Cuba’s loss to the United States in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic could mark the beginning of an era. Major League Baseball’s first-ever roster call of active professionals may be a sign of a possible shift in the country’s relations with former compatriots.
The Cuban national baseball team lost to the USA in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic, causing great disappointment to Cuban fans who gathered across Cuba to watch the game. While the loss was bad news, it could mark the beginning of a new era in which Cuba’s baseball association is open to the use of foreign pros.
Anti-Cuba government protests erupted in Miami before the encounter and during des Süeils, three activists ran across the field with a sign that read: “Free the Cuban prisoners arrested on July 11”. AIn Cuba, however, the whole country gathered behind the team and cheered in front of the television sets.
The team’s entry into the semi-finals, for the first time since 2006, rekindled the passion of millions of fans and for a moment not only the economic crisis but also the sporting crisis seemed to be forgotten. During the game itself, the All-Stars-studded US team inflicted a resounding 14-2 defeat on the Cubans.
Most notably, however, Cuba’s Baseball Association is the first time active professionals from North America’s Major League Baseball (MLB) roster have been named to an international tournament roster, including players from the Chicago White Sox, Luis Robert Jr. and Yoan Moncada, as well as some players from the Minor League and Cuban professionals playing abroad. Only eight of the 30 nominees were active in the domestic league.
For decades it was almost impossible to appoint players who were active in the USA because of the US blockade policy. Cubans had to take up residency in a third country and cut all ties to Cuba to get a job at a club in the US. An agreement between the Cuban federation and MLB that would have allowed players to play legally in the United States was quashed by Donald Trump in 2019. However, the new US government gave Cuba’s association special permission to call up players from its own professional leagues for the WBC.
However, player selection has been severely curtailed as Cuba’s FA said it would not call up anyone who “deserted” during international competition. Also, only players should be selected who “have maintained a positive attitude towards our baseball and our country,” said association president Juan Reynaldo Pérez. Players who are publicly critical of the Cuban government have not been called up. For example, Aroldis Chapman, a seven-time Allstar and 2016 MLB champion, declined to play for Cuba, as did Aledmys Díaz, who said he would only play for Cuba “when everyone is allowed to.”
Despite the loss to the United States, optimists see the formation of a joint team of US-Cuba-based professionals for the first time as a sign of a possible shift in the country’s relations with former compatriots who live abroad and play in MLB. The semi-final defeat could nevertheless mark the beginning of an era in which Cuba’s federation is more open to the inclusion of expatriate professionals.
