Baseball and Cuba

Yesterday was a historic day in Havana. The past few days have been, to be honest. For the first time since the Coolidge Administration, an American President was in Cuba. Yesterday, that trip wrapped up with a baseball game. The Tampa Bay Rays played the Cuban National Team in front of both Presidents, a huge crowd, and MLB brass. For a moment, sports doubled as diplomacy.

First, the obvious- I support a normalization of relations with Cuba, if changes are made. The embargo and silence between the two countries has not worked. Nothing changed in Cuba for anyone but the common people who saw their lives get worse. It was time for a change.

So what does yesterday's game mean? Not much in the immediate term. The hope is that five years from now, Cuban players will be able to play in America without defecting. Of course, for that to happen, Cuba has to make some serious changes. I can see a scenario where within a decade, a AAA Marlins affiliate is in Havana, or the Rays are even moved there. All of that is still really premature though. For yesterday, it was what it was- an exhibition game. It isn't as big of a step as it felt like, and yet it could lead to better things ahead. Before that can happen, Cuba will have to grapple with forgiving the defectors and allowing MLB players more freedoms than they want to currently grant. They will probably have to deal with their human rights record as well, and treat dissidents with some level of freedom. Congress will have to lift the embargo, and travel restrictions will have to be lifted. Even beyond all of that, the Cuban government would have to accept MLB's CBA as binding as well, even to have minor league ball. Many things still have to happen.

Forget all of that though, for a moment. An American President watched a baseball game in Havana yesterday. Matt Moore pitched against the Cuban National team. Evan Longoria played in a place we don't send MLB players. Yesterday was a historic day.