Ariel Pestano

Ariel Pestano
Catcher
Born: (1974-01-31) 31 January 1974
Caibarién, Las Villas, Cuba
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Cuba debut
1991, for the Naranjas de Villa Clara
Last Cuba appearance
2014, for the Naranjas de Villa Clara
Cuba statistics
Batting average.292
Hits1,262
Home runs126
Runs batted in753
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Cuba
World Baseball Classic
2006 San Diego Team
Olympic Games
2004 Athens Team
2000 Sydney Team
2008 Beijing Team
Baseball World Cup
2001 Taipei Team
2003 Havana Team
2005 Rotterdam Team
2007 Taipei Team
2009 Nettuno Team
Intercontinental Cup
1999 Sydney Team
2002 Havana Team
2006 Taichung Team
2010 Taichung Team
Pan American Games
1999 Winnipeg Team
2003 Santo Domingo Team
2007 Rio de Janeiro Team
2011 Guadalajara Team
Central American and Caribbean Games
2006 Cartagena Team

Ariel Osvaldo Pestano Valdés (born 31 January 1974), better known as El Veterano ("The Veteran"), is a Cuban former baseball catcher. He has won both silver and gold medals in the Olympic Games[1] and also played catcher on Cuba's World Baseball Classic team in March 2006 and March 2009. In Cuba, Pestano plays with the Villa Clara Naranjas of the Cuban National Series.

Personal life

Pestano was born on 31 January 1974 in Caibarién, in Las Villas (current Villa Clara Province).[1][2]

He retired after the 2015–16 Cuban National Series season.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ariel Pestano". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Reliquia cubana detrás del plato". La Estrella de Panamá (in Spanish). 7 October 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Ariel Pestano dice adiós a la Serie Nacional de Béisbol". Cubadebate (in Spanish). 10 September 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  4. ^ Arzola Lima, Aliet (18 September 2016). "Caibarién se rinde a Pestano". Granma (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 March 2026.