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Cuba's everyday struggles
take back seat to World Baseball final
By Mike Clary. Havana Bureau.
Posted March 20 2006 in the Florida
Sun-Sentinel.
Havana · Baseball may be America's
pastime. But it is Cuba's passion.
On a clear, sunny Sunday, in a nation where
every game is important, the faithful began
to prepare for what some called the biggest
game ever, today's World Baseball Classic
final against a powerful team from Japan.
"I can't think of one that is any
bigger," said Jose San Antonio, 65,
a retired secondary school teacher who was
sitting with two friends in a doorway on
gritty Aguiar Street in Havana Vieja.
The game begins at 9 p.m., and almost every
television on the island will be tuned in.
"No one thought we'd be there,"
said Andres Del Rio, 58, a guitarist who
was sitting on a park bench with his friend
Gilberto Seijas in the Alameda de Paula
neighborhood as they enjoyed the breeze
off Havana harbor. "Every so-and-so
on the street said it would be the Dominicans,
the Puerto Ricans. But we made it."
Other baseball fans gathered Sunday at
the Asturias bar in the rough Colon neighborhood.
Over small shot glasses of rum they praised
the strong right arm of Pedro Luis Lazo,
who on Saturday closed out the favored squad
from the Dominican Republic for a 3-1 win.
Along the seafront Malecon, couples who
might normally be discussing how they would
ever escape the in-laws and get a place
of their own could beexcused if they mused
instead about second baseman Yulieski Gourriel's
shocking throwing error, and how he redeemed
himself later at the plate.
And of course hundreds convened in the
shady sanctuary of Parque Central, at the
famous esquina caliente, the hot corner,
where many of those who doubted this young
Cuban team when the tournament began now
had become believers.
"I never doubted," swore San
Antonio, 65. "And they will win [against
the Japanese] because of the color of the
uniforms -- the lucky red -- and the courage
in their hearts."
In a nation where everyday life is often
hard, Cubans take immense pride in the success
of the baseball team, especially in a tournament
that pits its players against other national
teams larded with major league players.
The final that many hoped to see, Cuba
vs. the United States, was wiped out when
the Americans lost 2-1 to Mexico on Thursday.
According to some analysts, the United
States along with many big-league players
on the Dominican and Puerto Rican teams
were not in top form. And the Cubans, mid-way
through their season, clearly are.
Many talk of the David and Goliath aspect
to the contests, in which a Cuban team with
no major-leaguers take on talent considered
the best in the world.
Of course, as Seijas and many other Cubans
readily admit, the Cuban players are professionals,
too. And they are well-trained and well-cared-for
by the government, although they are hardly
paid anything like the million-dollar salaries
of the American stars.
"They do it because of the tradition,"
Del Rio said, pointing to two youngsters,
about 7 years old, playing with a rubber
ball and a sawed-off piece of stick along
the harborfront. "Everyone grows up
playing baseball. Or they become boxers."
Before the tournament began, there were
Cubans who feared their team would not get
out of the first round. Even President Fidel
Castro expressed some reservations, remarking
to reporters, "We're not going to say
that we're the best."
But in its first outing against highly
paid major league talent, Cuba might prove
to be the best. "We taught the game
to the Japanese," said Seijas, 48,
who works in neighborhood public health.
"And we have always beaten them in
the past."
"There are no guarantees," warned
Del Rio, leaping up from his seat and jabbing
a finger in the face of his friend. "No
one knows who is going to win. I for one
will be satisfied even if they finish second."
Mike Clary can be reached at mwclary22@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2006, South
Florida Sun-Sentinel
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