Barack Obama recently stepped foot on Cuban soil for the first time since former U.S. president Calvin Coolidge did so in 1928, according to The Guardian. A short while later, history was made again as the Tampa Bay Rays squared off in an exhibition baseball game against the Cuban national team, ESPN reported. While the Rays won the game by a score of 4-1, the real victor was all of Major League Baseball.
Cuban players make up a vast minority of athletes in professional baseball. However, when they do make their way to the big leagues, most come to the United States draped in stories of their defection from the former Cold War power.
Last season in the MLB, there were 27 players who at one point defected from Cuba, a country that has been under the Communist regime for more than 50 years. Headlining the list are Yasiel Puig, Aroldis Chapman, José Abreu and Yoenis Céspedes — all of whom have been All-Stars at some point in their career. These men epitomize the benefits of a restored relationship between the United States and Cuba, as their skill helps improve the quality of the game while being role models for all of the young men in Cuba with dreams of playing professional baseball.
With the opening of borders between the two historic enemies, more players with the pedigree of Céspedes, Abreu and many others will have the opportunity to make their way into the MLB, similar to those from the Dominican Republic.
In 2012, out of the 243 players who were born outside of the United States, 95 are Dominican. The roughly 39 percent of Dominicans illustrates the potential for growth in the league for Cuban players. With the closer proximity to the United States, a new open relationship with the Cuban government creates the opportunity for similar numbers, if not more, of Cubans in the MLB.
The new interaction between the two Western hemispheric powers also gives the Cuban people the opportunity to become more immersed in numerous aspects of American culture, such as baseball. With Cubans able to become fans of the United States’ professional league — and with baseball being tightly intertwined with Cuban culture — the opportunity for the MLB to grow internationally increases exponentially. Not to mention the influx of income to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s office via advertising and television deals to the Caribbean island.
However, there is a downside to the new apparent friendship in the world. Many Americans of Cuban descent, especially those with ties to the early days of the Castro regime, have expressed their displeasure with the United States’ new deal with Cuba. This may lead to a resentment of the new wave of Cuban players making their way to the MLB, which could lead to a decrease in ticket sales to particular areas such as Miami. The Florida city has a heavy Cuban population and an already struggling Marlins franchise.
A team such as the Miami Marlins, who in 2014 only averaged 21,386 people in a stadium that can hold upwards of almost 37,000, according to Baseball Almanac, cannot afford a large decrease in ticket sales in the upcoming seasons. Their already decreasing year-to-year numbers could become largely intensified if even a large percentage of the city’s Cuban population decide not to spend their money to see athletes representative of the new relationship between the island and the United States.
If the scenario did occur, the Marlins may even be forced to move away from the city and out of their new stadium, which opened in 2012 and cost a whopping $634 million, Forbes reported.
A new relationship with the Cuban government is naturally going to be met with controversy. We have heard the topic debated on ESPN, over the radio and even in presidential debates. People all over the map have differing opinions on the issue. However, one benefit cannot be overlooked: the potential to make baseball better than ever before.
Only time will tell if the newly integrated politics will lead to good things for the Cuban people. Only time will tell if areas of American life, like baseball, will be injected with vibrant parts of the Cuban culture. Only time will tell if more and more young boys will make their way from the streets of Cuba to the batter’s box at Yankee Stadium. Major League Baseball has the chance to enter a golden age of the sport, as a new wave of Cuban players will help captivate, reenergize and transform America’s pastime.
