Omar Diodene: French Baseball5 star reaching new heights

The WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024 is serving up plenty of great games, great plays and great personalities. And one of the biggest ones - both literally and figuratively - is France's centre field super star Omar Diodene.

The Cuban native, who turned 23 on 2 October, has lit up the tournament with his big hits, super saves and booming smile. Popular with fans and teammates alike, Diodene stands at 1.95m to tower over most of his opponents, using his height and reach advantage in the batter's box, running between bases and cleaning up in centre field.

After the Opening Round, he led the individual statistics with most number of hits (45) and most number of runs, tied with 2022 MVP Briandy Molina from Cuba.

He's been one of the key ingredients behind France's impressive showing at the WBSC Baseball5 World Cup 2024 as the European vice-champions became the only new team in the Super Round compared to the last edition in Mexico City two years ago.

With wins over Tunisia, China, Mexico and Australia and a 2-1 loss to Japan, the 2022 silver medallists, France finished second in Group B.

The loss to Japan was a 4-1, 4-6, 4-3 thriller on Day 2 with Diodene coming up with many crucial plays and one key talking point, when he collided with one of the smallest players in the tournament in 2022 MVP Ayako Rokkaku at 1.57m from Japan.

“We knew it was going to be a very difficult match - they’re the vice world champions,” Omar explained. “We prepared ourselves well to give our best. We played as a team, we entertained the crowd, and it felt good to be part of this game, even though we lost.”

The clash with second baseman Rokkaku saw the former women's baseball MVP go to field a ball in the path of the Diodene, who was approaching second base, with Rokkaku coming off second best. “It was just in the heat of the game. The pressure from the crowd and the intensity of the match were high. But Ayako is a personal friend of mine, and it was nothing serious,” Diodene assured, adding that he offered his apologies afterward. “It was all in good spirits.”

Fortunately, after a small recovery time, Rokkaku came back to the game and said afterwards there was no injury and their friendship was not broken over the incident. "This is an international tournament and things like this happen," she said. "I'm ok, no major issues. Diodene and I are friends so no hard feelings," Rokkaku said.

Diodene, who originally hails from Cuba, acknowledged that the tournament has been an overall positive experience for France. “On the first day, we faced Tunisia, the African champions. We won both sets; it was a well-contested match. Then, against China, it was a bit more challenging - we lost the second set but managed to come back and secure the win,” he recounted.

Standing at 195 cm, Diodene’s physical presence on the court is well-apparent. He credits his Cuban roots and baseball experience for shaping his abilities. “I started playing baseball back in Cuba. We played a version of the game called ‘cuatro esquinas’ (four corners), which gave me skills that other players who didn’t come from Cuba or Venezuela might not have,” he said.

Diodene moved to France at the age of 24 and has since become an integral part of the French team, where he has adapted to the sport of Baseball5 and now serves as the team's captain. “The French federation has been great to me. I’ve been able to apply my knowledge of the game and adapt it to the French team. It’s been an amazing journey,” he said.

Reflecting on the loss to Japan, Omar remained optimistic about France’s future in the tournament with a medal the long term goal. “The game was very tight. We knew we were playing against a very tough team like Japan - aggressive, disciplined, with excellent defense and strategy. We couldn’t afford to make mistakes, and when we did, they capitalized on them. But when they made mistakes, we took advantage too. It was a hard-fought game.”

Even with the loss, Diodene was quick to offer congratulations to Japan for their victory. “They deserved the win. It was a very close game. But we showed that France is here to compete,” he said confidently.