Statement from Conrado Marrero to be read at Cuban baseball history congress

Word of the Cuban Cultural Center of New York's upcoming congress on Cuban baseball has reached Havana.
More specifically, it has reached Cuban baseball legend Conrado Marrero, who turned 100 in April and is the oldest living former major-league player.

According to Iraida Iturralde, first vice president of the Cuban Cultural Center, Marrero, who recently fractured his hip, and his doctor (who has internet at the hospital treating Marrero) contacted the center.

"I promised Conrado (shown in a 1949-50 Alerta premium) we would read his message at the congress," Iturralde wrote in an e-mail this week.

Among the former Cuban players expected to attend the congress at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus in New York are: Minnie Miñoso, Luis Tiant, Tony Pérez, Julio Bécquer, José Cardenal and Cookie Rojas.