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Cuba national baseball team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Cuba women's national baseball team.

Cuba national baseball team
Information
Country Cuba
FederationBaseball Federation of Cuba
ConfederationWBSC Americas
ManagerArmando Johnson
CaptainAlfredo Despaigne
WBSC ranking
Current 8 Steady (18 December 2023)[1]
Highest1 (December 2012)
Lowest11 (2 times; latest in August 2021)
Home
Away
Alternate
World Baseball Classic
Appearances5 (first in 2006)
Best result 2nd (1 time, in 2006)
Olympic Games
Appearances5 (first in 1992)
Best result 1st (3 times, most recent in 2004)
World Cup
Appearances35 (first in 1939)
Best result 1st (25 times, most recent in 2005)
Intercontinental Cup
Appearances13 (first in 1979)
Best result 1st (10 times, most recent in 2006)
Pan American Games
Appearances16 (first in 1951)
Best result 1st (12 times, most recent in 2007)

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]

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

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World Baseball Classic era

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Cuba 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.

Cuban team lining up prior to the gold medal game in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup against the Netherlands

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

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Cuba roster - 2023 World Baseball Classic
Players Coaches
Pitchers
 Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches

Roster


Results and fixtures

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The 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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World Baseball Classic

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World Baseball Classic record Qualification record
Year Round Position W L RS RA W L RS RA
Puerto Rico United States 2006 Final Silver 2nd 5 3 44 43 No qualifiers held
Mexico United States 2009 Quarter Finals 6th 4 2 36 24 No qualifiers held
Japan 2013 Quarter finals 5th 4 2 45 18 Automatically qualified
Japan 2017 Quarter Finals 7th 2 4 23 40 Automatically qualified
Taiwan Japan United States 2023 Semifinals 4th 3 3 31 32 Automatically qualified
Total Runners-up 5/5 18 14 179 157 - - - -

Olympics

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Summer Olympics record Qualification
Year Round Position W L % RS RA Method
Spain 1992 Gold Match 1st 9 0 1.000 95 16 1991 Pan American Games
United States 1996 Gold Match 1st 9 0 1.000 118 59 1995 Pan American Games
Australia 2000 Finals 2nd 7 2 .778 53 21 1999 Pan American Games
Greece 2004 Gold Match 1st 8 1 .889 55 27 Americas Qualifying Tournament
China 2008 Finals 2nd 7 2 .778 64 28 Americas Qualifying Tournament
Japan 2020 Did not qualify Americas Qualifying Event
United States 2028 To be determined To be determined
Total 5/6 40 5 .889 385 151

Baseball World Cup

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Intercontinental Cup

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  • Gold: 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2006
  • Silver: 1981, 1997, 1999

Pan American Games

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Central American & Caribbean Games

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The WBSC World Ranking". WBSC. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Baseball World Cup big news in Cuba, no matter the outcome". CNN. 2009-09-28.
  3. ^ "Under Fidel Castro, Sport Symbolized Cuba's Strength and Vulnerability". The New York Times. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  4. ^ Brown, Bruce (June 1984). "Cuban Baseball". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b "World Baseball Classic: Israel continues to shock the world, beats Cuba 4-1," Haaretz.
  6. ^ "Blue-and-white takes on Cuba in Tokyo," The Jerusalem Post.
  7. ^ a b Cuba Qualifies for Second Round in WBC | Escambray
  8. ^ Cuba tops Australia, reaches second round of World Baseball Classic
  9. ^ "Despaigne's grand slam sends Cuba to second round of WBC," The Japan Times.
  10. ^ "World Baseball Classic roundup: Dominican Republic cruises" | SI.com
  11. ^ Cuba vs. Israel Wrapup | 03/11/17 | World Baseball Classic
  12. ^ a b "Israel beats Cuba to stay unbeaten in WBC '17". Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Jason Marquis on dominant run in WBC '17". Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  14. ^ "Josh Zeid leading Israel's strong bullpen". Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Cuba fails to qualify for Olympic baseball for first time". OlympicTalk. NBC Sports. June 2, 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Cuba in the WBSC Ranking (Men's baseball)". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
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Media related to Cuba national baseball team at Wikimedia Commons

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