The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: Selección de béisbol de Cuba) represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is generally made up of players from the domestic Cuban national baseball system, though it has at times included professional players who defected to the United States. Cuba has been described as a baseball powerhouse[2] and currently ranks 8th in World Baseball Softball Confederation's world rankings.[1]
| Cuba national baseball team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Country |  Cuba | |||
| Federation | Baseball Federation of Cuba | |||
| Confederation | WBSC Americas | |||
| Manager | Armando Johnson | |||
| Captain | Alfredo Despaigne | |||
| WBSC ranking | ||||
| Current | 8  (18 December 2023)[1] | |||
| Highest | 1 (December 2012) | |||
| Lowest | 11 (2 times; latest in August 2021) | |||
| ||||
| World Baseball Classic | ||||
| Appearances | 5 (first in 2006) | |||
| Best result |  2nd (1 time, in 2006) | |||
| Olympic Games | ||||
| Appearances | 5 (first in 1992) | |||
| Best result |  1st (3 times, most recent in 2004) | |||
| World Cup | ||||
| Appearances | 35 (first in 1939) | |||
| Best result |  1st (25 times, most recent in 2005) | |||
| Intercontinental Cup | ||||
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1979) | |||
| Best result |  1st (10 times, most recent in 2006) | |||
| Pan American Games | ||||
| Appearances | 16 (first in 1951) | |||
| Best result |  1st (12 times, most recent in 2007) | |||
For much of the 20th century, Cuba dominated tournaments such as the Baseball World Cup (originally, the Amateur World Series), where it won 26 titles (22 more than the next closest nation) between 1939 and 2005. Its success stemmed, in part, from the amateur status of its domestic league, as professional players from other leagues were largely excluded from international competition.[3][4] During this period, it enjoyed similar dominance at the Pan American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games.
Cuba has been the most successful national team at the Olympics, medaling in five of the six Olympics in which baseball was played, with three gold medals and two silver medals.[5] It has the distinction of being one of two nations to compete in the first five baseball contests at the Summer Olympic Games.
History
editWorld Baseball Classic era
editCuba competed in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament, despite the controversy of Cuban involvement and the United States embargo against Cuba. In the final, Cuba lost the gold medal to Japan, 10–6.
Cuba was originally slated to host the 2009 Baseball World Cup, however, they willingly gave up the honor to Europe.
The 2009 WBC was the second time Cuba competed at the 2009 WBC Pool B stage, at Foro Sol in Mexico City. Cuba continued to advance to the second round with wins over South Africa and Australia. Cuba lost to Japan twice in the 2nd round, and were eliminated.
They last were eliminated before the start of the final stage of any international tournament in 1951.[citation needed]
At the 2013 WBC, Cuba competed in Pool A at the Fukuoka Dome in Fukuoka, Japan. Cuba advanced in the tournament against: China, Japan, and newcomers Brazil. Cuba moved on to the second round in Pool 1 to defeat the Netherlands, losing 6–2. Cuba defeated Chinese Taipei, 14–0. They played a face off game with previous competitors, the Netherlands, and lost 7–6. Just as in 2009, Cuba was eliminated in the path to competing in the finals.
At the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Cuban hitters Frederich Cepeda and Alfredo Despaigne had the distinction in WBC history to be the only players that each hit six home runs in their careers in the WBC.[6]
The team had a 2–1 record in the first round.[7][8] It was led by slugger Despaigne, who took over as the all-time WBC home-run leader.[5]
Cuba advanced into the second round, where it lost its first game to undefeated Pool A winner Team Israel.[7][9][10][11] Former Major League starting pitcher Jason Marquis (in 5.2 innings) and three Team Israel relief pitchers (including Brad Goldberg and Josh Zeid, who both threw 96 mph fastballs) kept Cuba to five hits and one run, a homer by Despaigne, who became the all-time World Baseball Classic home run leader.[12][13][14] Pool A MVP catcher Ryan Lavarnway had two hits for Israel.[12] Cuba went on to lose all 3 games they played and failed to advance to the championship round.
The team tried but failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics at the eight-team Americas Qualifying Event on May 31 through June 5, 2021. On June 1, 2021, Cuba was eliminated from the qualifiers, marking their first failure to qualify for the Olympic Games.[15]
Current squad
edit| Cuba roster - 2023 World Baseball Classic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | |||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
|
Manager Coaches
| ||
Results and fixtures
editThe following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.[16]
- Legend
Win Lose Void or postponed Fixture
2019
edit| Pan American Games GS | July 29 | Cuba
|
1–6 |  Colombia
|
Campo de Béisbol, Peru |
| 10:00 PET | Boxscore | Attendance: 2,456 |
| Pan American Games GS | July 30 | Canada 
|
8–6 | Cuba
|
Campo de Béisbol, Peru |
| 19:00 PET | Boxscore | Attendance: 1,123 |
| Pan American Games GS | July 31 | Cuba
|
10–0 (F/7) |  Argentina
|
Campo de Béisbol, Peru |
| 15:00 PET | Boxscore | Attendance: 987 |
| Pan American Games 5th | August 3 | Dominican Republic 
|
10–9 (F/10) | Cuba
|
Campo de Béisbol, Peru |
| 15:00 PET | Boxscore | Attendance: 2,415 |
| WBSC Premier12 GS | November 6 | Canada
|
3–0 | Cuba
|
Gocheok Dome, South Korea |
| 12:00 KST | Boxscore | Attendance: 250 |
| WBSC Premier12 GS | November 7 | Australia 
|
2–3 | Cuba
|
Gocheok Dome, South Korea |
| 12:00 KST | Boxscore | Attendance: 252 |
| WBSC Premier12 GS | November 8 | Cuba
|
0–7 |  South Korea
|
Gocheok Dome, South Korea |
| 19:00 KST | Boxscore | Attendance: 13,600 |
2021
edit| Caribbean Cup GS | June 26 | Cuba
|
14–7 |  Curaçao
|
Daou Ballpark, Curaçao |
| 20:00 AST | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | June 27 | Cuba
|
9–1 |  Peru
|
Daou Ballpark, Curaçao |
| 15:00 AST | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | June 28 | U.S. Virgin Islands 
|
Void | Cuba
|
Daou Ballpark, Curaçao |
| 15:00 AST | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | June 30 | Curaçao
|
0–7 | Cuba
|
Daou Ballpark, Curaçao |
| 20:00 AST | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | July 1 | Cuba
|
Void | U.S. Virgin Islands
|
Daou Ballpark, Curaçao |
| 15:00 AST | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | July 2 | Peru
|
0–13 | Cuba
|
Daou Ballpark, Curaçao |
| 15:00 AST | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup F | July 3 | Curaçao
|
4–3 | Cuba
|
Daou Ballpark, Curaçao |
| 20:00 AST | Boxscore |
2022
edit| Haarlem Week GS | July 9 | Netherlands 
|
5–1 | Cuba
|
Mulier Stadium, Netherlands |
| 19:30 CET | Boxscore |
| Haarlem Week GS | July 10 | Cuba
|
3–4 |  Japan
|
Mulier Stadium, Netherlands |
| 19:30 CET | Boxscore |
| Haarlem Week GS | July 11 | Cuba
|
0–2 |  United States
|
Mulier Stadium, Netherlands |
| 19:30 CET | Boxscore |
| Haarlem Week GS | July 12 | Curaçao
|
1–0 | Cuba
|
Mulier Stadium, Netherlands |
| 15:30 CET | Boxscore |
| Haarlem Week GS | July 13 | Italy 
|
2–0 | Cuba
|
Mulier Stadium, Netherlands |
| 12:00 CET | Boxscore |
| Haarlem Week 5th | July 14 | Cuba
|
5–1 | Italy
|
Mulier Stadium, Netherlands |
| 12:00 CET | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | December 5 | Cuba
|
9–0 | U.S. Virgin Islands
|
Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas |
| 15:00 ET | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | December 6 | Puerto Rico 
|
6–0 | Cuba
|
Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas |
| 19:00 ET | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | December 7 | Bahamas 
|
3–9 | Cuba
|
Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas |
| 19:00 ET | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup GS | December 8 | Cuba
|
8–7 | Curaçao
|
Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas |
| 15:00 ET | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup SF | December 10 | Curaçao
|
2–4 | Cuba
|
Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas |
| 14:00 ET | Boxscore |
| Caribbean Cup F | December 11 | Cuba
|
4–9 | Puerto Rico
|
Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas |
| 17:00 ET | Boxscore |
2023
edit| World Baseball Classic GS | March 8 | Cuba
|
2–4 | Netherlands
|
Taichung Stadium, Taiwan |
| 12:00 NST | LP: Onelki García (0–1) |
Boxscore | WP: Eric Méndez (1–0) Sv: Wendell Floranus (1) |
Attendance: 6,501 Umpires: HP – Nic Lentz, 1B – Shoji Arisumi, 2B – Dan Iassogna, 3B – Serge Makouchetev |
| World Baseball Classic GS | March 9 | Italy
|
6–3 (F/10) | Cuba
|
Taichung Stadium, Taiwan |
| 19:00 NST | WP: Matthew Festa (1–0) |
Boxscore | LP: Raidel Martínez (0–1) |
Attendance: 6,217 Umpires: HP: Ki Talk Park, 1B: Mark Carlson, 2B: Chris Segal, 3B: Serge Makouchetcher |
| World Baseball Classic GS | March 10 | Cuba
|
13–4 |  Panama
|
Taichung Stadium, Taiwan |
| 12:00 NST | WP: Miguel Romero (1–0) |
Boxscore | LP: Matt Hardy (0–1) HR: Rubén Tejada (1) |
Attendance: 7,023 Umpires: HP - Dan Iassogna, 1B - Serge Makouchetev, 2B - Mark Carlson, 3B - Trent Thomas |
| World Baseball Classic GS | March 12 | Chinese Taipei 
|
1–7 | Cuba
|
Taichung Stadium, Taiwan |
| 12:00 NST | LP: Shih-Peng Chen (0–1) |
Boxscore | WP: Elian Leyva (1–0) HR: Erisbel Arruebarrena (1), Yoán Moncada (1) |
Attendance: 18,852 Umpires: HP – Nic Lentz, 1B – Ki Talk Park, 2B – Larry Vanover, 3B – Shoji Arisumi |
| World Baseball Classic QF | March 15 | Australia
|
3–4 | Cuba
|
Tokyo Dome, Japan |
| 19:00 NST | LP: Josh Guyer (0–1) HR: Rixon Wingrove (1) |
Boxscore | WP: Miguel Romero (2–0) Sv: Raidel Martínez (1) |
Attendance: 35,061 Umpires: HP – Adam Hamari, 1B – Cuti Suárez, 2B – Laz Díaz, 3B – Delfin Colon |
| World Baseball Classic SF | March 19 | Cuba
|
2–14 | United States
|
loanDepot Park, United States |
| 19:00 ET | LP: Roenis Elías |
Boxscore | WP: Adam Wainwright HR: Paul Goldschmidt (1), Trea Turner (3), Trea Turner (4), Cedric Mullins (1) |
Attendance: 35,779 Umpires: HP – John Tumpane, 1B – Quinn Wolcott, 2B – Lance Barksdale, 3B – Jong Chui Park, LF – Ramiro Alfaro, RF – Edward Pinales |
International tournament results
editWorld Baseball Classic
edit| World Baseball Classic record | Qualification record | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | W | L | RS | RA | W | L | RS | RA | ||
| 2006
|
Final |  2nd
|
5 | 3 | 44 | 43 | No qualifiers held | |||||
 2009
|
Quarter Finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 36 | 24 | No qualifiers held | |||||
| 2013
|
Quarter finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 45 | 18 | Automatically qualified | |||||
| 2017
|
Quarter Finals | 7th | 2 | 4 | 23 | 40 | Automatically qualified | |||||
 2023
|
Semifinals | 4th | 3 | 3 | 31 | 32 | Automatically qualified | |||||
| Total | Runners-up | 5/5 | 18 | 14 | 179 | 157 | - | - | - | - | ||
Olympics
edit| Summer Olympics record | Qualification | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | W | L | % | RS | RA | Method | |
 1992
|
Gold Match |  1st
|
9 | 0 | 1.000 | 95 | 16 |  1991 Pan American Games
| |
| 1996
|
Gold Match | 1st
|
9 | 0 | 1.000 | 118 | 59 | 1995 Pan American Games
| |
| 2000
|
Finals |  2nd
|
7 | 2 | .778 | 53 | 21 | 1999 Pan American Games
| |
 2004
|
Gold Match | 1st
|
8 | 1 | .889 | 55 | 27 | Americas Qualifying Tournament | |
 2008
|
Finals | 2nd
|
7 | 2 | .778 | 64 | 28 | Americas Qualifying Tournament | |
| 2020
|
Did not qualify | Americas Qualifying Event | |||||||
| 2028
|
To be determined | To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 5/6 | 40 | 5 | .889 | 385 | 151 | |||
Baseball World Cup
edit- Gold: 1939, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005
- Silver: 1941, 2007, 2009, 2011
- Bronze: 1944, 1951
Intercontinental Cup
editPan American Games
edit- Gold: 1951, 1963, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007
- Silver: 1967
- Bronze: 2011, 2015
Central American & Caribbean Games
editSee also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b "The WBSC World Ranking". WBSC. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "Baseball World Cup big news in Cuba, no matter the outcome". CNN. 2009-09-28.
- ^ "Under Fidel Castro, Sport Symbolized Cuba's Strength and Vulnerability". The New York Times. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Brown, Bruce (June 1984). "Cuban Baseball". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ a b "World Baseball Classic: Israel continues to shock the world, beats Cuba 4-1," Haaretz.
- ^ "Blue-and-white takes on Cuba in Tokyo," The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ a b Cuba Qualifies for Second Round in WBC | Escambray
- ^ Cuba tops Australia, reaches second round of World Baseball Classic
- ^ "Despaigne's grand slam sends Cuba to second round of WBC," The Japan Times.
- ^ "World Baseball Classic roundup: Dominican Republic cruises" | SI.com
- ^ Cuba vs. Israel Wrapup | 03/11/17 | World Baseball Classic
- ^ a b "Israel beats Cuba to stay unbeaten in WBC '17". Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ "Jason Marquis on dominant run in WBC '17". Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ "Josh Zeid leading Israel's strong bullpen". Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ "Cuba fails to qualify for Olympic baseball for first time". OlympicTalk. NBC Sports. June 2, 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Cuba in the WBSC Ranking (Men's baseball)". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
External links
edit
Media related to Cuba national baseball team at Wikimedia Commons