THT: Daly: Hardball diplomacy

A terrific look back at sports diplomacy, Boozie Kuhn, Fidel Castro and even some Henry Kissinger…slavishly brought to you by GGC.

That was the last serious attempt to send a team of major leaguers to Cuba for many years. In November of 1977, some players and coaches of the Houston Astros went to Havana and gave a clinic to Cuban players, but no games were played. The next spring, the Cleveland Indians looked to play a Cuban team in Tucson. Kuhn referred them to the Executive Council and nothing happened. Hall of Fame umpire Jocko Conlan wrote a letter to The Sporting News calling Castro a murderer and protesting the Indians’ plan. There were talks to bring a Cuban team to Montreal to play the Expos in August, but those went nowhere. Finally, in March of 1982, the Seattle Mariners had scheduled an exhibition series against a Cuban all-star team but it was canceled due to Cuban-American protests.

Major leaguers probably would have played in Cuba 21 years before the Orioles’ trip were it not for Kuhn’s veto. Nevertheless, Jagoda said that he understood why Kuhn, a corporate lawyer by trade, called the trip off. Kuhn was a businessman, not a diplomat. But imagine if a series had happened. Never mind the political ramifications—Americans might have had a chance to see players like Antonio Munoz, Wilfredo “El Hombre Hit” Sanchez and Changa Mederos.