A Cuban baseball player failed to show up to his flight back to Havana with the team on Monday at Miami International Airport. Ivan Prieto Gonzalez chose to remain in the United States and defected. Prieto was Team Cuba’s bullpen catcher for the World Baseball Classic held at loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins. Team Cuba lost to Team USA in the semifinals.
It’s a loss for the Cuban team. Prieto is 26 years old and plays first base as well as a catcher. He has been playing with two teams in Cuba’s National Series League – Alazanes de Granma and Sabuesos de Holguin. In 2022 he played for Agricultores in the Cuban Elite League.
The national team was given a hero’s welcome despite suffering a huge defeat by Team USA. The score was 14-2. Nonetheless, the team received “an official reception by the authorities,” according to the Miami Herald. Cuban officials treated the team as victorious athletes. A hashtag to honor the team was used on social media – #TeamAsere.
“Congratulations admirable #TeamAsere,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel wrote on Twitter. “You’ve won three times: when you teamed up, when you ranked first, and when you played to the last out against a great team and hate of the worst kind. They made history. #Cuba looks at them proudly.”
Life is hard under a communist regime and Prieto is certainly not the first baseball player to defect to the United States. In order to realize their dreams of being professional baseball players, they have to leave Cuba. Cuba doesn’t allow athletes to become professional baseball players. Castro banned professional sports in Cuba in 1961. Only amateur baseball has been played in Cuba ever since.
Following the Cuban Revolution, when Fidel Castro rose to power, U.S. and Cuba relations were strained and Castro ended professional baseball in the country.
While leagues have since returned, many players who want a shot at playing in MLB make their way to the United States due to the high salaries. But Cuba has viewed defectors as disloyal to the country, which leads them to practically disown their ties to each other. That, however, led to more defectors over the years.
A famous instance was Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who rose to fame with the New York Yankees during their dynasty run in the late 1990s-early 2000s. He was banned from the Cuban national team following the defection of his half-brother, Livan Hernandez.
El Duque was devastated that the country he was loyal to banned him, which led to his own defection to the United States to continue playing the game.
This year, the Cuban Baseball Federation made the announcement that MLB players who wished to play for the team could if they were invited. Players like Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert Jr. and Yoenis Cespedes were on the roster.
Team Cuba played baseball in Miami for the first time on Sunday. There were a lot of protesters at loanDepot Park. One protester ran onto the field waving a flag that read “Libertad Para Los Presos Cubanos Del 11 de Julio.” The AP reports that the message meant “Freedom or Cuban Prisoners of July 11.” Those were protesters arrested in 2021 as they protested shortages of goods, power blackouts, and economic hardship.
Life is hard and there is little opportunity for jobs and opportunities. The communist regime rules with an iron fist. However, Cubans in Miami were angry that the Cuban baseball team was allowed to come to the United States and play at loanDepot Park. They said the team was acting as puppets for the regime and spreading its propaganda.
Protesters say it’s a distraction as the Cuban government refuses to release thousands of political prisoners, despite pressure to do so from the Vatican and the Biden administration.
“Knowing that there’s a lot of political prisoners and that people in there getting depressed, it’s unfair,” said another protestor. “It’s unfair for them to play here in the United States.”
The Mayor of Hialeah asked the Miami Marlins to refuse to let Team Cuba play in its stadium.
Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo issued a statement reading in part, “I strongly suggest that the Marlins not turn their backs on the Cuban exile community at this time. We cannot tolerate agents of the regime enjoying the freedoms of this country while the Cuban people are in dire need and being subjected to the abuse and repression of the cowards of the regime. #PatriaYVida”
Good luck to Ivan Prieto Gonzalez. He was bold enough to take his first step toward freedom and the career of his dreams.
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