La Vida Voices: El Nuevo Herald’s Jorge Ebro

Baseball was ever present in Jorge Ebro’s childhood in Matanzas, Cuba. He spent hours each day playing baseball in his neighborhood. He followed the Cuban league. Lázaro Junco, the first player to hit 400 home runs in the Cuban league, became his favorite. The graduate of the University of Havana has turned his passion for baseball into a career in sports journalism, writing primarily in Spanish and occasionally in English.

Latino baseball fans in south Florida have been reading articles from Ebro since the early 2000s. Ebro currently works the Miami Marlins beat for El Nuevo Herald. He also covers the University of Miami and Florida International University baseball teams. Ebro can also be heard discussing Marlins baseball and the latest on Yasiel Puig, José Abreu and other Cuban big leaguers on local Spanish-language sports shows. He has appeared regularly on ESPN Deportes, and often ventures beyond baseball to discuss professional boxing, basketball, and soccer. He is a Madrista, a fan Real Madrid.

Ebro’s story is a familiar one for Cubans in south Florida. He was part of the massive migration of Cubans who left the country after Fidel Castro took power. Like so many other Cubans, Ebro ended up in Miami. Baseball remained central to their Cuban identity. Ebro’s work as a journalist has provided a way for many Cubans to continue following the game.

His passion for baseball is also demonstrated through his community involvement. While Ebro can sometimes be caught swinging an imaginary bat, he occasionally swings a real bat when playing in charity games to support causes in the community.

Ebro recently spoke with La Vida Baseball. He shared how he first fell in love with baseball and his work covering the baseball beat in south Florida.

Adrian Burgos: What sparked your love of baseball?

Jorge Ebro: Baseball was love at first sight for me. The game was part of the environment in Cuba. Baseball was everything when I was growing in Matanzas. There was nothing else to do other than play baseball. It was the only sport or thing to do in the neighborhood, besides going to the beach. It was like an airborne virus that infected you, and there was no cure.

AB: As a Cubano, what has baseball meant to you?

JE: Baseball is an everlasting part of who I am and will always be. More than a passion or a pastime, it’s part of my DNA as a Cuban. Many times, even as an adult, I find myself taking swings in the air with an imaginary bat. My wife says I’m crazy. I don’t understand my life without baseball.

Here in Miami I have had the immense luck of covering the major leagues and especially the Marlins. I can’t complain. Baseball is in my blood and I get to cover the game I have loved since I was a kid.

AB: In what ways did José Fernández capture the spirit of what baseball means to Cubans and to baseball fans in Miami?

JE: From my point of view, no other player—perhaps Liván Hernández during the 1997 season—captured the attention of Miami like José Fernández. He had charisma. We loved the way he battled hitters from the mound. The fact that he was critical of the Cuban regime, he turned into a perfect ambassador for this community.

Fernández was the face of the Marlins, more than Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton. Every five days Fernández was the center of everyone’s conversation. Attendance increased at Marlins Park whenever he pitched. His tragic death pushed back the club’s plans enormously and eventually influenced the sale and subsequent reconstruction of the team.

AB: You have seen a lot of great Latino ballplayers perform. Who are some of the players you have enjoyed covering?

JE: I have had the opportunity to cover so many players over the years: Albert Pujols is a future Hall of Famer. Omar Vizquel was a fantastic defender. I was also fortunate to see the final years of Pedro Martínez and also part of Vladimir Guerrero’s career. They were tremendous players to watch play.

AB: How has been being a bilingual journalist aided you in working the baseball beat?

JE: The fact I am bilingual, although my English is not perfect, has been vital to my growth as a reporter. It has allowed me to become a kind of bridge between cultures, allowing people from the English and Spanish-speaking communities to learn more about each other.

AB: Thanks Jorge for talking about your passion for baseball. Fans can follow him on Twitter @jorgeebro or read his writings en español in the Nuevo Herald where he can be reached jebro@elnuevoherald.com.

Featured Image: Courtesy Jorge Ebro