Cuban Talent in MLB Midsummer Classic
By Sadie Keller
Photo by Jon SooHoo
Cuba is a land of baseball and produces impressively talented players from all across the island. Children start playing the game at a very young age and continue to develop their skills as they grow older, whether it is by playing simple pick-up games with friends, joining neighborhood ball clubs, or attending state-sponsored athletic schools. The government picks the best of the talented youth to attend these state-run academies, where players study and train to perfect their expertise in the sport. This major pipeline grooms prospects to excel in the sport and eventually join the Cuban national team.
A large pool of gifted players filter into the Cuban National Series, and some of the most skilled athletes earn the opportunity to represent Cuba on the world stage at international tournaments. Many young Cuban players also look to the United States to further their baseball career. Due to the U.S. embargo, players from Cuba cannot directly sign with a major league team but must obtain legal residency in another country (often through other countries in the region) before they are allowed to play in the United States. One way to sign with an MLB team is to defect, and then establish residency in the United States or elsewhere to be eligible to sign with MLB clubs. Many Cuban-born players have made an immense impact on the game in the United States and have been voted to represent their teams at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. With the 2020 Midsummer Classic officially canceled due to COVID-19 health concerns, we take a look at some of the best active Cuban-born MLB players who have played in previous MLB All-Star Games.
José Abreu (3x All-Star: 2014, 2018, 2019)
Born in Cienfuegos, José Abreu was once dubbed, “the best hitter you’ve never heard of” by ESPN. Although most baseball fans in the United States were unfamiliar with the formidable hitter in the early 2000s, Abreu was taking the Cuban baseball scene by storm. His breakout season came in 2011 as he won the league MVP with his hometown Cienfuegos Elefantes in one of the greatest seasons in Cuban history. Abreau was named to the Cuban national team for the 2013 World Baseball Classic and provided a valuable contribution to the team as he batted .383 and hit three home runs in Cuba’s six games.
In 2013, at the age of 26, Abreau decided to leave Cuba. He later recounted the moment in a message as he wrote, “It was the hardest decision I have had to make but it was exactly what needed to happen. My dream of becoming a professional player in the Major Leagues would become a reality, as well as becoming a symbol of pride for my people.” Abreu headed for Haiti, and once he arrived, he had to obtain residency papers to negotiate a deal to sign in the Major Leagues. By the time he reached U.S. soil, the Chicago White Sox officially announced the signing of a six-year $68 million contract. At the time, this deal was a record for an international player.
In December of 2015, Abreu was part of Major League Baseball's historic goodwill tour in Cuba. The tour included press conferences, visits to children’s clinics, and a charity event with a mission to bridge the gap between the countries using baseball. For Abreu, it was the chance to return to his homeland for the first time since he had left and to see his young son and family that still lived on the island.
Yoenis Céspedes (2x All-Star: 2014, 2016)
Céspedes’s abilities on the field are all-natural as if baseball has been intertwined with his DNA. Yoenis is the son of Cresencio Céspedes, a former catcher for the Granma baseball team in the National Series, and Estela Milanés, a star softball pitcher who represented Cuba on the 2000 Summer Olympics team. Growing up in the small town of Campechuela in the Granma province, his mother made a baseball bat out of a tree limb when he was just three years old so that he could begin practicing his swing. When Céspedes turned ten, he was sent to a state-run school about 50 miles away from his home to focus solely on baseball. Céspedes played eight seasons for Granma in the Cuban National Series and was wildly successful. The highlight of his career came when he hit .458 in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and as he broke the Cuban single-season home run record with 33 in 2010-11.
As he played in the Cuban National Series, Céspedes commented that he had never thought of leaving the country he loved. However, it soon became a reality that he needed to play in the United States if he wanted to advance his career. While few details are known of the event, Céspedes and his mother defected in the summer of 2011 and established residency in the Dominican Republic. He signed with the Oakland Athletics on a four-year $36 million contract and has since had stints with the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. Céspedes has won a Gold Glove Award (2015) and Silver Slugger Award (2016).
Aroldis Chapman (6x All-Star: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019)
New York Yankees star pitcher, Aroldis Chapman, is one of the best known Cuban-born players in the MLB due to his terrifying fastball. Nicknamed the Cuban Missile, he has been the face of velocity in modern baseball and has set the record for the fastest recorded pitch in the history of major league baseball at a speed of 105.1 mph. He has also touched 106 mph but, as the recording of that pitch has been met with controversy, the official mark still sits at the 105.1 mph mark. Somehow, watching Chapman throw is even more impressive than looking at his numbers. The southpaw’s delivery is so smooth it looks as if he is effortlessly playing a game of catch.
Chapman was born in the Holguín province of Cuba and grew up in the small town of Cayo Mambí. He lived with his parents and two sisters in a three-room house and borrowed a friend’s bike for transportation. Chapman’s grandparents emigrated from Jamaica to the Cuban island in hopes of a better education for their families. His father worked for the government and was also a boxing trainer, where Aroldis was his star pupil. One day, a friend invited Chapman to play with a local baseball team where he started at first base until the coach noticed how hard he could throw and converted him into a pitcher. Already with a strong fastball, Chapman quickly joined the Holguín team in the Cuban National Series when he was 17 years old and became a highly-touted prospect. Chapman was also part of the Cuban national team at the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2009 World Baseball Classic. While in Rotterdam, Holland with the Cuban national team preparing to play in an international tournament in 2009, Chapman decided to defect. He left his hotel and got in a car without even telling his family about his plan and made his way to the small European nation of Andorra where he established residency. Chapman officially became a free agent, eligible for the MLB.
In 2010, Chapman signed a six-year $30.25 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the New York Yankees in December of 2015 and was traded again in the middle of the 2016 season to the Chicago Cubs. Chapman carried a heavy workload in the postseason and won Game 7 on the way to a World Series Championship with the Cubs. After the 2016 season, he re-signed with the Yankees on a five-year $86 million contract. It is common to look up at the scoreboard in Yankee Stadium to see Chapman’s name in fiery letters and his entrance video with the pitcher casually flipping a ball erupting into flames. Fans at the stadium and those watching from all over the country eagerly sit at the edge of their seats, eyeing the radar gun to see what speed Chapman will top next.
Yasmani Grandal (2x All-Star: 2015, 2019)
It is sometimes hard to remember that Grandal was born in Cuba as his journey to the MLB is vastly different than many of his counterparts. Unlike most Cuban players, he arrived in the United States “the easy way.” In 1998, Yasmani and his family were randomly chosen in the Cuban Special Migration Program, Cuba’s immigration lottery at the time, allowing them to immigrate to the United States. Grandal grew up in Guira de Melena in the Havana province and, before he had left Cuba, his abilities had become obvious during his time on the Cuban junior national team as a third baseman.
After arriving in the U.S., a family friend donated cleats and equipment then placed Yasmani with a local team. Grandal became a draft prospect as a senior at Miami Springs High School, where he was ranked as the nation’s 19th best high school player by Baseball America. After turning down offers in the 2007 draft, Grandal continued his playing career at the University of Miami where he excelled offensively as a switch hitter but was even better defensively behind the plate. The Cincinnati Reds took Grandal 12th overall in the June 2010 draft and he spent two seasons in the minor leagues with the Reds’ organization before being traded to the San Diego Padres. He has since played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2015-18), where he competed for two World Series rings, the Milwaukee Brewers (2019), and is now signed with the Chicago White Sox on a four-year $73 million contract.
Yasiel Puig (1x All-Star: 2014)
Currently one of the most notable free agents on the market, Yasiel Puig is known all across baseball for his fun-loving-persona and theatrics on the field. He plays with such emotion that commonly comes out in the form of roaring energy, dancing, and exaggerated bat flips. The superstar right fielder was born in the tiny town of Elpidio Gómez in Cienfuegos. His father, Omar, was an engineer in a sugar cane factory. The young Puig started to play baseball at the age of nine and, at the time, shared gloves with his friends because they did not have enough for everyone. The group would practice throwing at long distances to make the ball easier to catch for those who didn’t get to wear a glove that day. The baseball diamond in which they played had sugar cane for outfield walls, a representation of the tiny mill town and its history of harvesting the plant since the mid-1800s. Burlap sacks doubled as bases and there was no lighting, so the games organized by the neighborhood kids ended as the sun went down. Puig played semi-professionally after earning a spot on the Cuban national team at the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship, then joined the Cienfuegos Elefantes team in the 2008-09 season. Puig was selected to represent Cuba on the national team in the 2011 World Port Tournament following his stellar regular season performance.
In June of 2012, Puig left Cuba by boat and ended up in Isla Mujeres, eight miles off the coast of Cancún, where he was held for three weeks before heading to Mexico City. Once he arrived in Mexico City, Puig became eligible to work out for Major League scouts and the Los Angeles Dodgers took particular interest in the outfielder. The Dodgers officially signed Puig to a seven-year $42 contract in June of 2012. He spent six seasons with the club before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds during the 2018 offseason. In July of 2019, the Reds dealt Puig to the Cleveland Indians where he finished the year.
Today, baseball in Cuba is as lively as ever, and its talented players are a source of national pride. Baseball is instilled in these athletes from a young age and continues to grow with the deeply rooted passion Cubans have for the sport. A skillful crop of players draw significant interest from baseball’s international market and often sign with U.S. teams. The rich history that connects Major League Baseball with Cuba has current stars like José Abreu, Yoenis Céspedes, Aroldis Chapman, Yasmani Grandal, and Yasiel Puig. Cuba could have been well represented on the rosters with numerous selections if the MLB played the All-Star Game in the summer of 2020. While COVID-19 health concerns put a pause on the Mid-Summer Classic, these Cuban players continue to represent their country with pride while playing the sport they love.