For much of the 20th century, Cuba dominated tournaments such as theBaseball World Cup (originally, the Amateur World Series), where it won 26 titles (22 more than the next-closest nation) between1939 and2005. Its success stemmed, in part, from theamateur status of its domestic league, as professional players from other leagues were largely excluded from international competition.[3][4] During this period, it enjoyed similar dominance at thePan American Games and theCentral American and Caribbean Games.
Cuba has been the most successful national team at the Olympics, medaling in five of the sixOlympics in which baseball was played, with three gold medals and two silver medals.[5] It has the distinction of being one of two nations to compete in the first five baseball contests at theSummer Olympic Games.
Cuban team lining up prior to the gold medal game in the2006 Intercontinental Cup against the Netherlands
The 2009 WBC was the second time Cuba competed at the2009 WBC Pool B stage, atForo Sol inMexico City. Cuba continued to advance to the second round with wins overSouth Africa andAustralia. Cuba lost toJapan twice in the 2nd round, and were eliminated.
They last were eliminated before the start of the final stage of any international tournament in 1951.[citation needed]
At the 2013 WBC, Cuba competed inPool A at theFukuoka Dome inFukuoka, Japan. Cuba advanced in the tournament against:China,Japan, and newcomersBrazil. Cuba moved on to the second round inPool 1 to defeat theNetherlands, losing 6–2. Cuba defeatedChinese Taipei, 14–0. They played a face off game with previous competitors, the Netherlands, and lost 7–6. Just as in 2009, Cuba was eliminated in the path to competing in the finals.
The team had a 2–1 record in the first round.[7][8] It was led by slugger Despaigne, who took over as the all-time WBC home-run leader.[5]
Cuba advanced into the second round, where it lost its first game to undefeated Pool A winnerTeam Israel.[7][9][10][11] Former Major League starting pitcherJason Marquis (in 5.2 innings) and three Team Israel relief pitchers (includingBrad Goldberg andJosh Zeid, who both threw 96mphfastballs) kept Cuba to five hits and one run, a homer by Despaigne, who became the all-time World Baseball Classic home run leader.[12][13][14] Pool A MVP catcherRyan Lavarnway had two hits for Israel.[12] Cuba went on to lose all 3 games they played and failed to advance to the championship round.
The team tried but failed toqualify for the 2020 Olympics at the eight-teamAmericas Qualifying Event on May 31 through June 5, 2021. On June 1, 2021, Cuba was eliminated from the qualifiers, marking their first failure to qualify for the Olympic Games.[15]
The following is a list ofprofessionalbaseball match results currently active in the latest version of theWBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.[16]
Cuba
(11 November 2025)[1]
2nd (1 time, in2006)
1st (3 times, most recent in2004)
1st (25 times, most recent in2005)
1st (10 times, most recent in2006)
1st (12 times, most recent in2007)
Colombia
Argentina
South Korea
Curaçao
Peru
Japan
United States
Panama
1992
2nd
2004
2008
Media related toCuba national baseball team at Wikimedia Commons
