The Beginnings

Many baseball fans in the Caribbean Basin assume the game was brought to the countries as a result of countless early 20th-century U.S. military interventions in the region. The front-lining baseball-goods manufacturer of the time, Spalding, credits "colonialism and the military" for the game's dispersal into the new lands(46). Baseball arrived in Latin America primarily through Cuba around the time of the Cuban War for Independence.  Nemesio and Ernesto Guilló, are believed to have brought the first bat and baseball to the island in 1864.  In 1868, the brothers organized the Havana Baseball Club (47).

Between 1875 and 1877, Teodoro and Carlos de Zaldo studied at Fordham College in New York, and, upon their return to Cuba in 1878, they founded the Almendares Baseball Club, which became the Havana club's main rival. Later, an amateur Cuban League was organized.  The League slowly became professional, evolving into the Cuban Winter League that operated until 1961, when it was abolished by Fidel Castro's regime (48).

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The logo for the Almendares Baseball Club

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The Spaniards' motives for this ban: Cuban young men and women began to favor baseball over bullfights.  Cubans committed to their independence from Spain seemed to equate baseball as a symbol of freedom, egalitarianism, and democracy (49). Soon, other Latino countrieis quickly picked up the game. Mexico was introduced to the sport in 1882, Nicaragua in 1888, and Venezuela even started its own league in 1895. Esteban Enrique Bellán of Cuba became the first Latino player to play for a professional team when he played for the Troy Haymakers and the New York Mutuals of the National Association.  However, it was not until 1911 that Latino baseball players began receiving notoriety. The first two Latinos to play in what is now Major League Baseball were Rafael Almeida and Armando Marsans.  They joined the Cincinnati Reds of the National League in 1911.

Latino Growth in the Majors

Initially, Latino baseball players were playing outside of the major leagues due to racial pressures. One of these other leagues included the Negro leagues. Between 1933 and 1947, over twenty different Latinos appeared in the East-West Classic in the Negro leagues, yet only Al Lopez (twice) and Lefty Gomez (seven times) appeared on Major-League All-Star teams (50). Latino integration rose following the end of the war and a general pro-integration sentiment throughout the media. This slow integration had one interesting effect on the issue of racial profiling. It was common to profile many Latino baseball players as Negro because of their dark skin. Latinos believed that they were being denied their colored identity. This initiated an interracial feud because Latinos were perceived as not wanting to associate with African Americans(51). One African American player even stated "I don't think I'm any better than they are, but I'm not any worse either. They think they're better than the colored guy" (52).

In the 1960s the flow of Cuban baseball talent to the United States was cut off by the advent of the Castro regime.  The growing instability of Fidel Castro's government in Cuba directly threatened the composition of the Latin talent pool.  However, the number of Puerto Rican players increased and some of the finest Latino players such as Clemente and Cepeda were reaching their peaks.  By the late 1960’s, Latino baseball players were more prevalent on MLB rosters than ever before.
By the 1970s Dominicans were nearly as numerous in the majors as Puerto Ricans.  However, the number of Cuban players had dwindled because Cuba remained closed. By the end of the decade and into the 1980’s, Dominicans were as numerous as Puerto Rican players.

1990 Till Now

“The numbers of Latino players will continue to mount"(53)- Felipe Alou

A common trend among Latino baseball players is acquiring them "on the cheap." In 1975, major-league organizations gave U.S.-born players selected in the amateur draft an average signing bonus of $60,000. In sharp contrast, signing bonuses for foreign-born Latinos acquired as undrafted free agents only averaged $5,000(54). Another important discrepancy is that players selected directly from the amateur draft are legally protected under the MLB guidelines. To illustrate the case against joining the MLB as a free agent, consider the story of Alex Rodriquez, who received a 1.3 million dollar signing bonus as the number one pick overall in 1993. He stated "I'm really grateful I was born and raised in the U.S. I'm sure I would have been a top prospect in the Dominican Republic, but maybe I would have gotten $5,000 or $10,000. The point is, it would have been a much tougher road" (55).

Latino presence in baseball has increased dramatically over the years.  In 1990, Latinos made up 13% of all Major League baseball players.  In that year, only 9 of the 58 players that represented the All Star teams were Latino.  In 1997, that number increased to 24% surpassing the amount of Black baseball players (17%) in the Major Leagues (56).

The 2005 season opened with 242 of 829 foreign players on MLB rosters. 204 of these players were Latin American.  Latin players made up 25% of all Major Leaguers (57). Not only is there a a large number of Latino players in Major League Baseball, but a great deal of these players are amongst the best in the game. In 2006, 23 out of 71 All-Stars were Latino and 6 of the 10 players with the highest batting averages were Latino.  Since 1990, six of the last 15 players to win the Most Valuable Player awards in the All-Star game have been of Latino descent