I’ve recently been reading Peter Bjarkman’s History of Cuban Baseball, 1984-2006.  My favorite chapters are the ones on Castro-era baseball and what Bjarkman calls “the world’s best unknown ballplayers,” including: the all-time home run king, Orestes Kindelán, and the all-time hits leader, Antonio Pacheco; the all-time leader in wins, southpaw Jorge Luis Valdés, and the man he surpassed, Braudilio Vinent; 1970s slugger Antonio Muñoz, reputedly a left-handed version of Tony Pérez; legendary shortstop Germán Mesa, often compared to Ozzie Smith; and the greatest of them all, third baseman Omar Linares.

Great stuff, all of it.  I wonder if there’s any possibility in the near future of a full statistical encyclopedia of Cuban baseball since 1962?