Armed with extreme confidence and courage, tested in such imposing venues as the Latinoamericano Stadium, right-handed Keniel Ferraz dazzled an entire country with an absolute record of 6-0 in the postseason of the 62nd Cuban National Baseball Series; a performance that added to the unassailable crown of the Las Tunas Lumberjacks earn him the well-deserved Most Valuable Player (MVP) award of these playoffs.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- "I am very happy, to have reached the MVP of the postseason is a source of pride for me. The truth is that I never thought this would happen... I am very proud.”

The 27-year-old began the season with the unusual responsibility of starting games, and the experience wasn't the best. Then, back in the bullpen, he put up one of the most impressive seasons in memory for a Las Tunas reliever.

"As you know, I have been in the National Series for four years and my work has always been to relief. This year, the managers allowed me to start games and I didn't have a great performance; I started five times, lost four, and won only one. Then, they allowed me to go back to my comfort zone, and I won five in a row.

A sudden change from night to day. Such was Ferraz's move from the starting staff to the bullpen. In five starts, he managed just 17.2 innings, he averaged 435, his ERA was 15.06 and his WHIP was 2.48. But in the role of reliever, he has racked up 10 wins in 12 decisions, capped off by a brilliant 6-0 postseason in which he posted a 0.33 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP.

"You must have a lot of confidence because a lot of times you come in, as they say, on fire, with boiling potatoes, and you have to have a lot of guts to get up there and do things well."

Doing things well was exactly what the staff of Las Tunas relievers did, who were largely responsible for the Lumberjacks' second national championship.

"Rodolfo, Civil, and I were called ‘the Trojan Horses’ because we carried the team on our shoulders. We were the ones with a little more experience. Rodolfo was not here last year but he had played more National Series with us, and we focused on giving the team success and look, champions again this year.