A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006

The late Peter C. Bjarkman was a widely recognized authority on Cuban baseball history and a frequent visitor to the island nation. A past winner of the The Sporting News–SABR and Macmillan–SABR awards for baseball research, in 2011 he appeared on the Cuba episode of the Travel Channel’s No Reservations. He was the senior baseball writer for www.BaseballdeCuba.com, the leading Cuban League website.

Table of Contents



Preface     

Introduction     



Part I—The Cuban Legends

1. Martín Dihigo—Baseball’s Least-Known Hall of Famer     

2. Adolfo Luque—The Original “Pride of Havana”     

3. Orestes Miñoso—The Cuban Comet     

4. The Baseball Half-Century of Conrado Marrero     



Part II—The Cuban Leagues

5. Myths and Legends of the Cuban Professional League (1878–1961)     

6. Cuban Blackball’s Doubleheaders on the Dark Side of the Moon     

7. Havana as Amateur Baseball Capital of the World     

8. Cuba’s Revolutionary Baseball (1962–2005)     



Part III—The Cuban Legacy

9. The Myth of Fidel Castro, Barbudos Ballplayer     

10. Tarzán, Minnie, Zorro and El Duque—Cubans in the Major Leagues     

11. The World’s Best Unknown Ballplayers     

12. Playing with the Enemy: Player Defections, the Orioles, and Baseball Détente     



Part IV—Appendices and Statistical Records

Appendix A: Chronology (1866–2006)     

Appendix B: Blackball Register     

Appendix C: Major League Register     

Appendix D: Statistical Records     



Bibliography     

Index