The players from the Island have already arrived in Miami. Since the 4-3 win over Australia everything has been “enjoyable”. The “bailadera” extended to the Club Housesaid manager Armando Mandy Johnson. On the charter flight in which they moved from Japan to the Miami airport, “gritadera” reigned.
The team will play at the venue that the Díaz-Canel government tried to avoid since the World Baseball Classic was born, according to the journalist from Free Daily Nathanael Perez Nero. “To the point that he asked to play the first phases in the Asian zone.”
In the streets, there is annoyance about the cost of tickets. Tickets are sold for up to 1,229 dollars and the cheapest price is around 289 dollars, a high amount for a Cuban who earns an average of between 500 and 700 dollars a week.
Some workers of Cuban origin wanted to see the Cuban baseball team, but “they were shocked to see the prices of the boxes,” says José, a national of the island who emigrated in search of better living conditions for his family, who works in a restaurant. “None of the protesters had the intention of protesting or anything like that.”
José mentioned that “the restaurant bosses were upset” with the Cuba team in Miami. The main topic of discussion was the demonstrations against Team Asere, the team reinforced with Major League players, which represents a regime.
deserved enjoyment of #elCubaClasico in the prelude to the flight to Miami, where he will play the semifinal of the #WorldBaseballClassic2023. #Cuba #BaseBall #CubanBaseball pic.twitter.com/zalPnHrO5S
— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) March 15, 2023
The Cuban team is in the city to which thousands of Cubans emigrated after Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959. The largest group of exiles opposed to the regime is also concentrated in this city and it is where, according to the 2019 American Community Survey999,602 inhabitants are of Cuban origin, which represented 36.2% of the total of 2,761,581 people.
“At least it will be an interesting spectacle to see Cuba, because a team from the Island had never played a tournament of such magnitude,” wrote the journalist from The New HeraldJorge Ebro from Matanzas. “Although some insist that this group has nothing to do with politics.”
A constant concern for the regime has been the defections of athletes, however, even if they occurred in this group of baseball players, they would be few. Several of these baseball players have no ties to Inder because they are independent players. In addition, those who play in the Japanese league, such as Liván Moinelo, Yariel Rodríguez, Raidel Martínez, Yurisbel Gracial, Ariel Martínez and Alfredo Despaigne, must have the permission of their clubs in order to be hired by a Major League team.
Another fear is the controversy that has occurred through social networks and that has called for demonstrations against the national baseball team.
Cuba’s next game will be on Sunday at LoanDepot Park, home of the Marlins, located in Little Havana. The logistics of the team will have to deal with an environment of protests.
If the sports scene was already controversial, Miguel Díaz-Canel finished politicizing it through their social networks. “On March 15, such a Maceist day, Cuba had to win,” she posted on her Twitter account after the victory over Australia.
Diaz-Canel had the complicity of Lis Cuestahis wife, who shared an image on his Twitter account with the phrase: “Babalaos activateseeeeee!!! Water and husks for the ground.”
The Cuban team is already in Miami #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/7XnXRDG1dW
— Yordano Carmona (@YordiMLB) March 16, 2023
This politicization led ex-spy Gerardo Hernández to quote José Martí when referring to Team Asere: “‘Patriotism purifies and sublimates men.’ José Martí. #Cuba #elCubaClasico #CDRCuba #SomosDelBarrio”.
The coaching team decreed a day off this Thursday. According to the official media Jit, “he will dedicate himself to completing the analyzes in relation to the United States and Venezuela, from whose duel his Sunday opponent will emerge.”
The preparation game prior to the semifinal was ruled out and in the next few hours the opener will be made official for an instance that Cuba had not accessed since 2006, when it celebrated the subtitle in the founding edition of these contests.
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