“For the entire Dominican Republic, all baseball fans, here I present the manager of the 2023 World Classic who is going to lead us and, God willing, is going to give us the crown. With you, Rodney Linares”, with this expression of the Dominican general manager, Nelson Cruz, the new coach of the team was officially announced.
The Dominican slugger reported this hiring during a press conference organized by the Dominican Baseball Federation (Fedobe) this Thursday, held in the city of Baltimore, in the United States.
However, despite being satisfied with his decision to entrust the management of the Dominican squad to the Tampa Rays third base coach, the Washington Nationals player assured that his choice was not easy or taken lightlydue to the large number of good candidates for the position.
“The choice was not easy, I think we had material to cut from, we had many options, a lot of talentbut in the end we thought it was the right choice. I know Linares, I had the chance to be a member of the Rays organization for almost three months, his work, his discipline and the type of human being he is”, Nelson Cruz.
However, when talking about Linares, Cruz highlighted the technical capacity that he can contribute to the team, highlighting that the experience of the Creole coach regarding the use of sabermetrics and its implementation in ‘modern baseball’ made his decision easier.
For his part, Linares was enthusiastic about his new job, stating that he does not see it as a challenge, but as an honor and a dream, something he has aspired to for years.
“For me this is more than an honor, it is a dream. Representing my country, especially in this World Classic, something that I think everyone from the beginning, when we were a little younger, always thought about trying to represent the country. For me it is not a challenge, it is an honor to be here”, said Linares.
