Major League Stars in Havana

Major League Stars in Havana / Ivan Garcia
Posted on April 5, 2014

Monday night, February the 10th, two Cuban journalists were invited to
the welcoming reception Mr. John Caulfield–head of the USA Interest
Section in Cuba–offered in his residence to three major league baseball
players, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin y Joe Logan.

The journalists who had opportunity to talk with these three legends of
American baseball were Daniel Palacios Almarales, former sports writer
for Juventud Rebelde (Rebellious Youth) and collaborator on the website
Café Fuerte, and me, who started in independent journalism in 1995
writing about sports. In addition to journalists we are bloggers.
Palacios has a blog, Visor Cubano, and I have two, From Havana and The
blog of Iván García and his friends.

Among the guests there were also grand old names from Cuban sports, such
as Tony Gonzalez, a shortstop of great scope who in the 60s played with
the Industriales team.

For two and a half hours, in a free-flowing environment, those present
not only could greet Griffey, Larkin and Logan, but also take advantage
of the fact that they were signing balls and books. And, certainly, to
leave with graphic witness of an unrepeatable occasion. By request of my
colleague Palacios, I shot a couple of photos of him next to Larkin and
Griffey.

Thanks to an official from the Interest Section, I was able chat brief
with Ken Griffey Jr., the most enjoyed of the night for his amiability
and simplicity. And for his elegance, in spite of being dressed in a
simple long sleeved white shirt and black trousers.

Griffey was satisfied with his trip to Havana. He enjoyed everything:
the spontaneous meeting with dozens of fans at Central Park; talking
baseball with people and participating in the training of a group of
baseball playing kids in Liberty City, and in the Havana municipality of
Marianao.

With regards to the Cuban players in the Big Leagues, he said when he
played a season with the Chicago White Sox, he met the shortstop Alexia
Ramirez, "and excellent person and a great professional, very meticulous
in his training."

The former stars of the Big Leagues, return to the United States on
Thursday, 13 February. Before leaving, they will probably be received by
Antonio Castro.

Apart from being a son of his father, Tony Castro, as he is called, is
the vice-president of the Cuban Federation of Baseball and principal
strategist of the new government policy of authorizing Cuban athletes to
play in professional clubs of different countries and continents.

Though the topic was not mentioned in the conversation, both Griffey Jr.
and I are aware that in these moments, due to the United States embargo
on Cuba, players living on the island cannot be signed by Major League
teams in the U.S.

Maybe the diplomacy of the baseball will contribute to a political thaw,
an inheritance of the Cold War, which for over more than five decades
has maintained tense and at times aggressive relations between Cuba and
the United States.

Iván García

Source: Major League Stars in Havana / Ivan Garcia | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/major-league-stars-in-havana-ivan-garcia/