Peter C. Bjarkman

During the past decade Pete Bjarkman has traveled the international baseball tournament scene to report (mostly on the Cuban national team) in both the print and eletronic media. Bjarkman's journalistic travels have included Olympic Baseball Tournament II (1996, Atlanta), Caribbean Series #39 (1997, Hermosillo), Pan American Games XIII (1999, Winnipeg), World Cup #35 (2003, Havana), World Cup #36 (2005, Netherlands), World Baseball Classic I (2006, San Juan, San Diego), Americas Pre-Olympic Tournament (2006, Havana), Caribbean Series #49 (2007, San Juan), Rotterdam World Port Tournament XI (2007, Netherlands), Huelga Memorial Tournament (2008, Havana), Haarlem Honkbal Week #24 (2008, Netherlands), World Baseball Classic II (2009, Mexico City, San Diego, Los Angles). Some of his extensive coverage and be accessed on the following internet links:

Pete Bjarkman has published more than 150 periodical articles in both English in Spanish, including regular Spanish-language features (plus coverage of major international tournaments since April 2005) in the monthly periodical Béisbol Mundial (which ceased publication in 2009). He is also author of over 200 internet articles/​reports (most written since 2007 and treating Cuban League topics) featured on www.BaseballdeCuba.com, www.radiococo.cu, www.havanatimes.org, and his own personal MLB blog (a "Top 100 Blog") found at www.bjarkmanlatinobaseball.mlblogs.com.

Most of these articles treat major league and international tournament baseball history, but other sports and non-sports topics are also featured (for example, international travel, model railroading hobby, and NBA and NCAA basketball history). A complete listing is available in the Bjarkman Bibliography which can be downloaded from the BOOKS page of this website. Several feature Elysian Fields Quarterly cover stories can be ordered by clicking on the sidebar link (left column) to the EFQ webpage. Recommended articles include:

"Cuba's WBC Roster Will Remain Potent With Several New Faces" (published January 12, 2009) on: www.BaseballdeCuba.com. (This article is available for downloading in the left-hand column of this webpage.)

"Un Clasico de Oro: Corea se impone en el ultimo torneo olímpico involidable" in: Béisbol Mundial (September-October 2007), 16-17.

"The Future of Olympic Baseball May Regrettably Be Determined by Manipulators and Not Champions of the Sport" (published August 25, 2008) on: www,baseballdecuba.com.

“Crónica de Una Muerte Anunciada—Tras los últimos suspiros de la Liga Puertorriqueña, se esfuman 70 años de tradición” in: Béisbol Mundial (October 2007), 14-15.

“Una Historia Incompleta: Jackie Rompió La Barrera de Color, Pero No Fue El Primero” in: Béisbol Mundial (June-July 2007), 10-11.

“Retiring Clemente’s ‘21’ as True Recognition for Latinos in the Majors” in: The National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History 27 (2007), 9-13. Society for American Baseball Research. (This article is available for downloading in the left-hand column of this webpage.)

“Lost in the Crowd—Cuban legend Martín Dihigo was one of the most versatile players ever, and is in four halls of fame, yet many fans have never even heard of him” in: 108—Celebrating Baseball 1:1 (Summer 2006), 61-69.

“Havana Diorama Captures Cuban Steam of Bygone Era” in: Model Railroading 35:4 (June 2005), 34-40.

“Waiting for CHE—Chasing Illusions in the Modern-Era Cuban Ballpark” in: Elysian Fields Quarterly 21:2 (Spring 2004), 6-17.

“Adolfo Luque: The Original ‘Pride of Havana’” in: Elysian Fields Quarterly 20:1 (Winter 2003), 21-38.

“The Baseball Half-Century of Conrado Marrero” in: Elysian Fields Quarterly 17:1 (Winter 2000), 27-44.

“Fidel on the Mound: Baseball Myth and History in Castro’s Cuba” in: Elysian Fields Quarterly 16:3 (Summer 1999), 31-41. (Revised, along with the following article, as Chapter 9 of A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006.)

“Baseball and Fidel Castro” in: The National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History 18 (1998), 64-68. Society for American Baseball Research.

“Dandy, Sandy, and the Summer of ‘65” in: Elysian Fields Quarterly 15:1 (Winter 1998), 47-59.

Bjarkman's best-known essay is his now much-cited EFQ article (Summer 1999) explaining the background and origins of a much-celebrated and often-repeated myth carried in the American press about Fidel Castro's reputed one-time status as a major league pitching prospect. For those who have heard this fanciful tale (often retold by Bob Costas on FOX TV World Series broadcasts), or those who may have wondered about possible historical foundations for Tim Wendel's recent fanciful novel Castro's Curveball, Bjarkman's article is perhaps well worth once more revisiting (it also appears in revised form as Chapter 9 of A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006).