Political protests transform U.S.-Cuba WBC semifinal into something beyond baseball

The sporadic “¡Libertad!” chants and protesters running onto the field Sunday night were reminders that the World Baseball Classic semifinal between the United States and Cuba was not just another baseball game.

This was the first time the Cuban national baseball team played in Miami, this country’s Cuban stronghold, since the Cuban Revolution ended in 1959. It was played in, of all places, Little Havana, the neighborhood Cuban defectors made their own since the 1960s. The dynamic was impossible to ignore. As was Team USA’s superiority between the lines in a 14-2 victory.

Cuba took a quick 1-0 lead with three infield singles to start the game, but the U.S. dominated from there. Trea Turner led the charge, going three for four with two home runs after blasting the go-ahead grand slam in Team USA’s quarterfinal win over Venezuela on Saturday. His four home runs in the tournament are the most for a U.S. player in a WBC. His 10 RBIs are tied for most.

In all, the Americans compiled 14 hits, including four home runs. They scored in every inning but the seventh. They dismantled a Cuba team that surpassed expectations reaching this point without most of the Cubans playing in the major leagues. Team USA, the tournament’s defending champion, will play Japan or Mexico in the final Tuesday.

The Cuban national team that took the field Sunday was the first to feature Major League Baseball players since the country’s revolution in 1959. Chicago Cubs left-hander Roenis Elías started on the mound Sunday. The Chicago White Sox’s Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert Jr., the team’s two best position players, batted second and third. Former Dodger Erisbel Arruebarrena started at shortstop.

Each of those players took a different path back to the national team. Elías and Robert escaped Cuba by boat. Moncada was given permission to leave in 2014. Arruebarrena defected in 2013 — after a failed attempt that barred him from the Cuban National Series — and signed a $25-million contract in February 2014. He appeared in 22 games for the Dodgers that season and never reached the majors again. Five years later, he repatriated to Cuba and resumed his career there.

A fan holds a sign protesting the Cuban government during Sunday’s World Baseball Classic semifinal in Miami.

(Megan Briggs / Getty Images)

The Cuban team needed permission from the U.S. government — sanctions prohibit business with the country — to take part in the tournament. The Cuban Baseball Federation and players, however, weren’t allowed to receive any money from the WBC, unlike the other participants.

The Cuban Baseball Federation imposed two requirements for player eligibility: players couldn’t have criticized the government publicly or defected during international competition to play in the United States. That left the team without several MLB veterans and stars. Some declined an invitation. Others never received one.

One of those players was Randy Arozarena. The Tampa Bay Rays outfielder defected and established residency in Mexico in 2016. Last year, he became a Mexican in order to play for the country in the WBC. He has played a starring role for Mexico, helping the team reach the WBC semifinals for the first time. He told reporters after Mexico’s workout Sunday that he hoped Cuba would beat the U.S. so he could possibly have the chance to eliminate his native country in the final.

Arozarena, who attended Sunday’s game, won’t get that chance. Team USA was too much for Cuba to handle. Adam Wainright rebounded from the strange start to the game to limit Cuba to one run over four innings. Miles Mikola followed with the same pitching line before Angels left–hander Aaron Loup finished it off.

Trea Turner, left, celebrates with his U.S. teammates after hitting a three-run home run in the sixth inning against Cuba.

(Megan Briggs / Getty Images)

The pregame news conference, usually a benign event, had a dose of tension. The room was filled with Cuban natives. Most defected to the United States from Cuba. A few others there still call Cuba home. At least one reporter was working for Granma — the official newspaper of Cuba’s communist party.

“Us, at this minute, are focused on what really truly matters, a game that’s going to be difficult, against a good team,” Cuba manager Armando Johnson said in Spanish. “I don’t think we’re thinking about what’s going to be said or done.”

The surrounding dynamic bled onto the field in the sixth inning when a protester emerged from the crowd. He stopped in center field, where he held up a sign that read, in part, “Libertad Para Los Cubanos” — Freedom For Cubans — before security escorted him off. Another protester ran onto the field before the seventh-inning stretch. He eluded security guards until tripping on the infield first. Another protester breached security in the eighth inning. Behind home plate, a man unveiled a sign reading “Abajo Dictadura” — down the dictatorship — during the ninth inning.

“Patria y Vida” — the slogan and song linked to the protests in Cuba in 2021 — signs and clothing were prominent. But the crowd was, on the whole, on the Cuban team’s side. Fans roared during pregame introductions and after the Cuban national anthem. They exploded with each hit off a Cuban’s bat. Flags waved throughout the crowd. The people were cheering for the players if not for the government they represented.

Before the game, however, protests formed outside of the ballpark, beyond the building’s perimeter. One attracted dozens of people by 5 p.m.

The people gathered around photos of political prisoners and people said to have been killed under the Cuban government’s watch. A few wore red MAGA caps. Anger and the smell of cigar smoke hovered.

One man took the microphone to address the group in Spanish. He thanked the police for allowing the protest and pleaded to remain peaceful. His peers complied. The group swelled as first pitch approached. Periodic chants broke out.

“¡Viva Cuba libre! ¡Viva!”

“¡Asesinos!”

“USA! USA! USA!”

A few dozen feet away, on the other side of a fence, reggaeton boomed and alcohol flowed. Fans searched for the best entrance to their seats. They arrived with mixed feelings. They left having watched history and a drubbing.