| Cuba national baseball team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Country |  Cuba | |||
| Federation | Baseball Federation of Cuba | |||
| Confederation | WBSC Americas | |||
| Manager | Armando Johnson | |||
| Captain | Alfredo Despaigne | |||
| WBSC ranking | ||||
| Current | 8  (18 December 2023)[1] | |||
| Highest | 1 (December 2012) | |||
| Lowest | 11 (2 times; latest in August 2021) | |||
| ||||
| World Baseball Classic | ||||
| Appearances | 5 (first in 2006) | |||
| Best result |  2nd (1 time, in 2006) | |||
| Olympic Games | ||||
| Appearances | 5 (first in 1992) | |||
| Best result |  1st (3 times, most recent in 2004) | |||
| World Cup | ||||
| Appearances | 35 (first in 1939) | |||
| Best result |  1st (25 times, most recent in 2005) | |||
| Intercontinental Cup | ||||
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1979) | |||
| Best result |  1st (10 times, most recent in 2006) | |||
| Pan American Games | ||||
| Appearances | 16 (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.
- ^ a b "The WBSC World Ranking". WBSC. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "Baseball World Cup big news in Cuba, no matter the outcome". CNN. 2009-09-28.
- ^ "Under Fidel Castro, Sport Symbolized Cuba's Strength and Vulnerability". The New York Times. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Brown, Bruce (June 1984). "Cuban Baseball". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "World Baseball Classic: Israel continues to shock the world, beats Cuba 4-1," Haaretz.