Baseball Diplomacy
I wrote/recorded (see video on YouTube) this a couple of years ago for The Comprehensivists, but just realized it is not on my own site. I think this is/could be an important topic, so let’s discuss…___________________________________________________________________________________________
If you have listened to some of my “quick hitter” podcasts or read any of my posts, you likely know that any intersection between Cuba and baseball is right up my alley. I am no expert, but I am intrigued. So when I came across a story on the fact that the Cuban national baseball team will miss the 2020 Carribean Championships, I couldn’t resist.
Baseball is not just a sport in Cuba, it is a passion. The country has produced some of Major League Baseball’s most talented players, despite most of them having to risk their “freedom”, or worse, to come to the US and chase their dream. The Cuban national team has won many international level games and tournaments, including three Olympic gold medals, and has impressed the rest of the baseball playing world for the last 100 years. Also of note, they took the silver at the 2006 World Baseball Classic...a tournament that was held in California.
But they will not be able to compete in the 2020 Caribbean tournament, which is being held in Puerto Rico (PR). The location of the tournament is the reason they will not be there. In order to travel to PR, the Cuban players are required to obtain US visas. Here is the obvious problem. As of 2017, there are no longer consular services between the US and Cuba in Havana. This means the players would need to travel to, apply with, and receive US visas through a third country’s embassy. This is time consuming and costly, perhaps even impossible for most Cubans. The national team has stated that they will be unable to accomplish this feat in time for the tournament.
US-Cuba relations are long, complicated, and interesting. A short blog post such as this is no place to recap the topic, but most of us are at least somewhat familiar with the situation. No matter which side of the fence you are on, we can agree that this scenario is not ideal. We usually hear about how sports bridges the gap between nations, between cultures, and between individuals. This has even been attempted between our two nations, when then President Obama (controversially) traveled to Havana to watch a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team. “Baseball diplomacy” worked that day, to some degree.
But sport, baseball, will not have the opportunity to do so this time around. We will be left to wonder if this is a missed moment for a minor improvement in relations. This chance to work together seems like a fastball, right down the middle. For whatever reason, we are deciding to leave the bat on our shoulder.
-Houston Bailey (@BumpBailey)