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Muñoz was exalted in 2014 to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.
Cuban baseball. Photo taken from Archive/ACN

Havana, January 17 (RHC)-- The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel congratulated baseball player Antonio Muñoz on his 74th birthday on Wednesday.

In a message on his Twitter account, the dignitary shared a video of an interview with the Giant of Escambray and confessed to have been deeply moved by the answers provided by the athlete.

"My generation grew up admiring patriotic athletes like him," the head of state wrote.

The video shared by Díaz-Canel shows the fragment of an interview conducted with Muñoz in Miami, United States, in which the baseball player is seen wearing a pullover of the Cuba team, narrating the work he was doing training new generations of baseball players in the province of Cienfuegos, in the south-central part of the island.

Photo: File/ACNAnto the interviewer's question about whether he doesn't find the salaries earned by athletes in the Major Leagues a temptation, Muñoz then answers that no, that he lives on his salary in Cuba.

"So, are you a revolutionary?" the interviewer presses again.  Firmly the Giant of the Escambray answers yes.

"I am a revolutionary, because I was born in Cuba, and I have never criticized anyone who comes here. On the contrary, we are gathered here. But I am a revolutionary because I was educated with the Revolution, I live with the Revolution and the many opportunities it has given me," said the baseball player.

Antonio Muñoz Hernández, nicknamed by Cuban fans as El Gigante del Escambray, is considered the best left-handed hitter and first baseman of his time.

He played four decades in Cuba between 1960 and 1990. He was exalted in 2014 to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.