美国国家公共电台 NPR No, Fidel Castro Wasn't Nearly A New York Yankee

No, Fidel Castro Wasn't Nearly A New York Yankee

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0003:34repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. DAVID GREENE, HOST: 

There's a lot of myth and legend surrounding the life story of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. When it comes to sports, here's one thing we know for sure - he loved baseball. Here's Castro featured in a 1959 newsreel.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED NEWSCASTER: Showing another aspect of his character, the unpredictable Castro dons a baseball uniform to pitch a full inning. Castro pitching is credited with striking out the three batters² he faces.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Could be...

UNIDENTIFIED NEWSCASTER: That's one game where the ump really has to be careful. Viva Fidel.

GREENE: Fidel Castro was so good at baseball, in fact, that he once tried out for the New York Yankees - or not. That is a myth that has existed for a very long time. And let's sort it out now with Adrian Burgos, Jr. He is a history professor at the University of Illinois and also author of "Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos And The Color Line." Professor, welcome to the program.

ADRIAN BURGOS JR: Thanks for having me on.

GREENE: So Fidel Castro did not try out for the Yankees, is that right?

BURGOS: No, he didn't try out for the Yankees. What we know is that he probably showed up for a Washington Senators open tryout in Havana. But he wasn't at the level of a talented Cuban ballplayer where the scouts⁴ went looking for him.

GREENE: So this was a major league tryout that he kind of forced his way into or was hanging around the field or at least there?

BURGOS: Well, Joe Cambria, who was a scout³ for the Washington Senators, had a series of open tryouts where if you were a Cuban with a baseball dream, you can just show up and run through the paces and maybe you'll get an offer, maybe not.

GREENE: Do we know how he did?

BURGOS: Well, what we know is that he didn't get offered a contract, so.

GREENE: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

GREENE: And this was a younger Castro. This was before the revolution, before he became the leader of Cuba?

BURGOS: Right. This is well before, you know, the revolution and even before the events of 1953.

GREENE: So how did this myth about the Yankees come into existence?

BURGOS: You know. I think the myth about the Yankees is pure historical what-ifs.

GREENE: OK.

BURGOS: And - because the Yankees weren't active in Cuba to scout any town. They weren't active in Latin America until the 1960s, to be honest. So it wasn't the Yankees. It was the Washington Senators and the New York Giants right across the river from the Yankees that were the most active teams in Cuba.

GREENE: Well, does the fact that this myth was out there, that someone wanted to spread this rumor⁵ that Fidel Castro had tried out for, you know, what's considered the greatest American baseball team of all time, does it say anything about baseball in this island?

BURGOS: It says a lot about baseball both in Cuba and in the United States. One of the fascinating dimensions of this is that Castro very much loved baseball. He used baseball in a Cuban tradition of politics that Los Barbudos, the baseball team or the bearded ones, played before an exhibition game in Cuba during professional seasons.

GREENE: Did you say the bearded ones?

BURGOS: The bearded ones. That's what they named their team - Los Barbudos.

GREENE: Was that because of Castro's beard? He wanted baseball to be very much part of him and part of his own identity?

BURGOS: He wanted to share with the Cuban people that he too was a fellow Cuban. He loved baseball. Baseball is such an ingrained part of Cuban identity that he and the other military leaders - and even someone like Che Guevara - had to learn how to play baseball.

GREENE: Just before I let you go, let me just return to that rumor of Fidel Castro and the Yankees. Did he ever do anything to knock that rumor down or say, no, that's not true? Or did he enjoy it being there?

BURGOS: Fidel Castro enjoyed the myth of him having been a real major league baseball prospect⁶. And he would not have knocked that down in the least.

GREENE: All right, Adrian Burgos, Jr. He is a history professor at the University of Illinois and also author of "Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos And The Color Line." Professor, thanks a lot.

BURGOS: Thanks for having me on.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 batters   

n.面糊（煎料）( batter的名词复数 )；面糊（用于做糕饼）；（ 棒球） 正在击球的球员；击球员v.连续猛击( batter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pitcher has beaned as many as three batters in this game. 在这？热？投手投球竟打中了三个击手的头。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A storm batters the ship. 一场风暴袭击了这条船。 来自辞典例句

3 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

4 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

5 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。