Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles News: Teams Considering Playing MLB Games In Cuba
Sports can be a great way to unite different cultures, societies and countries.
Baseball is America's pastime and it is the most popular sport in Cuba today. Some of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history came from the small island nation located south of the United States. Numerous great players such as Rafael Palmeiro, Tony Perez and Jose Abreu have made a name for themselves in MLB.
According to multiple reports, the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles may play exhibition games in Cuba soon. How soon? Possibly this upcoming season. The Orioles and Red Sox each play in the American League East division and are located in the same region of the country, so they keep in contact with each other quite a bit.
Politician John Kerry, a Red Sox fan and former Massachusetts senator, has been involved in said conversations. For the Red Sox and Orioles, this could be a great move. Rusney Castillo and Yoenis Cespedes both contributed to the Red Sox last season. Henry Urrutia had a good rookie season for the Orioles last year as well.
Some fans like the idea.
Scouting never ends for MLB general managers, and it has very limited geographical boundaries. With the New York Yankees, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers always being top spenders, it couldn't hurt the Red Sox and Orioles (who play in the Yankees' division) to boost their scouting by playing games overseas.
Just last season, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers opened the MLB season in Australia. If the United States and Cuba continue to "normalize" relations with one another politically, it would have a tremendous impact in the baseball world. Multiple baseball players have risked their lives in attempts to flee and defect Cuba in order to reach the United States so they can play professional baseball.
In early February, five Latin America territories (Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela) competed in the annual Caribbean Series. Cuba shocked the baseball world by winning their first Caribbean Series championship since 1960.
Of course, this isn't as easy as it sounds. The teams, MLB Players Union, Commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners must be on the same page. Pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez and shortstop Dainer Moreira defected from the Cuban team while playing in the 2015 Caribbean Series in Puerto Rico. The league also has to put emphasis on player safety. Some baseball fans feel as if Mexico may be a better option than Cuba.
If MLB does begin playing exhibition games in Cuba, it could lead to regular season games in the near future. Who knows, we may even see an MLB team in Cuba one day.
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