Fidel Castro Baseball Club

When thinking of Fidel Castro, the words Communist and Dictator most likely come to mind. Probably the last thing to think about is semi-pro level player of America’s favorite pastime. Fidel Castro had a surprisingly extensive background in baseball. He played baseball for the University of Havana and tried out to play on the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Baseball wasn’t only big in Fidel Castro’s life, however, as baseball represents something much larger for Cubans; revolution. The Spanish rule over the Cubans seemed to be one that wouldn’t go away with ease, and because of this, Cubans used baseball to protest against the Spanish and get back at the Spanish for the injustices they had committed against them. Baseball was also

Baseball was brought to Cuba by twins Ernesto and Nemesio Guillot, who originally are credited with returning from America with a ball and bat. Nemesio, however, is the one who founded the first Cuban baseball club, The Havana Baseball Club. Baseball lead to a strong sense of nationalism in Cuba. This was because many spaniards wanted the Cubans to take up bullfighting, a classic Spanish sport. Instead, Cubans played the “American” sport of baseball to rebel. This excited them and was just one of the major forms of protest against the spanish during the

It even still largely encourages Cuban nationalism. Since baseball was introduced to the Olympics, the Cuban National Team has won 3 gold medals and 2 silver medals. Currently, baseball is the most popular sport in Cuba, and it is even Cuba’s national sport. Baseball is still a huge force driving Cuban nationalism, as Cuba places a large emphasis on their national baseball ranking. Also, there are Cuban baseball players in the MLB such as Yuli Gurriel, Yasiel Puig, and Aroldis Chapman. Yuli Gurriel is a perfect example of Cuban nationalism as a result of baseball. He originally played for Sancti Spiritus of the Cuban League and eventually became a member of the Houston Astros. He is still heavily involved in Cuban current events however, as he recently offered to pay for the flights for families of the victims of the plane crash from Monday. All of these players are proud Cubans and proud baseball players, showing the intense Cuban nationalism that baseball in Cuba