CHICAGO – Somebody would be left behind.

White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez knew that as he contemplated the toughest decision of his life after representing Cuba at the World Baseball Classic in 2006.

Ramirez drew scouts’ attention when he hit .375 en route to Cuba’s silver medal in the WBC. Before that performance, Ramirez had little exposure on the intentional level against Major League Baseball players. While Ramirez won five gold medals representing Cuba in various tournaments, including an Olympic gold medal at Athens in 2004, competing and succeeding in the WBC was the proof he needed that he could play in the big leagues.