Through the first half of the 20th Century, Major League Baseball enjoyed a healthy fellowship with the Cuban leagues. Cuba hosted MLB spring training games, the U.S. hosted traveling Cuban teams, and for a few years the Cincinnati Reds incorporated the Havana Sugar Kings into their minor league system. In 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers held their Spring Training in Havana to make life a little easier for Jackie Robinson (who was about to break MLB's color barrier). But the fellowship came to a grinding halt shortly after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. It would be 40 years before an American baseball team returned to the island nation.
The 1970s saw two failed attempts at sending a U.S. team to Cuba. The first, in 1975, was successfully negotiated between MLB commisioner Bowie Kuhn and the Cuban Government, lacking only the blessing of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The Secretary shot the proposal down, partially because he disapproved of Cuba's involvement in Angola's civil war. Two years later, Castro invited the New York Yankees to play in Havana. The Yankees accepted the invitation and this time the Department of State gave it the green light. Commissioner Kuhn, however, felt strongly that the U.S. players should represent several Major League teams; not only the Yankees. Castro refused to accept these conditions and a compromise could not be reached.
Over the following decade, the U.S. re-focused its baseball diplomacy on Nicaragua, the Soviet Union, and a few other countries, yet the thought of a U.S.-Cuba exhibition never completely fell off the radar. The idea started to regain momentum in the early 1990's when Peter Angelos - owner of the Baltimore Orioles - persistently campaigned the U.S. Government for its permission. At first, his requests were blocked by Congress. Then a softening of relations under the Clinton administration opened the door just wide enough for Angelos to squeeze his team through.
On March 28, 1999, the Orioles played and defeated a team of Cuban all-stars in front of a highly passionate Havana crowd. A couple of months later, Cuba evened the series by beating the Orioles before 48,000 Baltimore fans. Unfortunately, the positive momentum didn't last for long. In 2001, America was appointed a new president who took a more hard-lined stance on Cuba. The two countries continued to meet in international competitions, like the newly created World Baseball Classic, but exhibition games to promote good will were sadly out of the question. Meanwhile, it was becoming increasingly common for Cuban talent to defect for a chance at making it in the U.S.
On March 28, 1999, the Orioles played and defeated a team of Cuban all-stars in front of a highly passionate Havana crowd. A couple of months later, Cuba evened the series by beating the Orioles before 48,000 Baltimore fans. Unfortunately, the positive momentum didn't last for long. In 2001, America was appointed a new president who took a more hard-lined stance on Cuba. The two countries continued to meet in international competitions, like the newly created World Baseball Classic, but exhibition games to promote good will were sadly out of the question. Meanwhile, it was becoming increasingly common for Cuban talent to defect for a chance at making it in the U.S.
Presently, in a case of what one might call reverse Baseball Diplomacy, the baseball-playing world waits to see how changing U.S. policies will influence the game. Will improved relations pave the way for future baseball exchanges? Or will lightened restrictions make it harder for Cuba to keep its home-grown talent from signing with U.S.-based teams? Either way, the MLB will likely have to re-examine its rules on international signings.
Sources:
"Cuba's Angola Connection Halts Baseball Diplomacy", Gary Deeb, Chicago Tribune, January 20, 1976
"Baseball Diplomacy", Chicago Tribune, February 11, 1977
"Baseball Diplomacy for U.S.-Cuba Thaw", James Nelson Goodsell, The Christian Science Monitor, March 10, 1977
"Cuba Bid on Series Withdrawn", Lionel Martin, The Washington Post, March 13, 1977
"Baseball Diplomacy Suggested As Aid to U.S.-Cuba Relations", The Washington Post, September 11, 1984
"Orioles are a Big Hit in Cuba...", Richard Justice, The Washington Post, March 28, 1999
"Orioles Get Smoked by Cubans", Richard Justice, The Washington Post, May 4, 1999
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