Conrado Marrero, now the oldest ex-MLB player, turns 100 on the 25th:
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=41255
― your generation appalls me (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 16 April 2011 05:46 (thirteen years ago) link
Jan 18-26:
http://sabr.org/latest/sign-baseball-tour-cuba-january-2012
― incredibly middlebrow (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 7 September 2011 02:23 (twelve years ago) link
Connie Marrero, nearly 101 and blind, to get an MLB pension:
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/23/149080927/at-100-cuban-all-star-to-get-a-pension-at-last
― Literal Facepalms (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 25 March 2012 14:36 (twelve years ago) link
I know the cost would be an obstacle for most of you (tho worth every buck imho), but this is still the best trip I've ever taken.
Cubaball Tours will conduct its 11th annual tour from January 25-February 2, 2013. As in the past, tour highlights include attendance at five or six games of the Cuban National Series, visits to history baseball locales such as La Tropical Stadium and the baseball monuments at Havana's Cemetery, and, schedule permitting, the grave of Martin Dihigo. The highlight of each tour is an audience with Conrado "Connie" Marrero, 101 years of age and the oldest living major leaguer. For more information and to register, visit http://www.prime-travel.com/cubaball_form_submit.asp or contact Kit Krieger at ejkrie✧✧✧@s✧✧✧.c✧.
― cancer, kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 16 October 2012 15:21 (eleven years ago) link
btw Connie Marrero has made it to 102
http://sabr.org/latest/worlds-oldest-former-major-leaguer-turns-102
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/I5tuxw.gaZzbyc3sAm_YSw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MzU3Njtjcj0xO2N3PTUxMTI7ZHg9MDtkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTQ0MTtxPTg1O3c9NjMw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/4063545ae5cf140d300f6a706700352d.jpg
― Pope Rusty I (Dr Morbius), Monday, 6 May 2013 14:07 (ten years ago) link
shit, might be time for me to go back.
http://sabr.org/latest/sign-now-2014-baseball-tour-cuba
― Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 14 September 2013 15:19 (ten years ago) link
btw I probably saw Alexei Ramirez play for Pinar del Rio in 2004
― Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 17 September 2013 15:08 (ten years ago) link
how much was it?
― The Dance Twerking Was MADE So (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Tuesday, 17 September 2013 16:12 (ten years ago) link
I don't remember, but this year it's $2599 (with a supplement of $50 if you lodge solo).
http://www.prime-travel.com/tours/cubaball-tours/
― Miss Arlington twirls for the Coal Heavers (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 17 September 2013 16:15 (ten years ago) link
that's a supplement of $450
So now what?
At one point Wednesday, M.L.B. became so concerned about the reaction to Obama’s announcement that it sent a directive to its 30 teams pointing out that it remained illegal to scout players in Cuba, or to sign them, because the American embargo of the island remained in effect....
Peter C. Bjarkman, a Cuban baseball historian, noted that the Cuban government had recently adopted a policy that allowed players to join teams in Mexico and Japan. But major league clubs in the United States are a different matter.
“The Cubans want their players to now have more experience and to play professionally overseas and earn some money,” Bjarkman said. “But there is a condition: They want those players to play in the Cuban league in the winter. Otherwise they will be throwing up their hands.”
Major league teams, however, would probably not agree to allow Cuban players to spend entire winters playing baseball back home, reasoning that the injury risk would be too great.
“This is an issue that’s going to be debated in Cuba now,” Bjarkman said. “They want to utilize baseball resources to bring more money into the country, but they don’t want to sell their league to North America.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/sports/baseball/for-baseball-cuba-is-front-and-center.html
― things lose meaning over time (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 18 December 2014 16:58 (nine years ago) link
http://ballparkdigest.com/2015/11/30/schwechheimer-bringing-milb-to-cuba
― mookieproof, Monday, 30 November 2015 14:49 (eight years ago) link
if you'd like to go in late September
https://sabr.org/latest/cubaball-tours-announces-2018-dates
― the ignatius rock of ignorance (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 14 July 2018 20:06 (five years ago) link
so i'll be there in late Nov – but am having hard time divining if there are going to be any actual baseball games going on while i'm there.
― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 17 October 2018 18:41 (five years ago) link
i am confident that there'll be actual baseball games, but discovering when and where does seem awfully complicated. maybe ask this guy for tips? https://twitter.com/baseballdecuba
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 17 October 2018 19:13 (five years ago) link
What we call the regular season, they call the National Series, and it runs from August thru late December.
http://www.baseballdecuba.com/2018-19-Cuban-Baseball-Season-Schedule-Released?language=en
There's a schedule link, but it only shows the results of the first half.
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 17 October 2018 19:31 (five years ago) link
yup. i found that and found it mildly infuriating.
― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 17 October 2018 19:54 (five years ago) link
also - anyone have an idea what players might be worth checking out? are there any left?!
my understanding is the talent pool is not what it was when i went 14 years ago... or 5 years ago
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 17 October 2018 21:04 (five years ago) link
i suppose it doesn't matter anyways since i cannot find an actual schedule to save my life right now.
― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Friday, 19 October 2018 14:43 (five years ago) link
you should definitely go to a game. write to Kit Krieger (Cuba Ball, based in Vancouver) if necessary.
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Friday, 19 October 2018 14:52 (five years ago) link