Cuba and the World Baseball Classic
Team Asere wins the affection of the Cuban people
Team Asere
The Cuban team at the World Baseball Classic was composed of Cuban players from American major leagues, the national leagues of Japan and Mexico, and the Cuban national league. The Cuban players, regardless of where they presently are earning their living as professional athletes, arrived to play on behalf of their country, their flag, their people.
They formed a collective, a team unified in pursuit of a common goal, itself an achievement, given the differences in the circumstances of their lives. Cuban manager Armando Johnson called it a tremendous experience. Pitching coach Pedro Lazo stressed that the MLB players possessed a desire to incorporate themselves into the group. The President of the Cuban national sports organization emphasized the mutual respect among the players, all demonstrating modesty and a desire to unify.
The Cuban people were moved by the display of the unity of all Cubans, regardless of where they live. They gave them the name Team Asere, a team of brothers.
Cuban MLB players on the Cuban team paid a price for their loyalty to and affection for their native land. The two players from the Chicago White Sox were booed as they were introduced at the semifinal game in Miami, a consequence of years of American propaganda against the political-economic system of the island nation, feeding the American people distorted descriptions that have nothing to do with Cuban reality. On the other side of the ocean, when Cuban players of the Japanese national league appeared in Cuban uniforms to play against Australia in Tokyo, Japanese fans of these players, fans of their Japanese teams, were in the stands supporting and exhorting them.
The inclusion of Cuban players from all over the world on the Cuban team is the culmination of two tendencies in Cuba. First, since the late 1970s, the Cuban government has been endeavoring to normalize relations with the Cuban émigré communities in more than 75 nations in the world, including the émigré community in the United States. Seeking to depoliticize the act of emigration, the Cuban government calls upon émigrés to maintain their Cuban identity, to visit Cuba when they can, and to maintain ties with their Cuban families. When they travel internationally, Cuban government ministers regularly meet with representatives of Cuban émigré organizations in other nations, many of which are oriented to expressions of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, or at a minimum, calls for an end to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade of Cuba imposed by the USA.
Secondly, the new Cuban Social and Economic Model of 2012 created further space for private capital. The model deepens reforms that were introduced during the economic crisis of the early 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc. It is consistent with the economic models that have been developed since the 1980s in China and Vietnam. It is a model of state planning of the economy, with priority given to increasing economic productivity and providing for the fundamental human needs of the people, utilizing both state-owned enterprises and privately-owned companies. It was developed in Cuba in response to the desires of the people for a higher standard of living, which was being driven by contact with international tourists and with family members living abroad. Even though the Cuban standard of living had been rising steadily since the depths of the 1990s, the expectations of the people were rising faster.
The Social and Economic Model of 2012 has impacted the Cuban approach to professional sports in other countries. The Cuban National Institute for Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER) established the possibility for Cuban athletes to sign sports contracts with entities of other nations, with the participation of INDER in determining the terms of the contracts, including taxes to the Cuban government. In this way, the Cuban government receives compensation for its investments in the development of its athletes, which begins when they are children, and the Cuban sports system can use the income for the further development of physical education and sports facilities in Cuba. At the same time, it provides for Cuban athletes in other countries the support of the Cuban system, so that they do not risk losing Cuban nationality or suffering alienation from their native land. This has been unfolding as a workable approach with respect to Cuban baseball players in Japan and Mexico as well as in other sports in various countries.
However, Major League Baseball is a special case, and the problem is the attitude on the U.S. side. Cubans who sign contracts are required by MLB to denounce their country, and those who do so are not held in high regard in Cuba, neither by the government nor the people. One could view it as decision of money over honor and dignity, standing in contrast to the great Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson, who when offered ten million dollars to fight professionally outside of Cuba, declared, “Why would I need ten million dollars, when I have ten million Cubans who love me?” The arrogant attitude of MLB gives the American press free reign to repeatedly refer to Cuban baseball players in the United States as “defectors,” when in reality they are migrants seeking greater economic opportunity in a richer country who have been compelled for political reasons by the USA to declare themselves defectors.
In December 2018, the Cuban Federation of Baseball signed an agreement with Major League Baseball, in which Cuban players could contract with any of its 30 teams, without the obnoxious clause of denunciation of their native land. This was widely hailed in Cuba as an important step toward the normalization of relations with the USA, and it was celebrated by the people. However, the agreement was nullified by the Trump administration, and it has not been reestablished by Biden.
The inclusion on Team Asere of players under contract with MLB teams takes an important step toward normalization, in that these players were given permission by their MLB teams to play for Cuba. In establishing this reality, Cuban manager Mandy Johnson reached out to a number of Cuban players in the USA, inviting them to join the Cuban team. And the rapprochement has been welcomed by the people.
Following the completion of the 2023 Classic, the Cuban team was well received in Cuba. The players were greeted by Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel at the airport in Havana. He identified their four accomplishments. (1) They had formed a unified team. (2) They bounced back from their initial two defeats to qualify for the quarterfinal round. (3) They defeated Australia in Tokyo to qualify for the semifinals in Miami. (4) They conducted themselves with dignity during the semifinal loss to the USA, playing hard to the final out in spite of being well behind, and ignoring the anti-Cuban protests by a disruptive few during the game. The Cuban President declared, “You have launched a new stage in Cuban baseball.”
In the subsequent bus trip through Havana, Cuban sports fans greeted them from the roadside. And they were welcomed by a full house at the coliseum of the complex in Havana known as the City of Sports.
Those anti-Cuba extremists in Miami
Nothing can stain like the bad behavior of a few, and this occurred at the semi-final game between the USA and Cuba. These folks have inherited a legacy of multigenerational politically motivated false-victimhood narratives; of half-truths and untruths repeated so frequently that everyone assumes they must have some coincidence with reality; of the badly informed behaving badly. The high officials of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not contain their indignation.
Declaration by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On March 19, 2023, during the semifinal between Cuba and the USA of the Fifth World Baseball Classic at the Loan Depot Park stadium in Miami, Florida, there were regrettable and dangerous incidents targeting the Cuban team, which Cuba vigorously denounces.
. . . . . . . . . .
With the clear intention of upsetting the Cuban team, there were repeated actions of various kinds expressing hostility towards the players, the accompanying Cuban delegation, and the team’s supporters in the stadium. The affronts included direct acts of aggression, threats, vulgar and offensive language, attacks aimed at undermining the team’s morale and other incidents intended to diminish the Cuban players’ spirit and tarnish the occasion. These occurrences are contrary to any notion of a sporting event of this kind.
No attempt was made to enforce the stadium rules for maintaining order and good behavior, a situation marked by clear complicity on the part of certain of the stadium’s representatives and employees and of local authorities - in particular those responsible for maintaining order and security.
Objects were thrown at the players and their families - which included women, children and elderly persons - and at members of the delegation and the Cuban press corps, and at supporters of the Cuban team. On three occasions, “spectators” invaded the playing field during the game, interrupting play, which compromised the safety and concentration of the Cuban players. There were repeated affronts and threats shouted at the players when their turn came to bat or when preparing to join the game, as happened to the Cuban pitcher Frank Abel Álvarez when he was warming up in the bullpen. Such behavior flies in the face of MLB rules and any notion of clean sport. There was a constant display of placards with political slogans, as well as obscene and vulgar language, disrespectful to players and spectators alike, which detracted from enjoyment of the game. In addition, some of the crowd wore garments bearing offensive wording or images, of a political character, in breach of the stadium regulations. Moreover, the stadium’s code of conduct for guests was repeatedly infringed, by the excessive consumption of alcohol and failure to respect reserved seating.
On most of these occasions, representatives of the Cuban delegation or of MLB approached police officers to report the above-described offenses, but no action was taken against the offenders. Such conduct was sufficient cause for immediate expulsion, summons, arrest or some other legal consequence, but none occurred. These events marred an event that has deep cultural roots for both countries.
The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs deplores the complicity demonstrated by the local authorities, which allowed and created the conditions for the flagrant commission of these acts with impunity. It also vigorously condemns the inciting by local politicians and other holders of public office to indiscipline and aggression toward the athletes. The acquiescence of the forces of law and order, failing in their duty, encouraged the committing of a series of aggressive actions.
. . . . . . . . . .
The Cuban government alerted the US administration in good time, through diplomatic channels, concerning the open and public threats that were planned to tarnish the Cuban team’s participation in the Miami segment of the championship, and concerning the corrupt and irresponsible conduct of the Miami authorities.
. . . . . . . . . .
Cuban athletes have participated in sporting events in numerous American cities and in other countries without being faced with the climate of hostility that is apparently peculiar to Miami. Cuba has no intention of giving up its right to compete on equal terms on U.S. soil. In contrast, Cuba will continue to honor its commitments as host in all the international competitions held in our country, in which athletes from all over the world, including the USA, have always been enthusiastically welcomed and treated with respect.
The above-described occurrences demonstrate yet again that Miami does not comply with the minimum requirements for hosting international events and that its authorities bear the responsibility for that shameful reality.
Cuba thanks the many fans and all those in the Miami stadium and elsewhere who welcomed gladly and in a sporting spirit the Cuban team’s participation in the Classic, which reached the semifinal with a mixed team of Cubans resident in Cuba and abroad. Many approached the team to offer their support and solidarity.
The Cuban people experienced exciting days as they followed their team from the first games. . . . Cuba remains ready to repeat the experience. Love of Cuba and love of sport will always prevail over hate.
I should note that, according to the Los Angeles Times, a majority of those in attendance were cheering for the Cuban team. Moreover, it should be clear that the American players represented their country with dignity, as was recognized by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They displayed exceptional athletic skills, and they treated their rivals from other countries with respect. They expressed pride in being able to play for their country. They showed the world the true character of the American people.
What of the future of the World Baseball Classic?
The Cuban baseball commissioner stressed that the challenge now is to sustain the triumph of the Cuban team in this year´s Classic, in which Cuba was among the final four with USA, Japan, and Mexico, three countries with established and highly regarded national professional leagues and with populations much larger than Cuba. The commissioner noted that the provincial teams in Cuba—the sixteen teams in each of the fifteen provinces of the nation plus a special island municipality that form the Cuban national league—are the base of the Cuban baseball system. The provincial teams contribute to the development of the players for international competition. The Commissioner is not concerned that some players depart to play in professional leagues in other countries, because Cuba constantly produces great athletes through systemic attention to their development. Cuba now looks forward to further international competition this year in the games of ALBA and in the Central American and Caribbean games in November.
The next Classic is planned for 2026, with the intention of holding it every four years after 2026. Cuba hopes to continue playing in the Classic, and to improve its competitiveness by attracting more and more Cuban players who are under professional contract in other nations. This year, there were more than twenty well-known Cuban-born MLB players who did not participate on the Cuban team. There were various reasons for this. Some no doubt were reluctant to play for the Cuban team, either because they were concerned about hostility toward Cuba in some quarters in the USA, or because they had mixed feelings about their native land. In addition, according to Cuban and American sports commentators, the major league clubs were inconsistent in granting permission to play in the Classic. For its part, Cuba intends to continue negotiations with Major League Baseball, seeking greater facilitation of the process of permission for Cuban players to play in the Classic.
One could envision a great future for the World Baseball Classic, where the professional leagues of the United States, Japan, Mexico, and other countries not only permit but encourage their players to play in the Classic, as a gesture of respect toward their players’ patriotic sentiments toward their native countries. Most people in the countries of the North do not appreciate how much the migrants to their countries from the South miss their native lands, and how high an emotional and spiritual price migrants from the South have paid for their economic advancement in the North. Playing for their native lands in the Classic would provide the professional players in foreign lands the opportunity to publicly express their identity with their native lands, and it would enable the peoples of their native lands to welcome and embrace them as brothers of the same nationality.
Major League Baseball has converted many outstanding athletes from all over the world into millionaires. But those millions cannot truly compensate for what they have lost. The most fulfilled of them surely must be those who return to their native lands after a stint with the MLB, either of a few years or many years. A vibrant World Baseball Classic would encourage this possibility for the players to retain their emotional ties to their roots. Major League Baseball should encourage the development of the World Baseball Classic as something that is owed to their players, whatever their native land. And this encouragement should include players from the United States, giving them an opportunity to demonstrate in practice their patriotism.
There are practical issues to be addressed, such as when the games should be held. One American sports commentator suggested that Major League Baseball expand its midseason all-star break to two weeks, so that MLB players could participate when they are in top form. Most Cuban commentators supported this proposal. However, the World Baseball Classic remains committed to March, near the beginning of Spring training in MLB, as the best time.
At the present time, enthusiasm is high for the World Baseball Classic in the U.S. sports media, especially in the wake of the dramatic final out confrontation, in which Mike Trout came to the plate to face Los Angeles Angels teammate Shokei Ohtani, both all-stars and winners of MVP awards, with the USA trailing 3-2 in the ninth. (In case you missed it, Ohtani struck out Super Mike with two 100-mph fastballs and a wicked slider, to secure a third title for Japan). The American press also is noting the high level of interest in the Classic outside the USA, and it is expressing appreciation for the desire of MLB players from other countries to play for their national teams, a desire that should be respected.
The further development of the World Baseball Classic would be great for baseball. Every four years, the best players in the world, regardless of which nation where they are playing professional ball, meeting in a great sports event, each representing their native lands, or their adopted lands, if that is where their identity lies. With the choice of all players fully respected. And with the teams of all nations treated with respect.
A free subscription option is available, with capacity to read, send, and share all posts. A paid subscription ($5 per month or $40 per year) enables you to make comments and to support the costs of the column; paid subscribers also receive a free PDF copy of my book on Cuba and the world-system.