More Baseball... In Cuba!

    For the next two weeks of my trip, I stayed at the guest house, Casa Carmen, in Havana, Cuba, hoping to see some more baseball action like I did in the Dominican Republic. However, since there was a break in the season for about the first week I was there, I got to experience some other stuff first. One of the great things in Havana was Old Havana, just a beautiful neighborhood (also a UNESCO World Heritage site) to walk around and take in the locals and their culture. The best parts of Old Havana were Plaza Vieja, the main square filled with art and liveliness, and El Malecón, a stunning 5-mile long boulevard between the sea and the city.

Plaza Vieja in the center of Old Havana

    I also went to nearby places to learn about the history of Cuba alongside its unique culture. I visited the breathtaking Plaza de la Catedral as well as Finca Vigía, the home of Ernest Hemingway for 22 years while he lived and wrote many of his most famous works in Havana. I visited the Museum of the Revolution which essentially detailed the entire history of Cuba and the events that led to Fidel Castro's successful uprising. I also got to see the Museum of Fine Arts which had a very nice collection of Cuban and international works. I also visited some of the beautiful beaches there because they were too good to pass up.

    Now, I couldn't miss my absolute favorite activity, especially in Cuba, watching baseball. The Cuban National Series has a long history and is another one of the respected Latin America baseball leagues. Fidel Castro even played baseball in Cuba when he was a young spry lad. I was able to see two of Industriales' home games at Estadio Latinoamericano given the awkward timing of my arrival and the schedule of the winner series. 

An Industriales batter and a Las Tunas catcher watching the baseball after it was hit

    The first game I went to on October 27th saw the Industriales Leones beat out the Las Tunas Leñadores 6-4. The Leones exploded for 5 runs in the third inning and held steady behind their starter, Erlis Callava. Yoalkis Rondón picked up the loss for the Leñadores while Wilfredo Jiménez, the designated hitter for Industriales, put up the best offensive performance with 2 hits, a home run, 1 run scored, and 2 RBIs.

    The next game I saw on the 29th, Las Tunas got their revenge, whipping the Leones to a 7-0 victory. Yander Morales pitched 6 shutout innings to get the win for the Leñadores over Angel Jiménez of the Leones. Las Tunas spread their 7 runs out over 4 innings with help from catcher Rafael Alvarez' stellar performance. He put together 3 hits in 4 at bats including a home run, 2 RBIs, and 2 runs scored. While these Cuban baseball games didn't have the same star-power seen in the Dominican Republic, they were still an absolute joy to watch and experience.