for errorless games although 1B wasn’t his position of choice.

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Giorbis Duvergel and yourself formed a great tandem during your time in Guantánamo, in your opinion where you underestimated? 

Well, you know how Cuban baseball works we weren’t the worst but we weren’t the best. But yes we had a lot of great years together in a strong Cuban League. In fact, we hit against plenty of pitchers who are and were big leaguers.

You had your best year late in your career in 2010-11. What adjustments did you make to have those results?

It had to be the training our coaches Francisco Acosta and Gerardo Simon they prepared me very well during that offseason and the results paid dividends. Also having a talent such as Duvergel hit behind me was an advantage I saw plenty of good pitches to hit.

You have the record for errorless games for a first baseman in Guantánamo. Did you feel pressure when approaching the record?

I wasn’t even aware at first I was near the record, when i became aware I can’t lie the nerves did set in.  I enjoy playing defense more than I enjoy hitting. First base isn’t even my original position I’m more of a second or third baseman, the problem is I played it so well they kept me there. Having such talented infielders around me also helped my streak.

You retired for two years and then came back with Las Tunas, why?

I had problems with the upper management with Guantánamo, so I decided to take some time off. But when I did return I wanted to come back somewhere near Cuba’s eastern provinces. During my time off I was very upset with Cuban baseball in general, but then Ermidelio Urrutia approached me about a comeback and everything fell in place from there.

Would you like to see a unified Cuban team in baseball?

I would love to see that, but I would also like to see the game in Cuba evolve like the one played in the Dominican Republic. I live in the DR now and have seen how much more evolved they are here. Every kid in the Serie Nacional has a dream of playing in the majors. The day we unify our WBC squad watch out because we are the team to beat.

It’s common knowledge that you immigrated to the Dominican Republic, what do you do in the current day?

I’ve settled in the DR and I have a son that plays baseball here and I’ve dedicated myself to have him reach the majors and keep the Southeran name alive in baseball. My son is an outfielder, he has a good arm and plenty of power. God willing he will sign in the near future.

Would you ever like to return to Guantanamo baseball one day in any function?

Of course, every Cuban would love to return to Cuba one day. Returning to where we were born is a dream to all of us. I would love to return as a hitting coach or some kind of coach. I would like to share my knowledge with the youth of my homeland, that would make me very happy.