The Cuba national baseball team () also known as "Team Asere", represents Cuba in baseball at regional and international levels. The team is generally made up of players from the domestic Cuban national baseball system, though it has at times included players who defected to the United States. Cuba was described in 2009 as a baseball powerhouse and currently ranks 12th in World Baseball Softball Confederation's world rankings.
For much of the 20th century, Cuba dominated tournaments such as the Baseball World Cup (originally, the Amateur World Series), where it won 25 titles (22 more than the next-closest nation) between 1939 and 2005. Its success stemmed, in part, from the nominally amateur status of its domestic league, as professional players from other leagues were largely excluded from international competition. During this period, it enjoyed similar dominance at the Pan American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games.
Cuba has been the most successful national team at the Olympics, medaling in five of the six Olympics in which baseball was played, with three gold medals and two silver medals."World Baseball Classic: Israel continues to shock the world, beats Cuba 4-1," Haaretz. It has the distinction of being one of two nations, along with Japan, to compete in the first five baseball contests at the Summer Olympic Games.
The Cuba national baseball have competed in the 2026 World Baseball Classic in March 2026, but were met with a shocking exit on Pool A, losing to both hosts Puerto Rico and surprising upstart Canada despite winning against Panama and Colombia, with Cuba having been eliminated for the very first time in a World Baseball Classic tournament.
History World Baseball Classic era Cuba competed in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament, despite the controversy of Cuban involvement and the United States embargo against Cuba. In the final, Cuba lost the gold medal to Japan, 10–6.
Cuba was originally slated to host the 2009 Baseball World Cup, but the matches were moved to Europe.
The 2009 WBC was the second time Cuba competed at the 2009 WBC Pool B stage, at Foro Sol in Mexico City. Cuba continued to advance to the second round with wins over South Africa and Australia. Cuba lost to Japan 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.
At the 2013 WBC, Cuba competed in Pool A at the Fukuoka Dome in Fukuoka, Japan. Cuba advanced in the tournament against: China, Japan, and newcomers Brazil. Cuba moved on to the second round in Pool 1 to defeat the Netherlands, losing 6–2. Cuba defeated Chinese 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.
At the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Cuban hitters Frederich Cepeda and Alfredo Despaigne had the distinction in WBC history to be the only players that each hit six home runs in their careers in the WBC."Blue-and-white takes on Cuba in Tokyo," The Jerusalem Post.
The team had a 2–1 record in the first round.Cuba Qualifies for Second Round in WBC | EscambrayCuba tops Australia, reaches second round of World Baseball Classic It was led by slugger Despaigne, who took over as the all-time WBC home-run leader.
Cuba advanced into the second round, where it lost its first game to undefeated Pool A winner Team Israel."Despaigne's grand slam sends Cuba to second round of WBC," The Japan Times."World Baseball Classic roundup: Dominican Republic cruises" | SI.comCuba vs. Israel Wrapup | 03/11/17 | World Baseball Classic Former Major League starting pitcher Jason Marquis (in 5.2 innings) and three Team Israel relief pitchers (including Brad Goldberg and Josh Zeid, who both threw 96 mph fastballs) kept Cuba to five hits and one run, a homer by Despaigne, who became the all-time World Baseball Classic home run leader. Pool A MVP catcher Ryan Lavarnway had two hits for Israel. Cuba went on to lose all 3 games they played and failed to advance to the championship round.
The team tried but failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics at the eight-team Americas 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.
Current squad
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Legend
2019
2021
2022
2023
2026
International tournament results
World Baseball Classic YearRoundPosition 2006 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 44 43 No qualifiers held 2009 Quarterfinals 6th 4 2 36 24 No qualifiers held 2013 Quarterfinals 5th 4 2 45 18 Automatically qualified 2017 Quarterfinals 7th 2 4 23 40 2023 Semifinals 4th 3 3 31 32 Automatically qualified 2026 Pool Stage 10th 2 2 13 16 Automatically qualified Total Runners-up 6/6 18 14 179 157 — — — —
Olympics Qualification recordYearRoundPositionMethod 1992 Gold medal 1st 9 0 95 16 1991 Pan American Games 1996 Gold medal 1st 9 0 118 59 1995 Pan American Games 2000 Silver medal 2nd 7 2 53 21 1999 Pan American Games 2004 Gold medal 1st 8 1 55 27 Americas Qualifying Tournament 2008 Silver medal 2nd 7 2 64 28 Americas Qualifying Tournament 2020 Did not qualify Americas Qualifying Event 2028 2026 World Baseball Classic Total 3 Titles 5/6 40 5 385 151
Baseball World Cup Gold: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Silver: 1941, 2007, 2009, 2011 Bronze: 1944, 1951
Intercontinental Cup Gold: 1979, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2006 Silver: 1981, 1997, 1999
Pan American Games Gold: 1951, 1963, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007 Silver: 1967 Bronze: 2011, 2015
Central American & Caribbean Games Gold: 1926, 1930, 1935, 1938, 1950, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2006, 2014 Silver: 1982, 2018 Bronze: 1946
Minor tournaments Pan American Championship Champions: 1985, 2002, 2003, 2004 Latin American Series Champions: 1952
See also
1999 Baltimore Orioles–Cuba national baseball team exhibition series Cuban National Series
References
External links