Photo credit:  Calixto N. Llanes (JIT)

Havana, December 22 (RHC)-- Cuba's Ariel Martinez thanked on Wednesday the possibility of representing his country again in the Japanese Professional Baseball League, whose next season will welcome him from the ranks of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (Luchadores).

"I feel happy and honored for this new challenge, after five years with another team," said the former Chunichi Dragons member after making his contract with his new franchise official.

"It is a great responsibility, not only for me and my family, but for representing Cuba and its baseball," he emphasized in the Adolfo Luque Hall of the Latin American Stadium.

"Doing things well also means contributing to the aspirations of other Cuban players," he added after the protocol act that also demanded the signature of the president of the federation of that sport on the island, Juan Reinaldo Perez Pardo.

Martinez, 26 years old, considered that after the period in which he was considered a prospect, it is time to show a stable performance, a purpose that influenced the decision for a team where he hopes to perform as a regular.

"When I received opportunities I showed that I could do things well," he asserted as part of an exchange with the media in which he declared himself willing not to leave the catcher's office.

"I want to keep doing all three things," he said about his incursions as an outfielder and starter, roles he also expressed his willingness to assume in the upcoming V World Baseball Classic.

"Cuba is making a great effort to put together a good team and I think we can fight until the end," he said.

"The quality of our baseball has always been demonstrated and it is confirmed when we face in Japan players who can now be our rivals," he said before declaring himself determined to achieve a good offensive form that allows him to respond from any position.