Starting in 2023, the top six teams from the National Series qualify for the top-level winter Cuban Elite League.
For many years the Cuban Super Series, a summer league, usually played from May through July with a schedule of about 28 games.
As it name suggests, its rosters are made up of players aged below 23 and it serves as the minor league division of the National Series.
Metropolitanos after the '80s, on the other hand, was unable to be competitive and has failed to re-establish the rivalry; it is now considered a second-class team, where young players and fading veterans share playing time.
Gilberto Torres managed the early national team and conveyed his vast knowledge of the game to the new generation of amateur players.
Juan Vistuer, Asdrúbal Baró, and Pedro Chávez also were prominent transitional coaches and managers.
The Cuban baseball system is designed as much to develop the nation's athletic talents as to provide entertainment to the public.
A problem confronting Cuba's top athletes, however, is the lack of opportunities to compete against the best players in the world.
Immediately after the Cuban Revolution many of the former professional baseball players emigrated, but for the next 30 years relatively few left Cuba.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic national team was the first ever to feature international players either from Cuba or of Cuban ancenstry.