The Impact Of Baseball In The Caribbean

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“America’s favorite pastime” is undisputedly baseball. Ever since the start of baseball in the United States in the late 1700s, baseball has been a game enjoyed by the majority of America. Baseball has not only had a profound effect on the United States but has spread its reach into foreign lands. Perhaps the most effected by baseball’s foreign outreach is the Caribbean. The Caribbean (mainly Cuba and the Dominican Republic) have embraced baseball as a way to a better life. From the day baseball was brought to Cuba baseball has changed the Caribbean. While some reports claim that American sailors brought baseball to Cuba in June of 1866, others report that baseball was brought by a Cuban national who was educated in the United States in 1864. …show more content…

Baseball’s presence was strengthened when it was banned by the Spanish oppressors in 1869 in favor of bullfighting. Cubans played baseball as an expression of freedom. The ban also pushed Cubans to join Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The Cuban League existed from 1878-1961 and received enough attention to become a league used for player development during the offseason by the MLB in 1947. From 1891-1959 The American Series pitted Cuban teams versus American teams. After the revolution in Cuba, baseball in Cuba was no longer a farm system for the MLB. During a time of anti-Americanism, Cuba began to retain its best players to represent Cuba. “Producing athletes who could compete on the international stage served as proof that the island nation stood on equal ground with the United States.” (Doherty) Presently, Cuba has a national team that competes in the World Baseball Classic. Cuban ball players are viewed as some of the most talented baseball players around and are heavily recruited by the United States when possible. Cuban patriotism along with the difficulty of defecting causes many of those talented players to stay in Cuba. The same cannot be said about players from islands that are not so strict, many of their star players leave home for the greener pastures of the

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