From Inception to Defection: Cuba’s Baseball History

The Inception

In 1860, American sailors and young Cubans returning home from college in America planted the seed of baseball passion in Cuba. Though during the first Cuban War of Independence baseball was banned briefly, baseball has always flourished in Cuba. The organization of the sport began with the formation of the Cuban Baseball League around 1878. The season was played in the winter months and included only a handful of games between three to five teams. Initially the Cuban League consisted of only white players but eventually Cubans and players from the Negro leagues joined the ranks. The inclusion of an all black team, named San Francisco, in 1900 turned heads as the team easily took first place in the league. This was one of the first times that black players got due recognition for their talent and recognition resulting in them getting signed to other teams in the league. The Cuban League remained a haven from the racism in the United States and abroad, as it was one of the few places where people of all races competed against one another. The Cuban League steadily gained stability and recognition during the first half of the twentieth century. The highest point of the Cuban League came in 1947 when the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (US League) made a deal with the Cuban League to send minor league and major league players to play in the Cuban during the winter.

The flourishing of post WWII baseball in Cuba came to an abrupt end with the spread of communistic ideology in 1959. As communism was put at odds with democracy in the post great war world, communism was infused into the Cuba through the Cuban Revolution. Once Fidel Castro took control of Cuba, he nationalized all foreign assets, hiked taxes on American imports and began trading with the Soviet Union. In response to Castro’s hostile actions, President Eisenhower froze Cuban assets in America, cut the importation of sugar from Cuba and cut off all diplomatic ties. This cutoff the ability of Cubans playing in America to return to Cuba, including the Tribe’s own, Luis Tiant. Thus, the beginning of Communism in Cuba marked the end of the professional baseball leagues and the beginning of the era of defection.

The Defection Era

The Cuban government replaced the professional leagues with amateur baseball leagues in an effort to reject the capitalistic nature of sports played for profit. Baseball was used by the government to draw attention to their political ideology and help strengthen international ties. During this era more baseball was played in Cuba than ever before, as participation in athletics was mandatory for all citizens under the new governmental regime. While more Cubans played baseball than ever before, the poor economic conditions degraded the value of becoming a great player. Baseball players were generally only offered wages equivalent to that of their offseason job, usually amounting to no more than $2,000.00. This dramatic underpaying motivated defection. Even Fidel Castro admitted that the measly amount of money given to players made defection an obvious choice for good players. This is all too obvious now, as dozens of Cuban players have been signed for millions of dollars without ever playing a minor league game. But, defection did not come without a cost.

One of the most popular and earliest Cuban players to defect from Cuba to America for baseball was Rene Arocha. Rene Arocha was traveling with the Cuban Baseball team during an international competition when during a layover in Miami he simply walked out. Arocha left his family, friends, team, and the only country he had ever known. Arocha was banned from returning to Cuba, because shortly after his defection the Cuban government announced that he had committed high treason against the revolution. This high-risk move served him well, but only for three years. After two years in the minors, Arocha played a full season for the Saint Louis Cardinals in 1993, followed by two injury-plagued seasons in 1994 and 1995. Arocha was then waived by the Cardinals and did not get signed by any team until 1997 when the San Francisco Giants signed him to a minor league deal, ultimately leading to one start. After that, Arocha retired. Was the risk worth it? Arocha made a combined $464,000 in the three years he played and retired at 32. Arocha probably made more money than he would make in Cuba in his entire life and certainly enough to inspire a long list of other Cuban defectors in search of the American dream.   (For a complete list of Cuban born baseball players click here).

Moving Forward

President Obama’s announcement on Wednesday, December 17, 2014, will likely forever change the landscape of Cuban Baseball. As the two countries begin to open 56 years of closed doors, defection hopefully will become a forgotten word. Cuban players who were once hidden commodities in a closed country can now infiltrate the minor leagues and become known entities. This likely will decrease the number of outrageously large contracts given to rookies and be replaced by invites to spring training or the signing of minor league contracts. Additionally, the possibility of the Cuban Winter Leagues reopening in the future is a promising hope for both Cuban baseball and American baseball alike.