Cubans and Baseball
Cuba has always had a strong baseball tradition, but the game travelled differently after Fidel Castro took his post and banned professional sports. The Cuban League, which grew proudly from 1878 up until the Revolution in 1959, was replaced by the current Cuban national baseball system.
The national system labeled players as amateurs, paying them modestly to say the least when compared to their professional counterparts in the American and Japanese leagues, and it kept each player restricted to the team in their home province. Unlike the Major Leagues, free agency didn't exist and players were locked into their teams until defecting elsewhere.
Defecting often meant the end of that player's empirical legacy in his home country. Those whom left illegally to play professionally were barred from ever participating in national events, such as the World Baseball Classic. And because Cuban authorities have chosen not to broadcast Major League Baseball games for the most part (on June 30th, for the first time since 1961, a two month old baseball game between the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves that didn't feature any Cuban players was shown), children and fans of the game in general, have not seen their rebel heroes in action.
Cuban born Yasiel Puig, has been a sensation in America since the Dodgers called him up from the minors, batting .407 in 123 AB's with eight home runs and 19 RBI's but those in Cuba barely remember his batting stance after he defected in 2012 and signed a seven-year $42 million contract. Same could be said of Yoenis Cespedes whom defected in the summer of 2011 and signed a four-year $36 million contract in early 2012 with the Oakland Athletics.
Instead of reveling in the long-balls hit by Puig and Cespedes, or the 100 mph fastball of lefty Aroldis Chapman (whom defected in '09 at age 21), Cubans can only hear through the vines how successful those that left the national team have been.
Defectors in the past were banned from ever returning to Cuba, but thanks to the island's recent liberalized travel laws, those that spent at least eight years abroad, are finally allowed to return. Retired pitcher Jose Contreras returned home for the first time in about ten years after he defected in 2002 and signed a four-year $32 million contract with the New York Yankees.
Contreras's return may set precedent for other defectors that would love to visit the family and friends they unfortunately left behind amidst their quest for American success. And it may also pose the possibility of fans catching a glimpse of that player they barely remembered or simply only heard of like Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and his infamous leg kick.
We take a lot for granted in the United States of America and we should cherish the fact that we have the clearance and means to watch whichever sports team we desire, regardless of where in the world that team is located. Hopefully those in Cuba could say the same thing one day as the country continues to develop.