In recent years Cuba has produced current Major League Baseball players such as Arodis Chapman (Reds), Kendry Morales (Angels), and Livan Hernandez (Nationals) to name a few. Plus prospects like Jose Iglesias (Red Sox), Yunesky Maya (Nationals), and Adeiny Hechavarria (Blue Jays). Each year a number of players defect and sign with Major League teams, a trend that I do not see stopping in the near future. Here is a paper I wrote for my globalization class on the Cuban Sports system including baseball.
Located 90 miles off the Florida coast in Central America, is the country of Cuba, an island with a population of 11.5 million people (CIA, 2011). Cuba is a communist state led by current president General Raul Castro (since February 24, 2008), the capital city is Havana, and the official language is Spanish (CIA, 2011). Cuba was ranked 110th in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with an average of $9,900 per capita in 2010 (CIA, 2011).
Cuba is classified as a developing nation under the criteria of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which considers three main factors (1) per capita income, (2) export diversification, and (3) degree of integration with global financial system (Wikipedia, 2011). Although Cuba is not officially listed by the IMF due to political reasons and is not currently a member of the IMF (imf.org, 2011). Since 1959, Cuba has been under a trade embargo by the United States as they do not support the Cuban political system which has negatively affected the Cuban economy over the last fifty years.
Despite its economic ranking Cuba has had success internationally, most notably in the national and most popular sport, baseball, amassing a record of 63-1 in regional and world championships from 1988-1992 (Pettavino & Pye, 2002). They won gold medals in two Pan American Games, two world championships, three Intercontinental Cup Games and the first ever Olympic gold for baseball (Pettavino & Pye, 2002). The Cuban baseball team has medaled in all five Olympic Games that they have appeared winning the gold in 1992, 1996, and 2004, with silver place finishes in 2000 and 2008 (Sports Reference, 2011).
In the 1987 Pan-American Games held in Indianapolis, Cuba ended up winning 7.5 medals per million inhabitants compared to the United States 0.7 (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). When the 1991 Pan-American Games were held in Havana, Cuba continued to display its international excellence by winning 265 medals with the United States winning 352 (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). The big difference was the fact that Cuba won the most gold medals (140 to the US’s 130) and did so in the popular sports of baseball, basketball, boxing and track and field (Pettavino & Pye, 1994).
The National Women’s volleyball team won three straight Olympic gold medals in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 showing their dominance in the sport (Sports Reference, 2011). Cuba has also been a force when it comes to amateur boxing having won 63 medals at the Olympics (32 gold, 19 silver, and 12 bronze), which is second to the US’s 108 (Sports Reference, 2011).
A major reason Cuba has been successful in sport is due to the political importance that sport played. In 1959 when Fidel Castro’s regime took control of the country, a baseball team made up from members of his army called Los Barbudos (the Bearded Ones) played a series of exhibition games in an effort to build a stronger political following (Wendel, 2006). “During the succeeding years he would steer the nation toward communism and link it with the Soviet Union” (Wendel, 2006). It is the connection with the Soviet Union and communism that helped Cuba to establish their sport system in the early 1960’s which was in full effect during the late 1980’s. It is this same connection with the Soviet Union and the fact that Cuba is a communist country that the United States has become its biggest rival both on the field and politically. This means that any time that Cuba has defeated or had more success in any international tournament than the U.S.A. it is seen as more significant than sport itself as two conflicting political views (communism vs. capitalism) are facing off against each other; both trying to obtain the upper hand.
The Cuban government under Fidel Castro understood the value of sport as it helped to promote both health and fitness of the people. The 1976 Constitution states that:
“Everyone has the right to physical education, sports and recreation. Enjoyment of this right is assured by including the teaching and practice of physical education and sports in the curricula of the national education system and means placed at the service of the people, which makes possible the practice of sports and recreation on a mass basis”(Pettavino & Pye, pp.96-97, 1994).
Participation is high although it is difficult to find accurate numbers due to poor record keeping over the years (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). It is clear however that since 1959 a significant increase has occurred due to the government push to promote sport in schools and at the grass root levels (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). This is due to the communist ideology of equality among the people. The government is seen to hold the will of the people and give the power to the people of the state under a true socialist political system.
When it comes to the elite high performance sport the process began for individual athletes at an early age as the more talented would enter a specialty sports school which helped them focus on their specific sport over a number of years (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). A young athlete will be selected to attend a sports school based on either a recommendation from a teacher, his results in competition or a biotype test which includes stamina, coordination, speed, health, and sport skills (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). The top athletes would continue to progress through the system and ultimately train at a national sports center for their particular sport (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). National training centers existed for boxing and baseball prior to 1959 which saw eleven new academies open for soccer, jai alai, swimming, volleyball, athletics, judo, basketball, fencing, wrestling, waterskiing, and kayaking (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). In order to speed up the development of these sports the coaches were either sent on an international exchange or foreign coaches were brought in from the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations such as East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary; all communist nations during the 1960’s and 1970’s (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). Cuban officials were willing to do whatever it took and stated that “We pay whatever is necessary to bring them” (Pettavino & Pye, pp.148, 1994). The fact that the Cuban government was aggressive in the recruiting process saved twenty years off the natural development of sport (Pettavino & Pye, 1994). In the 1970’s there were forty-two foreign coaches and when the 1992 Olympics came around only one foreign coach remained (Pettavino & Pye, 1994).
Baseball first arrived in Cuba in the late 1860s, and early 1870s when university students returning from the United States brought with them equipment and helped organize the first teams (Carter, 2006). The Serie Nacional, the domestic league that currently exists, was originally formed in 1961, beginning with four teams (Carter, 2006). Today the league consists of sixteen teams, which are divided into a Western and Eastern conference, Occidente and Oriente (Carter, 2006). Each of the fourteen provinces have one team with the capital (Havana) having the remaining two teams (Carter, 2006). Due to league rules the players on each team must be born and live in the local region of their respected team, meaning that all players train and develop their skills in their hometown or province (Carter, 2006). It is unusual for players to change teams during their careers because trading is not allowed and free agency does not exist because that would make the players a commodity which only happens in capitalist societies as seen from the Cuban perspective (Carter, 2006). It is possible that a player theoretically could switch teams if he changed residence to a new region, but due to government restrictions Cubans are rarely allowed to change residence (Carter, 2006). In certain cases if a young prospect’s future development is blocked due to older more established players at his position he might be moved to a new team where he will get a better opportunity to play regularly (Carter, 2006). This is because the baseball officials want to continue to have international success and since all of the players on the national team come from the Serie Nacional, it is extremely important that those players that give Cuba the best chance of winning both now and in the future continue to come through the current development system so that the talent pipeline does not go dry.
Due to the affects of globalization the mystery that once surrounded Cuba and its athletes has been diminished as more athletes have defected in order to play professional sports in the United States. This is most notable in baseball where around 200 players have left Cuba since the early 1990’s with dreams of playing in Major League Baseball (MLB) and having a better life for themselves and their families (cubanball.com, 2011). At the same time information is also flowing into Cuba that in the past did not. This can be explained by the increasing number of tourists and foreigners visiting Cuba on a yearly basis. In 1999 the Baltimore Orioles played a two game exhibition series with the Cuban National Team, with one game in Havana and the other in Baltimore (Wendel, 2006). The series was split as each team came away with one victory (Wendel, 2006).
There is some uncertainty as to what the future of sport holds in Cuba both domestically and on the international stage. Some factors that will determine the direction of Cuban sport include: the health of Castro and his political party, United States foreign policy towards Cuba, Cuban relations with the rest of the world, and the poor economic conditions that have caused many struggles for Cubans today (Pettavino & Pye, 2002)
Cuba is a rare exception of a country that is not considered a developed country yet has been very successful in international competitions such as world championships and at the Olympic level, when it comes to sport. Government officials have done an excellent job of promoting sport at both the grassroots and high performance levels mainly thru the education system. The most popular sport is baseball which is also the national sport. In the future it is unknown as to what effects globalization might have on Cuba as it is likely that athletes will want to play in top leagues in the world. In all likelihood it will be extremely difficult for Cuba to have the success that it did during the 1980’s and early 1990’s, as the sport system is not as strong as it once was due to political uncertainty. However, Cuba will continue to produce world class athletes as it has done in the past just not at the same rate. Sport is one of the few ways that Cuban citizens can better their lives because of the opportunities that may not otherwise exist.
References
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CIA World Factbook (2011). Cuba. Retrieved February 4, 2011, from CIA:
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Cuban Ball (2011). Cuban Defectors. Retrieved February 4, 2011, from Cuban Ball:
http://www.cubanball.com/Images/History/RedBall/Defect/Defect.pdf
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Pettavino, P., & Pye, G. (1994). Sport in Cuba: The Diamond in the Rough. Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press.
Pettavino, P., & Pye, G. (1994). Sport in Cuba: Castro’s Last Stand. In Arbena, J. & LaFrance,
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