Cuba's Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story

After the integration of major league baseball in 1947, Cuban ballplayers such as Minnie Miñoso, Pedro Ramos, and Sandy Amorós dotted rosters throughout the National and American Leagues. Later, legends including Tony Pérez, Tony Olivia, and the incomparable Luis Tiant left Cuba before the start of the country's revolution in 1953 prevented future stars from entering American baseball. Since that time, several players defected to the United States. The numbers increased as Cuba's economy declined; from 23 in 2009 to 36 in 2013, including Yasiel Puig and Aroldis Chapman. Cuban baseball, with a proud and fascinating history of its own, has suffered from these losses. Now that U.S.-Cuba relations have warmed, prospects for the game's future in the latter have seriously declined. In clear prose, Bjarkman (A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864–2006) details the shift of Cuban stars to the major leagues at the expense of Cuban baseball. His latest book is a revelation, specifically its documentation of the often shady U.S. role in recruiting top talent.