Striking a chord

Documentary explores baseball’s role in Cuban history.

In Cuba, baseball has outrun coups and communism.

The island nation has groomed young players for its national team and has delivered top-notch talent to the American major leagues. But why do Cubans love baseball, or as they fondly call it: “la pelota”?

A new documentary, “Major League Cuban,” which was co-produced by South Florida PBS and Miami-based Royal Palm Films, explores the boundless love for the sport on both sides of the Florida Straits through interviews with players, fans, sports journalists and historians. It will be broadcast at 8 p.m. today on WPBT-Ch. 2 in Fort Lauderdale-Miami and 8 pm. March 14 on WXEL-Ch. 42 in West Palm Beach.

“Baseball has a been a constant throughout turbulent times for Cubans,’’ said film producer Joe Cardona in an email. “Despite political tumult, dictatorships, social and societal changes, economic strife, baseball remains part of the Cuban cultural fabric on and off the island.”

The 80-minute film was filmed mostly in Miami, with some parts shot in New Jersey, and explores how the sport has played into Cuban history and its reach beyond the island.

A section of the film focuses on Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution and its impact on baseball there. Some players fled the country for new lives in the United States. Former Cuban players who made it to the big leagues in the United States and are featured include Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso, Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant.

There also are several Marlins, such as Livan Hernandez, who helped the then-called Florida Marlins win the World Series in 1997. There also is a tribute to the late pitcher, Jose Fernandez, who was killed on Sept. 25 in a boating accident.

“Baseball for Cubans is everything,’’ Hernandez said in the film. “It is life, love, integrity, desire, a way to help your family, to play the best baseball you can and let the world know that we can play as well as anyone.”

Early in the documentary, the filmmakers introduce the story of Esteban “Steve” Bellan, a Havana native who learned the sport as a student at New York’s Fordham University. In 1869, he joined the Troy Haymakers team and became the first Latin American and Cuban to play professional baseball in the United States, according to the documentary.

“Baseball was not imposed on Cubans by the Americans but rather Cubans adopted the game and made it their own,’’ Cardona said. “When a Cuban says it’s part of our DNA, it’s very accurate.”

“Even if you’re not a baseball nut, Cuban baseball has touched you in one way or another,” said Ralf Gonzalez, a producer and co-director of the film.

SOUTH FLORIDA PBS/COURTESY An old photograph of the Cuban baseball team Almendares from the PBS documentary “Major League Cuban.”