Lázaro Martínez Cárdenas

Havana, July 21 (JIT) - The once-stellar baseball player from Havana, Lázaro Martínez Cárdenas, passed away on Wednesday in Havana at the age of 76.

The outstanding catcher made his debut in our national series in 1965 and remained active for 14 seasons.

His quality and performance took him to the national team and he was part, for example, of the delegation that attended the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali and other events.

The official website of Cuban baseball confirms that Lázaro averaged .232 offensively, with 136 extra-base hits, including 45 home runs. Defensively he hit .985, with 170 stolen catches in 452 opportunities.

The president of INDER, Osvaldo Vento Montiller, expressed on Twitter "our sincere condolences to family and friends of Lázaro Martínez Cárdenas, recognized figure of Cuban baseball. It hurts the physical departure of who was an iconic defender behind the plate".