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In pictures: Castro strikes out Chavez
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But President Chavez turned out to be the star - winning plenty of admirers by playing all nine innings.
After the match he said the game had strengthened ties between the two nations: "Both Cuba and Venezuela have won. This deepened our friendship."
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The teams consisted of veteran baseball stars. But President Castro, Cuba's coach, slowly brought on his nation's Pan American Games baseball champions dressed up as old men to secure a 5-4 victory.
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President Chavez (left) was Venezuela's starting pitcher, before moving to first base after giving up four runs in four innings. Nevertheless, he was praised as a "tremendous" batter and "phenomenal" pitcher by the Cuban leader.
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An unidentified baseball fan (left) was detained after jumping over the Cuban dugout and trying to hand an unidentified object to President Castro.
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A 55,000 capacity crowd saw the game at Havana's Latinoamericano stadium, while both nations enjoyed live television coverage. Cuba and Venezuela share a passion for baseball in a mainly soccer-loving region.
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President Castro had the last laugh: "Chavez named me manager of the Cuban team. There was no other option than to do what was necessary to win."
But he emphasised the friendly spirit of the match: "The objective wasn't to win, but to have a joke on Chavez.
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