Cuba national baseball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Cuba women's national baseball team.

The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: Selección de béisbol de Cuba) represents Cuba in baseball 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 was described in 2009 as a baseball powerhouse^[2] and currently ranks 12th in World Baseball Softball Confederation's world rankings.^[1]

Cuba national baseball team
Information
Country	Cuba
Federation	Baseball Federation of Cuba
Confederation	WBSC Americas
Captain	Alfredo Despaigne
WBSC ranking
Current	12 (5 August 2025)[1]
Highest	1 (December 2012)
Lowest	11 (2 times; latest in August 2021)
Home Away Alternate
World Baseball Classic
Appearances	6 (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)

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.

Team Cuba will compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic in March 2026.

History

World Baseball Classic era

Cuba competed in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament, despite the controversy of Cuban involvement and the United States embargo against Cuba. In the final, Cuba lost the gold medal to Japan, 10–6.

Cuba was originally slated to host the 2009 Baseball World Cup, however, they willingly gave up the honor to Europe.

Cuban team lining up prior to the gold medal game in the 2006 Intercontinental Cup against the Netherlands

The 2009 WBC was the second time Cuba competed at the 2009 WBC Pool B stage, at Foro Sol in Mexico City. Cuba continued to advance to the second round with wins over South Africa and Australia. Cuba lost to Japan twice in the 2nd round, and were eliminated.

They last were eliminated before the start of the final stage of any international tournament in 1951.^{[citation needed]}

At the 2013 WBC, Cuba competed in Pool A at the Fukuoka Dome in Fukuoka, Japan. Cuba advanced in the tournament against: China, Japan, and newcomers Brazil. Cuba moved on to the second round in Pool 1 to defeat the Netherlands, losing 6–2. Cuba defeated Chinese Taipei, 14–0. They played a face off game with previous competitors, the Netherlands, and lost 7–6. Just as in 2009, Cuba was eliminated in the path to competing in the finals.

At the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Cuban hitters Frederich Cepeda and Alfredo Despaigne had the distinction in WBC history to be the only players that each hit six home runs in their careers in the WBC.^[6]

The team had a 2–1 record in the first round.^[7][8] It was led by slugger Despaigne, who took over as the all-time WBC home-run leader.^[5]

Cuba advanced into the second round, where it lost its first game to undefeated Pool A winner Team Israel.^{[7][9][10][11]} Former Major League starting pitcher Jason Marquis (in 5.2 innings) and three Team Israel relief pitchers (including Brad Goldberg and Josh Zeid, who both threw 96 mph fastballs) kept Cuba to five hits and one run, a homer by Despaigne, who became the all-time World Baseball Classic home run leader.^[12][13][14] Pool A MVP catcher Ryan Lavarnway had two hits for Israel.^[12] Cuba went on to lose all 3 games they played and failed to advance to the championship round.

The team tried but failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics at the eight-team Americas Qualifying Event on May 31 through June 5, 2021. On June 1, 2021, Cuba was eliminated from the qualifiers, marking their first failure to qualify for the Olympic Games.^[15]

Current squad

Cuba roster – 2023 World Baseball Classic
Players				Coaches
Pitchers 22 Frank Álvarez 57 Ronald Bolaños 21 Naykel Cruz 55 Roenis Elías 98 Onelki García 53 Elián Leyva 92 Raidel Martínez 89 Liván Moinelo 47 Yeudis Reyes 30 José Rodríguez 29 Yariel Rodríguez 45 Miguel Romero 83 Carlos Viera 58 Yoennis Yera		Catchers 40 Ariel Martínez 17 Andrys Pérez 16 Lorenzo Quintana Infielders 71 Erisbel Arruebarrena 44 Dayán García 27 Yurisbel Gracial 77 Andy Ibáñez  8 Luis Mateo 10 Yoán Moncada  5 Yadil Mujica Outfielders 52 Yoenis Céspedes 54 Alfredo Despaigne 33 Yadir Drake  7 Yoelkis Guibert 88 Luis Robert Jr.  1 Roel Santos		Manager  6 Armando Johnson Coaches 24 José Elosegui (pitching)  9 Armando Ferrer (first base) 37 Humberto Guevara (coach) 46 Orestes Kindelán (hitting) 99 Pedro Luis Lazo (pitching) 11 Germán Mesa (bench) 39 Rafael Muñoz (third base) 66 Iván Prieto (bullpen) Roster

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.^[16]

Legend

  Win   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2019

Pan American Games GS	July 29	Cuba	1–6	Colombia	Campo de Béisbol, Peru
	10:00 PET		Boxscore		Attendance: 2,456

Pan American Games GS	July 30	Canada	8–6	Cuba	Campo de Béisbol, Peru
	19:00 PET		Boxscore		Attendance: 1,123

Pan American Games GS	July 31	Cuba	10–0 (F/7)	Argentina	Campo de Béisbol, Peru
	15:00 PET		Boxscore		Attendance: 987

Pan American Games 5th	August 3	Dominican Republic	10–9 (F/10)	Cuba	Campo de Béisbol, Peru
	15:00 PET		Boxscore		Attendance: 2,415

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 6	Canada	3–0	Cuba	Gocheok Dome, South Korea
	12:00 KST		Boxscore		Attendance: 250

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 7	Australia	2–3	Cuba	Gocheok Dome, South Korea
	12:00 KST		Boxscore		Attendance: 252

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 8	Cuba	0–7	South Korea	Gocheok Dome, South Korea
	19:00 KST		Boxscore		Attendance: 13,600

2021

Caribbean Cup GS	June 26	Cuba	14–7	Curaçao	Daou Ballpark, Curaçao
	20:00 AST		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	June 27	Cuba	9–1	Peru	Daou Ballpark, Curaçao
	15:00 AST		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	June 28	U.S. Virgin Islands	Void	Cuba	Daou Ballpark, Curaçao
	15:00 AST		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	June 30	Curaçao	0–7	Cuba	Daou Ballpark, Curaçao
	20:00 AST		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	July 1	Cuba	Void	U.S. Virgin Islands	Daou Ballpark, Curaçao
	15:00 AST		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	July 2	Peru	0–13	Cuba	Daou Ballpark, Curaçao
	15:00 AST		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup F	July 3	Curaçao	4–3	Cuba	Daou Ballpark, Curaçao
	20:00 AST		Boxscore

2022

Haarlem Week GS	July 9	Netherlands	5–1	Cuba	Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
	19:30 CET		Boxscore

Haarlem Week GS	July 10	Cuba	3–4	Japan	Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
	19:30 CET		Boxscore

Haarlem Week GS	July 11	Cuba	0–2	United States	Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
	19:30 CET		Boxscore

Haarlem Week GS	July 12	Curaçao	1–0	Cuba	Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
	15:30 CET		Boxscore

Haarlem Week GS	July 13	Italy	2–0	Cuba	Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
	12:00 CET		Boxscore

Haarlem Week 5th	July 14	Cuba	5–1	Italy	Mulier Stadium, Netherlands
	12:00 CET		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	December 5	Cuba	9–0	U.S. Virgin Islands	Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas
	15:00 ET		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	December 6	Puerto Rico	6–0	Cuba	Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas
	19:00 ET		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	December 7	Bahamas	3–9	Cuba	Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas
	19:00 ET		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup GS	December 8	Cuba	8–7	Curaçao	Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas
	15:00 ET		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup SF	December 10	Curaçao	2–4	Cuba	Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas
	14:00 ET		Boxscore

Caribbean Cup F	December 11	Cuba	4–9	Puerto Rico	Rodgers Stadium, Bahamas
	17:00 ET		Boxscore

2023

World Baseball Classic GS	March 8	Cuba	2–4	Netherlands	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST	LP: Onelki García (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Eric Méndez (1–0) Sv: Wendell Floranus (1)	Attendance: 6,501 Umpires: HP – Nic Lentz, 1B – Shoji Arisumi, 2B – Dan Iassogna, 3B – Serge Makouchetev

World Baseball Classic GS	March 9	Italy	6–3 (F/10)	Cuba	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	19:00 NST	WP: Matthew Festa (1–0)	Boxscore	LP: Raidel Martínez (0–1)	Attendance: 6,217 Umpires: HP: Ki Talk Park, 1B: Mark Carlson, 2B: Chris Segal, 3B: Serge Makouchetcher

World Baseball Classic GS	March 10	Cuba	13–4	Panama	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST	WP: Miguel Romero (1–0)	Boxscore	LP: Matt Hardy (0–1) HR: Rubén Tejada (1)	Attendance: 7,023 Umpires: HP - Dan Iassogna, 1B - Serge Makouchetev, 2B - Mark Carlson, 3B - Trent Thomas

World Baseball Classic GS	March 12	Chinese Taipei	1–7	Cuba	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST	LP: Shih-Peng Chen (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Elian Leyva (1–0) HR: Erisbel Arruebarrena (1), Yoán Moncada (1)	Attendance: 18,852 Umpires: HP – Nic Lentz, 1B – Ki Talk Park, 2B – Larry Vanover, 3B – Shoji Arisumi

World Baseball Classic QF	March 15	Australia	3–4	Cuba	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	19:00 NST	LP: Josh Guyer (0–1) HR: Rixon Wingrove (1)	Boxscore	WP: Miguel Romero (2–0) Sv: Raidel Martínez (1)	Attendance: 35,061 Umpires: HP – Adam Hamari, 1B – Cuti Suárez, 2B – Laz Díaz, 3B – Delfin Colon

World Baseball Classic SF	March 19	Cuba	2–14	United States	loanDepot Park, United States
	19:00 ET	LP: Roenis Elías	Boxscore	WP: Adam Wainwright HR: Paul Goldschmidt (1), Trea Turner (3), Trea Turner (4), Cedric Mullins (1)	Attendance: 35,779 Umpires: HP – John Tumpane, 1B – Quinn Wolcott, 2B – Lance Barksdale, 3B – Jong Chui Park, LF – Ramiro Alfaro, RF – Edward Pinales

International tournament results

World Baseball Classic

World Baseball Classic record								Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA		W	L	RS	RA
2006	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	44	43		No qualifiers held
2009	Quarterfinals	6th	4	2	36	24		No qualifiers held
2013	Quarterfinals	5th	4	2	45	18		Automatically qualified
2017	Quarterfinals	7th	2	4	23	40
2023	Semifinals	4th	3	3	31	32		Automatically qualified
2026	To be determined							Automatically qualified
Total	Runners-up	6/6	18	14	179	157		—	—	—	—

Olympics

Summer Olympics record									Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	W	L	%	RS	RA		Method
1992	Gold medal	1st	9	0	1.000	95	16		1991 Pan American Games
1996	Gold medal	1st	9	0	1.000	118	59		1995 Pan American Games
2000	Silver medal	2nd	7	2	.778	53	21		1999 Pan American Games
2004	Gold medal	1st	8	1	.889	55	27		Americas Qualifying Tournament
2008	Silver medal	2nd	7	2	.778	64	28		Americas Qualifying Tournament
2020	Did not qualify								Americas Qualifying Event
2028	To be determined								To be determined
Total	3 Titles	5/6	40	5	.889	385	151

Baseball World Cup

• Gold: 1939, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005
• Silver: 1941, 2007, 2009, 2011
• Bronze: 1944, 1951

Intercontinental Cup

• Gold: 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2006
• Silver: 1981, 1997, 1999

Pan American Games

• Gold: 1951, 1963, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007
• Silver: 1967
• Bronze: 2011, 2015

Central American & Caribbean Games

• Gold: 1926, 1930, 1935, 1938, 1950, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2006, 2014
• Silver: 1982, 2018
• Bronze: 1946

Minor tournaments

• Pan American Championship
  • Champions: 1985, 2002, 2004, 2004
• Latin American Series
  • Champions: 1952

See also

• Cuba portal

• 1999 Baltimore Orioles–Cuba national baseball team exhibition series
• Cuban National Series