Beisbol cubano style! style

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Beisbol cubano style!
Passion and sheer joy made one visitor 'fanatico' for the game
It's a typically warm and sunny afternoon in

Havana and a gorgeous, blue cloudless sky serves as an appropriate backdrop at the nearly packed Estadio Latino-americano, home to the famed Industriales Lions.

The 55,000-seat stadium is visibly rocking to the hypnotic, pulsating rhythms of a tireless group of conga drummers and young, salsa-swaying cheerleaders as the Lions' big hitter, Alex Malleta, slowly strolls up to home plate.

The visiting Ciego de Avila Tigers are in deep trouble; it's early innings and Los Azules (the Blue Ones), so named for their Blue Jay-like blue and white uniforms, have put two runners on base with only one out. The Lions are about to close in for the kill, and the crowd senses it.

It's a gutsy throw -a fastball right down the middle. Crack! A line drive to right. The crowd erupts -it's complete and utter pandemonium in the stands as the runners round the bases. A deft pickup in the outfield is followed by a precise throw to second, which is relayed home . . . safe!

Instantly, I'm surrounded by a sea of joyous, bouncing conga-driven "fanaticos" as the entire Lions squad leaps from the dugout to form a line of high-fives for the scoring runner.

Welcome to baseball Cubano-style!

One only has to watch one game in the Cuban National League to gain an appreciation for the remarkable calibre of play, the fierceness of competition and the undying loyalty of the fans, not to mention the unparalleled experience it offers visitors to Cuba.

Unlike the majority of Canadians who fly south in winter -most of whom head straight to the nearest beach, all-inclusive buffet or bottomless pina colada -I came to experience a week of "beisbol."

To say that Cuban baseball has left me -a tried and true MLB Detroit Tigers fan since 1967 -completely and utterly spoiled for all time, is an understatement.

The experience starts at the ticket window. A standard seating ticket for a game at Estadio Latinoamericano, home of Havana's popular Industriales Lions, who some have called the New York Yankees of Cuba for their impressive string of championship titles, is only 3 Cuban CUC, or about $3.50 Cdn.

Or, if you go with a local, who buys the ticket for you while you stand out of sight, it will cost only about 2 Cuban pesos -gasp! -for a pair. The equivalent of less than 5 cents Cdn!

No booze is allowed in the stands, which is just as well, and police will search your backpack should you have one (bottled water is OK).

That's a good thing, by the way. There is a strong police presence and they will spring into action at the slightest sign of trouble.

Not that there was much, to speak of. Cuban fans are rabid for the game, but, to my surprise, they are largely well-behaved. Emotional exchanges between fans of rival teams can be heated, but in a lighthearted way.

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Like all sports stadiums, there is a great assortment of snacks.

Hot pastries, ham and cheese sandwiches, popcorn and candy, along with ultra-strong espresso coffee, are for the taking.

On to the ambience.

There is nothing quite like the Cuban National League experience.

For one thing, the conga drumming and lively dancing by team "cheerleaders," who are sometimes on hand, never stops.

It doesn't take long before you too, are swaying or tapping to the beat. More so during the midinnings stretch, which allowed the drummers and dancers to really get into it.

Afraid to say, it puts the North American version of the seven-thinning stretch to shame.

Industriales also features a mascot, a good-natured Lion who kept the crowd amused, albeit with some adult-oriented gestures toward the opposing team.

This befits the crowd, of course, which is 90 per cent adult males, with a few families sprinkled in.

On the field, the game is largely identical to MLB, but if the game is tied after nine innings, a tiebreaker comes into play, so the game doesn't drag on forever.

The new rule, which apparently is not popular with some fans, automatically puts two men on base in the 10th, and subsequent innings if needed.

Teams can choose any batter to lead off, and then revert to the regular lineup after that.

Almost all games start at 1 p.m., to take advantage of the daylight hours, and this is especially important at Estadio Latinoamericano, where the lights have reportedly been inoperable since last season.

There are some subtle Cuban nuances, too.

Fans are asked to throw errant foul balls back onto the field, to help the team cut down on expenses. And, it was nice to see a female umpire, who worked the third-base line.

One on-field incident I witnessed also made clear the Cuban approach to the game, or any game, for that matter.

I watched as a Tiger left-fielder raced to the foul line to catch a hard-hit, errant fly ball. The effort was valiant, but doomed.

He smacked the wall with a huge thud, dropping the ball and clearly injuring himself in the process.

Refusing a stretcher, he barely made it off the field, with the aid of the manager and a trainer.

Expecting a warm round of applause, this poor fellow earned a round of taunting jeers, as soon as he neared the dugout. Shocked, I turned to a Cuban spectator next to me, asking him why this guy got the raspberry.

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He responded, with a sharp wave of the hand: "If you're on the field, you're the enemy."

Clearly, there is no quarter given, or taken in Cubano beisbol!

As for the calibre of play, just look at the number of past and current Cuban players in the majors, and wonder how many more would be drawing mega-salaries if the U.S. ended its decades-long trade and cultural embargo on the Caribbean nation.

Though the ranks have been depleted some after a spate of high-profile defections (reliever Aroldis Chapman, a.k.a. the "Cuban missile," holds the record for the fastest recorded pitch in the majors at 105.1 m.ph. and was signed by the Cincinnati Reds last season to a six-year, $30-million contract), baseball experts say if the blockade was ended, dozens of players, if not more, would jump to the majors.

Not only that, but within a few years, the number of Cuban players could even exceed that of the Dominican Republic.

In the words of Cuban defector Alberto Castillo, who pitches for the Baltimore Orioles: "Cuban players, they were made to play baseball."

Suffice to say, in one Lions homestand, I saw some great action, including a fierce pitching duel with one of Villa Clara's ace pitchers, some incredible fielding and hitting, a near bench-clearing brawl prompted by an argument over a called strike, not to mention some great conga music and crowd shenanigans.

It doesn't take long to become a regular -a few games in I received taps on the shoulder from familiar fans, offering me cigarettes, candy or just some good discussion on the previous play.

Cubanos share a passion for the game, and it's downright infectious.

And I can only shudder at the thought of what I would have missed, had I just sat on some beach, drinking pina coladas instead.

If You Go

- GETTING THERE: Sunwing.ca has numerous packages available to Havana and other destinations in Cuba. The flights can sometimes depart late, and legroom is limited (unless you buy the $40 upgrade) on those stretch 737-800s, but FA staff are definitely a notch above and inflight meals are included, along with headphones and other freebies.

- WHERE TO STAY: I stayed at the fabulous Nacional Hotel in Vedado, which features an incredible breakfast buffet (17 CUC) in a classy atmosphere and my eighthfloor room also had a stunning view of the Malacon. Also, it's only a 6 CUC cab ride from the Nacional to Estadio Latinoamericano, but you can also take a bicycle taxi for only 1 CUC.

- BASEBALL INFO: The National Series features 16 teams split into west and east divisions. The season runs from late November to March, with the playoff quarter-finals starting in early April. Unfortunately, both Havana-based teams, including defending champion Industriales and the Metropolitano Guerreros (Warriors), did not make the cut.

- SOURCES: Finding an accurate season or playoff schedule can be daunting, but for basic info, go online at http://www.baseballdecuba.com/indexeng.asp. The Spanish link can be accessed at http://www.baseballdecuba.com/Index.asp. Also, if you search "Cuba National Baseball Series" on travel websites, such as TripAdvisor.com, you can find a wealth of information. To contact the Federacion Cubana de Beisbol in Havana, phone 07-879-7980.

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The Industrialis Lions host a Cuban Baseball League game at Estadio Latinamerica, in Havana, Cuba.