This week marks a historic turn in Cuban-American relations as President Obama becomes the first President of the United States to visit Cuba in 88 years. Today, Major League Baseball reopens business in Cuba with an exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team. With both of these historic events taking place and relations between the two countries standing on the precipice of normalcy, serious concerns remain surrounding the hardships many still face in Cuba. Political disputes between these two nations have played out on the baseball diamond for decades.
Baseball excellently encapsulated Cuban-American relations since the embargo began on February 3, 1962. The stories of current players are similar to those you will hear from first and second generation immigrants. Prior to the embargo, Cuban players often played in the Negro Leagues and MLB. As Fidel Castro rose to power and outlawed professional baseball, players still desperate to ply their trade risked their lives to come to America, leaving behind families to gamble on a better life. Cuba routinely denies exit visas to the families of defected players, often leaving these relationships severed.
Since Rogelio Alvarez was barred from playing in 1963 for defecting from Cuba through Mexico, scores of players have attempted to follow suit. American laws and MLB regulations required residency in a third country before playing in the United States. These defections persisted through the Cold War when Barbaro Garbey arrived during the Mariel boatlift in 1981 and continued when Rene Arocha defected after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Rey Ordonez followed him, setting off a tidal wave of defections, culminating in Rolando Arrojo’s defection from the Cuban National Team just before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Brothers Livan and Orlando Hernandez defected in 1995 and 1997, respectively. They were able to each earn World Series titles and LCS MVP Awards. Orlando endured a harrowing journey on a small boat, detention from the US Coast Guard, and a circuitous legal battle before eventually making it to America, where he signed a $6.6 million contract with the New York Yankees. This story embodies the concept that for the skilled, lucky, and connected, success in America is possible. But his isn’t a typical story. Yasiel Puig, one of the biggest stars currently in the MLB, attempted defection five times before succeeding thanks to the Los Zetas drug cartel, a Santeria priest, a boxer, and a pinup girl.
For every El Duque, there are a dozen players that wash out in the Minor Leagues and remain disconnected from their families. In Cuba, they endured secret police and neighborhood detectives only to leave under desperate circumstances aboard barely seaworthy vessels. For every dozen that attempted defection, thousands have been left behind to endure the prospect of phone taps and firing squads. The Castro regime remains a looming presence in Cuba, presiding over a country starting to see the first changes of American capitalism.
Cubans with resources, connections, positioning, and luck stand to benefit as the trade embargo is lifted and business relations re-open. Success stories like Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, and the Hernandez brothers will be trumpeted as successes, but they are hardly indicative of the norm. Thousands of Cubans have perished in the 90-mile stretch of water separating Cuba and Florida, even more were killed or silenced by the Castro regime. A Presidential visit and an exhibition game may seem insignificant, but they go a long way to re-establishing fractured relations.
Life for the average Cuban will rapidly change in the coming years as a result of normalized relations with America, but tangible benefits may not be realized for some time. However, President Obama’s visit signals that, for the first time in over 50 years, Cuban-American relations are improving. It will not be an overnight success. Many attempts will be necessary to heal the damage done by both governments. But, as families and business relations are reconnected, the prospect of a better economic and democratic future for Cuba seems brighter. Baseball has already seen the benefits, it is only a matter of time before governments and economies catch up.
Featured Image by Grahame Broadbelt via Flickr, available under a Creative Commons license.
