Sports – Cubans in America

Almirola, Aric

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:43 +0000

Aric A. Almirola was born in Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida in1984. His father is Cuban. He is a professional stock car racing driver.

He began racing go-karts when he was eight years old. At 14, he began racing nationally.
He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 98 Ford Mustang for SHR in an alliance with Biagi-DenBeste Racing.

Almirola attended the University of Central Florida to work on a degree in mechanical engineering before leaving to pursue a career in racing. He is nicknamed “The Cuban Missile” due to his Cuban heritage.

Alonso, Kiko

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:39 +0000

Kristian “Kiko” Alonso was born in Newton, Massachusetts in 1990 to a Cuban father and a Colombian mother. He began playing college football in Oregon and was quickly drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. During his time with the Bills, Kiko was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for September. He was then traded to the Philadelphia Eagles on March 2015.

In 2016, the Eagles traded Alonso to the Miami Dolphins. The South Florida team named him the starting middle linebacker to kick off the 2016 season. He started 15 games with 115 total tackles, 2 interceptions and a defensive touchdown. On March 21st, 2017, Alonso signed a four-year, $28.9 million contract with the Dolphins through the 2020 season.

Kiko has become one of the most popular Dolphin players in Miami and often makes reference to his Cuban and Colombian roots. In fact, he popularly goes by the nickname “El Bravo”.

Arencibia, Jonathan Paul “JP”

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:37 +0000

Jonathan Paul “J. P.” Arencibia was born in Miami, Florida in 1986 to Cuban parents. He is a former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, and Tampa Bay Rays from 2010 through 2015.

Arencibia attended Westminster Christian high school in Miami. He later played for the Under-18 Florida Bombers, alongside future major leaguers Mat Latos, Gaby Sánchez, Yonder Alonso, and Jon Jay.

Canseco, Jose

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:34 +0000

José Canseco was born in Havana and left Cuba in 1965 when he was barely one year old. José played baseball at Miami Coral Park High School, where he was named Most Valuable Player of the junior varsity team in his junior year, and of the varsity team the following year. He graduated in 1982 and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics. Canseco made his debut with the Oakland Athletics in 1985. During his time with the Oakland A’s, he established himself as one of the premier power hitters in the game. He won the Rookie of the Year (1986), and Most Valuable Player award (1988), and was a six-time All-Star. Canseco is a two-time World Series winner with the Oakland A’s (1989) and the New York Yankees (2000). He was the first player to hit 30 home runs for 4 different clubs; Oakland 33 in 1986, Texas 31 in 1994, Toronto 46 in 1998 and Tampa Bay 34 in 1999. Canseco won the Silver Slugger award four times: three as an AL outfielder (1988, 1990, and 1991), and once as a Designated Hitter (1998). He ranks 4th all time in A’s history with 254 home runs and he’s one of 11 players in MLB history with 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases. He retired after playing the 2001 season with the Chicago White Sox. In 2005, he wrote Juiced, a tell-all book revealing his own longtime steroid usage and in 2008, Canseco wrote a second book, Vindicated, which further elaborated on the place of steroids in baseball.

Capablanca, José Raúl

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:32 +0000

José Raúl Capablanca was born in Havana on November 19, 1888. He was a Cuban chess player and world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. He learned to play at an early age by watching his father. At 13 years old, he defeated Cuban Champion Juan Corzo in an informal match in 1901. Despite this and despite taking 4th place in the first Cuban Championship in 1902, he did not focus on chess until 1908 when he left Columbia University where he had enrolled to study chemical engineering and play baseball. He joined the Manhattan Chess Club in 1905, soon establishing his dominance in rapid chess. Within a year or two of dropping out of university and after playing simultaneous exhibitions in dozens of US cities, winning over 95% of his games, Capablanca had established himself as one of the top players in the world. Considered a chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. During his career, he wrote several chess books, of which Chess Fundamentals was regarded as one of the best chess book ever written.

He died on March 8, 1942 of a cerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension. Capablanca was given a public funeral in Havana’s Colón Cemetery on March 15, 1942.

Cuellar, Mike

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:28 +0000

Mike Cuellar was born in Santa Clara, Cuba where he attended the Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza. He was signed by the Reds’ organization in 1957, pitched for the Havana Sugar Kings of the International League, then made his major league debut with Cincinnati in 1959. He spent fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and California Angels. His best years were spent with the Orioles, helping them capture five American League East Division titles, three consecutive American League (AL) pennants and the 1970 World Series Championship. In 1969 he was the first pitcher from the Baltimore Orioles and first born anywhere outside the U.S. to win a Cy Young Award. Also in 1970 he was the first player in Major League history to ever hit a grand slam during a League Championship Series (LCS). Cuellar died in 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

Destrade, Orestes

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:25 +0000

Orestes Destrade Cucuas was born May 8, 1962 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. He is a former professional baseball infielder. He is now a broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Rays.

He sought refuge in the United States with his family at the age of six. During his youth, he played in the Khoury League at Tamiami Park in Miami. He graduated from Coral Park High School in Miami, and later attended Florida College. After college, he played many seasons in the minor leagues before his career at the major league level. Destrade was called up in September 1987 with the New York Yankees. He played in 1988 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and 1993 and 1994 for the Florida Marlins. Destrade was a member of the Florida Marlins’ 1993 inaugural season.

Fernandez, Jose

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:23 +0000

José Fernández was was a Cuban-born American professional baseball pitcher. He was affectionately known as “Niño” by his teammates and fans due to the youthful exuberance with which he played the game of baseball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins from 2013 until his death in 2016.

Fernández was born in Santa Clara, Cuba. He made three unsuccessful attempts at defecting before he was successful in 2008. He enrolled at Braulio Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida, and was selected by the Marlins in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft. Fernández made his MLB debut with the Marlins on April 7, 2013. He was named to the 2013 MLB All-Star Game and won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Month Award in July and August. After the season, he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished third in Cy Young Award balloting. He underwent “Tommy John” surgery during the 2014 season, and made the MLB All-Star Game again in 2016.

Fernández died in a boating accident off the coast of Miami Beach on September 25, 2016 at age 24. The Marlins announced that they will retire his uniform number to honor him.

Fossas, Tony

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:21 +0000

Emilio Antonio “Tony” Fossas Morejon was born September 23, 1958 in Havana, Cuba. He is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher during the late 1980s and 1990s.

He was signed as a 12th round pick by the Texas Rangers during the 1979 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. The previous year he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, but decided not to sign with the team, instead finishing his college studies and collegiate career at University of South Florida – Tampa.

He became a pitching coach for Florida Atlantic University Owls in 2005. Tony lives in Florida.

He played for Texas Rangers in 1988, Milwaukee Brewers between 1989 -1990, in the Boston Red Sox from 1991 to 1994, St. Louis Cardinals from 1995 to 1997, Seattle Mariners in 1998, Chicago Cubs in 1998, Texas Rangers in 1998 and New York Yankees in 1999.

Hernandez, Livan

ctosadmin — Thu, 27 May 2021 21:39:19 +0000

Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera was born in Villa Clara, Cuba on February 20, 1975. He is a Cuban-born former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is the half-brother of pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernández.

After meeting with numerous team officials in the Dominican Republic, he signed with the Florida Marlins in order to live in Miami. He made his first appearance for the team as a September call-up in 1996, and joined the team for good in June 1997.

His rookie season in 1997 coincided with the recent expansion franchise reaching the 1997 World Series. He started and won Games 1 and 5 of the series against the Cleveland Indians, and struck out a postseason-record 15 batters in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves. His efforts earned him the World Series MVP trophy.