Cuban National Series: An ideal team
Some time ago, I developed the beta version of a statistic that I called “ideal ranking.” As usual, the idea came to me from a question that a follower asked me on the old Twitter, now X: who, according to the numbers—only by numbers!—could be considered the best baseball players in the history of the National Series?
When it comes to Cuban baseball, the question was really comprehensive. One of the most controversial topics when we compare decades of Cuban baseball arises thanks to the great differences in several senses. The first 16 National Series (1962-1978) were played using a wooden bat and a ball that was not very lively. As the former Industriales catcher, Lázaro Martínez, once told me: “We played baseball in an era where the main weapon was the heart, and the love for the jersey.”
After the first 16 National Series, the aluminum bat began to be used after the expansion due to the political-administrative division in the country. Different baseballs were also used during the 27 seasons (1978-1999) of the aluminum bat era—the ball used in 1995 was the liveliest of all, and that led to multiple individual, team, and league records.
The 1999-2000 season saw the domestically produced Batos ball. It had poor bounce, so the pitching was seen to be too much above the offense. That year also saw the return of the wooden bat. For the first time in 13 years the league average was below .260 (.258). In fact, Industriales catcher Iván Correa led the league with 10 home runs, beating three teams in 90 games (Holguín 7 HR in 3,339 PA, Cienfuegos 8 HR in 3,305 PA, and Camagüey 9 HR in 3,282 PA).
The results were striking:
Batting average and slugging
—1998-1999 season: .287/.444/.391
(last year of the aluminum bat)
—1999-2000 season: .257/.408/.326
(return of the aluminum bat, but with the Batos ball, with little bounce)
—2000-2001 season: .295/.454/.441
(the Mizuno-150 ball with much better bounce began to be used)
The change was drastic, when the Mizuno-150 ball began to be used, with a higher bounce compared to the Batos. During the return to the “Wooden Bat Era” in these last 24 seasons, different balls have been used. In the last five years, the Teammate-190 ball has been the most widely used ball in the National Series and the Elite League. Its results have been mixed, but with the exception of the First Elite League, the bounce of the ball has favored the hitters.
As you can see, many different implements have been used over the years in the Cuban National Series since its founding on January 14, 1962. But it doesn't end there. If we want to compare players from different eras, we also have to take into account the number of different schedules. There have been 13 throughout history. Schedules of 27, 30, 36, 39, 48, 51, 65, 66, 75, 78, 90, 96 and 99 games played per team, respectively. There were 22 seasons of 90 games played by 16 teams*, and seven with 48 and 65 games played, respectively. These have been the most widely used structures.