Introduction of Caribbean Latinos to baseball

American baseball was first introduced to Latinos in the Caribbean in the 1860s. Introduced first to Cuba, the sport would travel with Cubans to Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, and grew significantly in popularity in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Most players of Caribbean descent that played baseball in America had to play in the Negro Leagues with a few players who were ethnically ambiguous enough to play in the white professional league. Latino players were frequently paid low wages compared to white baseball players, but more money than people in the Caribbean were paid. For decades, Caribbean Latinos struggled to culturally acclimate to the United States both socially and racially. Latino players found difficulty with the language barrier and the color barrier. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball and baseball became racially integrated. It would be longer before it was standard practice to employ Spanish speaking managers to effectively communicate with Latino players.

By country

Cuba

In 1864 Nemisio Guillo, who was schooled in the United States, brought baseball to Cuba. Nemesio along with his brother Ernesto made the Havana Base Ball Club. Some contest that the exact origin was not from the Guillo brothers, but it was instead sailors importing sugar from Cuba who played baseball while in port. It is known that sailors played a match against Cuban dockworkers in 1866, and in two years' time there would be multiple baseball clubs developed in Cuba. Spaniards in Cuba did not play baseball, considering it to be rebellious, untraditional, and not their identity.

Esteban Bellan, the first Latino to play professionally in the United States, and Emilio Sabourin, who is referred to as the "father" of Latino baseball, both played for a club in Havana. The sport took a different style of play in the Caribbean. Bellan would return from playing professionally in the United States to Cuba and make the first team in 1872. Bellan's professional American debut was before the creation of the color barrier in baseball. Due to a lack of proper equipment, baseballs could be unreliable, leading to a lack of "power hitting" from players. Players would play for contact and pitchers could use "mushy" balls for more elaborate pitches. Ballparks were larger and batters were less likely to attempt home runs. Therefore, defensive players were more valued in gameplay and would use stylistic catches and throws that were resented in organized baseball, but acceptable in Negro-League Baseball.

Dominican Republic

Baseball gained its traction in the Caribbean starting in Cuba, but during the Ten Years' War (1868-1878) thousands of Cubans went to the island of Hispaniola for refuge. Cubans brought the game with them, introducing it to the Dominican Republic. The Cuban brothers Ignacio and Ubaldo Alomá made the first two baseball clubs on the island in June 1891 in Santo Domingo. The teams contained Cubans, Dominicans, some North Americans, and a German, which established that the sport for Dominicans would not have a color barrier. The two teams, El Cauto and CervecerÍa, would play each other in distinctive colors of red and blue. The Azules (Blues) and the Rojos (Reds) names were copied by Dr. Samuel Mendoza y Ponce de León when he brought the sport inland, establishing two clubs in 1893 after the same color names.

Roberto Clemente honored on stamp as part of the Legendary Players series.

Puerto Rico

Unlike the Dominican Republic, when Cubans brought baseball to Puerto Rico it was not immediately accepted since some locals found it to be unmasculine. Teams were made on the island in 1897 and in 1898 the Almendares and Borinquen Baseball Clubs played a match against each other. The sport would rise in popularity from American influence when Puerto Rico became a territory. In 1900, the Almendares secured a victory over an American team and catalyzed baseball's legacy on the island. African Americans were revered for their success in the Negro Leagues and inspired the next generation of aspiring players like Roberto Clemente and Orlando Cepeda.

Scouting in the Caribbeans

A scout was typically a former player who would approach a team to be their Latin American scout. Cities provided hubs of prospect activity for potential players to be sent to the United States. One of the most known talent scouts was Joe Cambria, who worked for the Washington Senators. Cambria would pick up cheap talent in the areas around Havana. The scouting industry would be exploitative of young men who had never been offered money for playing baseball before, although the amount they were offered was thousands less than white players were given. Scout Alejandro Pompez was surprised when a young Fidel Castro turned down $5,000 contract to be a pitcher, the same amount Jackie Robinson signed for his first year in Major League Baseball. Very few light-skinned players would be allowed to cross the color barrier into the major leagues, so most Caribbeans could only hope to become big in the Negro Leagues.

Caribbeans in early United States baseball

Triangular New York Cuban Stars brown felt pennant.

In 1899, Abel Linares debuted his Latino team, the All-Cubans, playing against minor league teams, semi-professional teams, and Negro League teams.

In 1916 Alejandro Pompez, an Afro-Cuban, debuted his team, the Cuban Stars, which contained both light skinned Cubans and Afro-Cubans. From 1923-1928 the team played in the Eastern Colored League, located in the American Northeast, strictly because their Afro-Cuban players were not allowed to integrate with white professional teams. The team would tour in the Caribbean and bring players from the Caribbean to New York to play.

A Caribbean players ability to play in the white professional league and the Negro League teams was determined if they were "light skinned." There were less than four dozen Latino players who played on white professional teams before the sport was racially integrated. No matter the skin color of a player, most struggled with the language barrier in America. They could not have a relationship with the fans or interview with the press if they could not communicate in English.

Winter ball

Winter league baseball refers to the off season in the American professional leagues when teams would play in the warmer Caribbean climate rather than not play because of the cold weather in America. The Caribbean did not segregate the sport like America did, so anyone could play in the winter campaigns. Winter ball was also important for Caribbean Latinos who played in the American Negro Leagues because their immigration visas would expire after the season, so they would gain employment through their countries.

Opposition to African Caribbeans after integration

Poster to the Detroit Tigers opposing the Dominican player Ozzie Virgil from joining the team.

Depending on the location of the team, management, and the players on the team, African-Caribbean players would face difficulties off of the field. Minnie Miñoso, who was the first Black Latino to play in the majors, was told by African American players that he did not understand being black in America. Vic Power, an Afro-Puerto Rican player, complained he could not play for the New York Yankees out of the minors because he was not the "right type of negro." Juan Marichal, a Dominican player, lamented having his reputation damaged by merely attending a cockfight which was both accepted and popular in the Dominican Republic.