RealAudio: "They can make a baseball out of anything..."

They call it baseball, but the batter hits the ball with his hand, and a teammate is poised for a mad dash to first base--which also happens to be the only base on this "field," a paved area between two Havana buildings. "In some ways," says Harvey, "it's more like the British game of cricket than baseball." 

But it is baseball that is Cuba's sports passion. And like a buch of stickball-playing kids dodging traffic on a busy Brooklyn street, these youngsters have put a decidedly local twist on Cuba's most beloved American import.  "We love U.S. culture," says one city resident. "We play your sports, study your language, and know all of your Hollywood stars."