Havana Hardball

Spring Training, Jackie Robinson, and the Cuban League

César Brioso

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English

University Press of Florida
30 September 2025

History of the Americas; Baseball

Relive the tumultuous preseason before Robinson broke the color barrier

In February 1947, the most memorable season in the history of the Cuban League finished with a dramatic series win by Almendares against its rival, Habana. As the celebration spread through the streets of Havana and across Cuba, the Brooklyn Dodgers were beginning spring training on the island. One of the Dodgers’ minor league players was Jackie Robinson.

He was on the verge of making his major-league debut in the United States, an event that would fundamentally change sports—and America. To avoid harassment from the white crowds in Florida during this critical preseason, the Dodgers relocated their spring training to Cuba, where black and white teammates had played side by side since 1900.

It was also during this time that Major League Baseball was trying its hardest to bring the “outlaw” Cuban League under the control of organized baseball. As the Cubans fought to stay independent, Robinson worked to earn a roster spot on the Dodgers in the face of discrimination from his future teammates.

Havana Hardball captures the excitement of the Cuban League’s greatest pennant race and the anticipation of the looming challenge to MLB’s color barrier. Illuminating one of the sport’s most pivotal seasons, veteran journalist César Brioso brings together a rich mix of worlds as the heyday of Latino baseball converged with one of the most socially meaningful events in U.S. history.

By: César Brioso
Imprint: University Press of Florida
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 19mm
ISBN: 9780813081304
ISBN 10: 0813081300
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 30 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

CÉsar Brioso is a digital producer and former baseball editor for USA TODAY Sports. In his 25 years as a sports journalist, he has written for the Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Reviews for Havana Hardball: Spring Training, Jackie Robinson, and the Cuban League

""Brioso's excellent history details these events while also documenting the history of professional baseball in Cuba. . .This book chronicles baseball history at its best, covering an important chapter in U.S.-Cuba social history.""--Library Journal ""A major contribution to our knowledge of Cuban baseball . . . and likely to remain a standard item in the bibliography of serious scholars.""--Florida Historical Quarterly