Mentioned this is the Chris Sale thread, but by that time the healthy eaters had taken over, and this deserves its own thread, anyway:

Phillies broadcaster Rickie Ricardo told Sports Radio 94 WIP in Philadelphia on Monday morning that he delivered 100 Cuban pastries (two boxes of 50) to Chapman this weekend and when he saw the reliever in the clubhouse Sunday morning, Chapman had eaten about 18 of them. “He couldn’t breathe!” Ricardo said. “I looked at my partner, I said, ‘He’s ripe for the ...

No ordinary minor league team, the [Havana] Sugar Kings were the Cincinnati Reds’ International League Class AAA affiliate based in Havana for six and a half seasons in prerevolutionary Cuba. Though the team’s existence was brief, the Sugar Kings drew a strong following in Cuba and became a springboard for Latin American players. [...]

Fulgencio Batista, defeated by Castro’s rebels, fled the country Jan. 1, 1959. Revolutionary fever reached its peak at the Gran Estadio that year at midnight ...

A .289 OBP can’t get you to first base…but it can get you home.

This week, Ordóñez took advantage of the Cuba travel policy enacted in January and finally returned to Havana, where he was given a hero’s welcome.

An AP reporter found Ordóñez hanging out in a hotel in downtown Havana, taking pictures with his fans and generally having a good time. The shortstop expressed his joy on returning to his homeland and his shock at his star power, saying “It surprised me because I’ve been gone ...

RIP…

Cuban pitcher Yadier Pedroso, a member of the national baseball team that played in the 3rd World Classic, died in a traffic accident on the weekend, state media reported Sunday.

Pedroso was riding in an automobile that crashed into a cargo truck on Friday night at a spot known as Manga Central on the highway leading to the province of Artemisa, located 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Havana, the official AIN news agency said.

The 26-year-old right-handed hurler earlier had played on ...

Honk, Honk.

Havana, Cuba (CNN)—The baseball field looks like any other where people flock to play pickup games in Cuba on the weekends.

A few blocks from the blindingly turquoise ocean, players hustle to close out innings in between slugs of Cristal beer.

But this game was different from any other being played.

It’s not just that legends of the Cuban leagues arrived throughout the morning to play on this dusty field on the outskirts of Havana. No one in the small crowd that formed even looked at them. ...Read More...

Guerrero has been one of Cuba’s best players the last few years, hitting .338/.408/.641 in 2009, .343/.414/.583 in 2010 and .310/.400/.599 in 2011. Between the three seasons, he delivered 60 homers in 886 at-bats.

He sat out the 2012 season due to a reported lack of motivation after being passed over for the national team, but still seems like a very interesting talent.

Most of the rosters are to be released tomorrow, but Cuba just released theirs:

Catchers: Yulexis La Rosa, Frank Camilo Morejon and Eriel Sanchez.

Infielders: José Dariel Abreu, Luis Felipe Rivera, José Miguel Fernández, Andy Ibañez, Yulieski Gourriel and Barbaro Arrebarruena.

Outfielders: Frederich Cepeda, Alfredo Despaigne, Rusney Castillo, Alexei Bell, Guillermo Hernandez Heredia and Yadiel Hernandez.

Pitchers: Freddy Asiel Alvarez, Ismel Jimenez, Raciel Iglesias, Odrisamer Despaigne, ...

Did Minoso get an AB that year?

The sports authorities in the western Cuban province of Matanzas will commemorate here the 138 years of the first official baseball game on the archipelago, with a program that includes a scientific event on that discipline.
According to the agenda released today the opening of the meeting will be on Wednesday at Palmar de Junco Stadium in this city, 100 kilometers east of Havana.

Theoretical debates among researchers and historians, book presentations, panels ...

The next Mosquito Ordenana? Only time will tell!

Yoan Manuel Moncada Olivares is currently full of expectation, because next Tuesday, he will wear the jersey of the Cienfuegos team, as rookie, in the 52nd Cuban Baseball Series. And no wonder, because this young player knows there are hundreds of eyes on him due to his distinguished career at youth level, which makes him one of the top prospects in the country.

“Cienfuegos can expect the best of me this year despite being a rookie, I hope ...