The Most Famous
BASEBALL PLAYERS from Cuba
This page contains a list of the greatest Cuban Baseball Players. The pantheon dataset contains 91 Baseball Players, NaN of which were born in Cuba. This makes Cuba the birth place of the 0th most number of Baseball Players.
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Cuban Baseball Players of all time. This list of famous Cuban Baseball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Jose Canseco (b. 1964)
With an HPI of 47.57, Jose Canseco is the most famous Cuban Baseball Player. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages on wikipedia.
José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his time with the Oakland Athletics, 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 champion with the Oakland Athletics (1989) and the New York Yankees (2000). In 1988, Canseco became the first player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in one season. He won the Silver Slugger Award four times: three as an American League (AL) outfielder (1988, 1990, 1991), and once as a designated hitter (1998). He ranks fourth all-time in Athletics history with 254 home runs and is one of 14 players in MLB history with 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases. Despite many injuries during the later part of his career, Canseco averaged 40 home runs, 120 runs batted in, and 102 runs scored every 162 games, playing a total of 1,887 games in 17 seasons with seven different teams. His 462 career home runs are the 12th-highest total in AL history and the 2nd most in MLB history for a player with less than 2,000 games played. For the length of his career (1985-2001) Canseco had the 3rd most home runs in Major League Baseball, behind only Mark McGwire (583) and Barry Bonds (567). Canseco admitted using performance-enhancing drugs during his major-league playing career, and in 2005 wrote a tell-all book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, in which he said that the vast majority of MLB players use steroids. After retiring from MLB, he also competed in boxing and mixed martial arts.
2. Pedro Luis Lazo (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 42.55, Pedro Luis Lazo is the 2nd most famous Cuban Baseball Player. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
Pedro Luis Lazo Iglesias (born May 15, 1973 in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba) is a top pitcher in Cuban baseball. He is used predominantly as a reliever in international competition, although he is a starter in the Cuban National Series, where he plays for Pinar del Río. His fastball has been clocked at 97 mph, and he combined it with a mid 80s slider.
3. José Fernández (1992 - 2016)
With an HPI of 36.46, José Fernández is the 3rd most famous Cuban Baseball Player. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.
José Delfín Fernández Gómez (July 31, 1992 – September 25, 2016) was a Cuban-born American professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a member of the Miami Marlins from 2013 until his death in 2016. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 243 pounds (110 kg) during his playing career. He was affectionately known as "Niño" to his teammates and fans due to the youthful exuberance with which he played the game. Fernández was born in Santa Clara, Cuba. He made three unsuccessful attempts at defecting to the United States before he finally succeeded 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 National League All-Star Team, 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 was named to his second All-Star Game in 2016. Fernández and two other men were killed in a pre-dawn boating crash into a jetty off the coast of Miami Beach, Florida, on September 25, 2016.
People
Pantheon has 3 people classified as Cuban baseball players born between 1964 and 1992. Of these 3, 2 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Cuban baseball players include Jose Canseco, and Pedro Luis Lazo. The most famous deceased Cuban baseball players include José Fernández. As of April 2024, 3 new Cuban baseball players have been added to Pantheon including Jose Canseco, Pedro Luis Lazo, and José Fernández.
Living Cuban Baseball Players
Go to all RankingsDeceased Cuban Baseball Players
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Jose Canseco
1964 - Present
HPI: 47.57
Pedro Luis Lazo
1973 - Present
HPI: 42.55
José Fernández
1992 - 2016
HPI: 36.46
