Artifact #2: Baseball

 Andre Harris II 

Baseball 

Baseball, a game that contains nine playable players, three base, one mound and one home plate. Although it is considered America’s pastime game, it is significantly more popular in Spanish-speaking countries. Going back over 150 years ago baseball has woven itself into latino culture and has become one of the most valued sports in the culture. 

In terms of sports, Cuba has a long history. Sports and Cuban culture go hand in hand. Baseball is the national sport and the most popular sport in the nation. It is deeply rooted in Cuban love. Baseball was brought to Cuba in 1864 by American students who were heading home. Ten years later, at Matanzas' Estado Palmar de Junco—the oldest baseball stadium still in use in the world—was the first official game ever recorded on the island. And thus was born a nation consumed by desire. 

Formed in 1878, the Cuban League was a winter circuit that ran until 1961, when Fidel Castro switched out the professional sports system on the island for an amateur one. For many years thereafter, Cuba dominated international play. Even though the caliber of competition on the island has decreased due to defections over time, the sport is nevertheless fundamental to Cuban culture and identity.

Baseball relates to and is significant to Spanish culture because it simply is Spanish culture. In most Spanish speaking countries fútbol (soccer) is the main sport. After soccer it is baseball, which  has formed many communities and given latinos opportunities in their personal countries. In some Spanish speaking countries, the latino community eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. Children begin intensive training at the young age of three to prepare for the MLB. Baseball is a way for some latinos to escape poverty and unconventional means of living. 

I chose baseball because it holds a significant place in my life. It hasn’t just helped me but other members of my family. My grandfather who was a renowned player himself down south got me into baseball and at first it wasn’t my forte. I didn’t want to play baseball, I thought it was too slow and tedious but I was good at it so my parents and grandfather forced me to play it. Once I got out on the field and began making plays, the feeling of exhilaration and proudness is something I believe everyone should experience with their respective medium. Baseball has taught me plenty of life lessons and I cannot imagine my life without it.

Martín Dihigo

Dihigo, also known as "El Maestro" and "El Inmortal" throughout his playing career, rose to fame as a five-tool, two-way player in Cuba. Dihigo played all year round, dominating in Cuba and the Negro Leagues as well as in Mexico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, despite the fact that the color line prohibited him from playing in the American or National Leagues. He holds the unique distinction of being the only individual to be honored in the Halls of Fames of the United States, Cuba, and Mexico. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

Orestes Miñoso, aka "Minnie"

Making his debut with Cleveland in 1949, Miñoso became the first Afro-Latino player in AL/NL history. Over the course of 20 seasons, he finished with a career slash line of.299/.387/.461, 195 home runs, 216 stolen bases, 1,089 RBIs, and 1,227 runs scored. In addition to being a seven-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, he hit above.300 eight times. Referred to as "the Latino Jackie Robinson," Miñoso was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021.

Citations

“The Rich History of Baseball in Cuba.” MLB.Com, 24 Feb. 2023, www.mlb.com/news/featured/the-rich-history-of-baseball-in-cuba.