The Duke of Havana: Baseball, Cuba, and the Search for the American Dream

by Steve Fainaru, Ray Sánchez

In 1998, a mysterious right-handed pitcher emerged from the ashes of the Cold War and helped lead the New York Yankees to a World Championship. His origins and even his age were uncertain. His name was Orlando El Duque Hernandez. He was a fallen hero of Fidel Castro's socialist revolution.

The chronicle of El Duque's triumph is at once a window into the slow death of Cuban socialism and one of the most remarkable sports stories of all time. Once hailed as a paragon of Castro's revolution, the finest pitcher in modern Cuban history was banned from baseball for life for allegedly plotting to defect. Instead of accepting his punishment, he fearlessly fought back, defying the Communist party authorities, vowing to pitch again, and ultimately fleeing his country in the bowels of a thirty-foot fishing boat.

Here, for the first time and in astonishing detail, the secrets behind El Duque's persecution and escape are revealed. Moving from the crumbling streets of post Cold War Havana to the polarized world of exile Miami, from the deadly Florida Straits to the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium, it is a story of cloak-and-dagger adventure, audacious secret plots, the pull of big money, and the historic collision of ideologies.

Present throughout are the larger-than-life characters who converged at this bizarre intersection of baseball and El Duque himself, Fidel Castro, the Miami sports agent Joe Cubas, the late John Cardinal O'Connor along with scouts, smugglers, and the Cuban ballplayers who gave up their lives as tools of socialism to test the free market and chase their major-league dreams.

Reported in the United States and Cuba by two award-winning journalists who became part of the story they were covering, The Duke of Havana is a riveting saga of sports, politics, liberation, and greed.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, Biography

338 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Ric · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard to tell the story of El Duque without Joe Cubas, who helped him defect and sign with the Yankees. But I would’ve liked more of reading about Orlando Hernandez’s specific story and less about baseball in Cuba and defectors coming to Major League Baseball. A book in general about that would be amazing, and I think this book could’ve been that if it was titled and marketed differently. Because El Duque was the highest profile defector from Castro’s Cuba for a variety of reasons, and he would’ve been the biggest example in a book about that. But in what was supposed to be a book about him, there wasn’t enough unfortunately.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. The story of Cuban baseball legend, Orlando 'El Duque' Hernandez and his eventual escape to the United States is in itself fascinating. But along the journey I learned a great deal about the political realities in Cuba, the role of baseball and sports in the Cuba of Fidel Castro.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of baseball in Cuba, focusing on El Duque and his travails to make it to the major leagues.

[hh · Rating 3 out of 5]

the prose style is slightly too over-the-top for my taste. compiles many interviews and much information that probably no one else could have compiled and is really really informative. perhaps the best thing about this book for me was that it made me ask questions about how MLB handles players. if you pick this up expecting it to be about El Duque, then you're likely to be disappointed, as the first half of the book is more about his first agent, joe cubas, or about cuba in a general sense. the authors do a great job of grounding the story in history and politics. i wonder, though, if they are aware of the extent to which they (like everyone else in this story) are taking advantage of someone for personal gain.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look behind the "wall" that the US tries to keep up around Cuba. This isn't just a story about a selfish ballplayer chasing money in the Major Leagues. When a high profile ballplayer defects, there are consequences for him and his family that often gets left behind. There is also a certain romanticized view of Cuba, with there cigars and old cars, but while extreme poverty and starvation are no longer an issue, people there often don't have much. And they certainly are not free.

[Ricardo Miró-Maldonado 🇵🇷 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should have a different title. Though the title suggests this is a story about Orlando Hernandez, it is mainly a history of Cuban baseball players attempting to flee Cuba or defy their government over the years. El Duque is my FAVORTIE pitcher of all time and this book did him a disservice by not focusing on on him and his career.