Cuban Baseball
From SoSH
Contents |
History
Introduction of the Game
Baseball first came to Cuba in the 1860s, thanks in large part to its status as a Spanish colony with close proximity to the United States, where baseball was gradually becoming more refined. The exact date of its introduction is disputed, but is believed to be between 1864-1866. By consensus, the game was first brought to the island by members of the US Navy, who docked in Matanzas province (about 2 hours east of Havana) and proceeded to demonstrate the game to the locals. It spread quickly through Cuba, to the point where, in 1869, the game was banned by the Spanish colonial authorities, but given the rapid decline of Spain's imperial power during the 19th century, it is unlikely that this ban had much of an effect. In 1871, Esteban Bellan became the first Cuban to play baseball in the United States when he played games with several teams in what was then called the National Association.
Early Organization
The first official game was played in 1874 between Club Havana and Club Matanzas. It can only be assumed that the Matanzas pitchers were terrible, because the team was routed 51-9. Club Almendares was added in 1878, bringing the league to a total of three teams who each played four games per season. The first championship was also played this year, and it was won by Havana over Almendares 21-20. This makes the Cuban League the second oldest nationally organized professional baseball association in the world, though, like American baseball, it has changed forms over time. These early leagues began as targeted at amateurs, but as competition grew, clubs started bidding to steal players away from other teams and the league was gradually transformed into a professional one. Interestingly, early Cuban baseball also featured 10 field positions, with an extra man at a position termed "right shortstop" added as a fifth infielder.
The Cuban League did not begin keeping statistics until 1885.
Growth of the League
Turn of the Century
Cuban baseball has been greatly impacted by the political turmoil going on around it. In 1898, the US thrashed Spain in the Spanish-American war and Cuba became pseudo-independent, which allowed for greater exposure and intertwining of American and Cuban baseball. The first American team, called All-American, actually visited Cuba for an exhibition series in 1891 (the Americans won 5 games to 0), but after the Spanish-American war, there was far more exchange of players. Cuba integrated its leagues in 1900, which brought an influx of players from the American Negro Leagues to play for Cuban clubs.
The level of play in Cuba also rose greatly during this time frame, as many Negro League players took advantage of the tropical climate to play winter ball in Cuba and Cuban League teams began having greater success (helped, for example, by star pitchers such as Jose Mendez and OF Cristobal Torriente, both of whom were inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2006) in exhibitions against major league clubs.
After 1920
Increasingly, Major League clubs began playing exhibition series against Cuban League teams. Babe Ruth visited Cuba in 1920 with the New York Giants. Club Cienfuegos (southeast of Havana on the coast) was formed in 1926. In 1931, the Brooklyn Dodgers played a 5-game exhibition series, winning 3-2 with all three wins pitched, ironically, by Cuban emigre Adolfo Luque, who still holds the best single-season record for a Cuban major league pitcher, 27-8 with a 1.93 ERA in 1923. Luque also pitched against the Black Sox in the 1919 World Series.
In 1939, Havana hosted the second worldwide amateur baseball tournament, beating the U.S. and Nicaragua to earn the first of what would be many international titles. In 1948, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela started the Caribbean Series, which still occurs today.
The Red Sox made their first exhibition visit to Cuba in Spring Training 1941.
The Revolution
On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro captured Havana and started the process of setting up a Marxist-Leninist state. Professional baseball survived on the island until 1960. On July 25, 1959, the AAA Rochester Red Wings (then a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate) played the AAA Havana Sugar Kings (then a Cincinnati Reds affiliate) in Havana's El Cerro Stadium, and spectators, passions inflamed by Castro's 26th of July movement, broke out into raucous shouting and demonstrations. The uprising ended in disaster when several Red Wings and Sugar Kings players were grazed by stray bullets whizzing about as excited revolutionary fans discharged firearms randomly into the air. The series was summarily cancelled, and when Castro nationalized U.S. property in Cuba in early 1960, then-MLB commissioner Ford Frick relocated the Sugar Kings to Jersey City, ending professional ball in Cuba.
Cuban baseball today is still organized much the way it was in the past, but is funded by the state and is officially known as an amateur league.
Current Cuban Baseball
Although fairly high quality, today's Cuban National League has often been compared to Single-A minor league ball in the United States. Since Cuban teams play in international competition in relatively short series against other teams and the country is hard to access from the U.S., this claim is somewhat difficult to evaluate.
Cuba won Olympic gold in 1992, 1996, and 2004, but lost to the U.S. 4-0 in the 2000 gold medal game. They also lost to Japan in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup, resulting in an internal shakeup of Cuban baseball. In the 2006 inaugural World Baseball Classic, Cuba shocked observers by advancing to the championship game, but wound up losing to Japan.
In March 1999, the Cuban National Team lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2, in Havana, but then defeated the Orioles in a subsequent exhibition game in Camden Yards, 12-6. This was the first time a Cuban team had played a U.S. team in the U.S. since Castro came to power, and helped further establish the international credibility of the Cuban leagues.
Structure of Cuban Baseball
All baseball in Cuba is supervised by the Cuban Baseball Federation. Children who show aptitude at an early age are placed in special instructional academies to develop their abilities in order to prepare them to potentially represent Cuba on the travelling National Team.
There are 16 teams in the Cuban National League, divided into the East and West divisions. Each province has a team, and Havana, probably due to disproportionate population, has three teams. Players play as amateurs for the team of their province of residence.
West League
The West League consists of eight teams, divided into Group 1 and Group 2. Group 1 consists of: Isla de la Juventud Toronjeros, Pinar del Rio Vegueros, Matanzas Cocodrilos and Metropolitanos (first Havana team). Group 2 consists of: Industriales (second Havana team), Cienfuegos Camaroneros, Sancti Spíritus Gallos, and Havana Vaqueros (third Havana team).
East League
The East League also consists of eight teams, divided into Group 3 and Group 4. Group 3 consists of: Villa Clara Naranjas, Camagüey Alfareros, Ciego de Ávila Tigres, and Las Tunas Magos. Group 4 consists of: Granma Alazanes, Santiago de Cuba Avispas, Holguín Sabuesos, and Guantánamo Indios.
How It is Played
The National Series is the name for the Cuban season. It is approximately 90 games long and is played during the winter months. This is then followed by a 3-round playoff and a championship.
The Super Series is a 28-game series played from May-July in which the teams are instead divided into 5 regions: West, East, Central, Havana, and Santiago de Cuba. Players are selected from the best groups in the National Series. This is followed by a playoff between the top two regions. The Super Series is the process used to select players for the prestigious Cuban National Team, which represents the country in overseas tournaments (political loyalty is also a factor).
Defections and Decline
Since the Revolution, Cuban baseball has suffered a decline. As the economy has tanked, so has the funding available for the leagues, and consequently, although Cuban National Team players are treated very well, most Cuban facilities are outdated and run-down and players get paid very little. There have, however, been far less defections than might be expected. In the time immediately after the Communists came to power, there was a mass exodus by Cuban ballplayers, but this was also true of the rest of the civilian population. Defections have declined in the last 30 years, but still occur infrequently, either through the Elian Gonzalez-esque boat escape or by defecting during international tournaments. For this reason, participants are closely monitored before and during events, since defections are seen as deeply embarrassing to the Cuban regime. During the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the Cuban team was kept under tight security, and the government complained after ESPN feed being beamed directly back into Cuba picked up a fan behind home plate holding a sign reading "Abajo Fidel." Political stigmatization has also had a negative effect on Cuban baseball, as it has become increasingly onerous for them to participate in international tournaments. Indeed, they were almost not allowed to participate in the World Baseball Classic, until they promised to donate any earnings to Hurricane Katrina relief and thus avoid violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba.
Players in the majors who have defected include: Danys Báez, Yuniesky Betancourt, José Contreras, Liván Hernández, Orlando Hernández, and Rey Ordonez.
Interesting Facts/Stats
- Cuba is widely credited for helping spread baseball to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic during the early 1890s.
- The Cuban Hall of Fame began in 1939 with the election of 10 members.
- In a game between Almendares and Cienfuegos on January 7, 1945, a player angry over a call punched the offending umpire and knocked him unconscious.
- February 21, 1965: Inocente Miranda of Club Azucareros played an entire game at first base without touching the ball once.
- January 31, 1984: Villa Clara lost to Henequeneros 1-0 when the opposing pitcher threw a no-hitter and the Villa Clara pitcher gave up two safety squeeze bunts.
Links/Sources
- Cuban Ball
- Timeline of Cuban baseball, 1864-2003
- PBS: A History of Cuban Baseball
- Cuban National League
- Baseball-Reference: Players Born in Cuba
- Official website of the Cuban Baseball Federation (in Spanish)
- Cuban sports news via Granma, official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party (in Spanish, can be translated)
