The Utility Player: An Examination of the Role of Baseball in Cuban Society

Harral, Emily (2018) The Utility Player: An Examination of the Role of Baseball in Cuban Society. Undergraduate thesis, under the direction of Douglass Sullivan- Gonzalez from History, The University of Mississippi.

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Abstract

In this thesis, I will address the role of baseball in Cuba from 1898-2016. I split the thesis into three distinct time periods: Country inception (1898-1953), Revolution (1953-1989), Special Period (1989-2016). Each of these times periods represents a historically significant shift in the political history of Cuba. Every chapter seeks to define the role and significance of baseball in that time period. Through the use of newspapers, magazines, and speeches, I analyze the importance of baseball in society. Additionally, I include information from notable historians to provide contextual information. Cuban baseball served as a form of connection for the sharing of ideas between the US in the early 20th century. It served as a symbol of industrialization and the political and economic advancements that occur. During the revolutionary period, baseball served as a way to legitimize the Revolutionary Government. In transition to the Special Period baseball became a symbol that holds the Cuban nation together. Through economic and political struggles baseball remained a support system. In the end, I found that baseball plays a contributory role in Cuban Society from 1898 to 2016.

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