In Cuba baseball is not a matter of life and death, it is much more important. It takes a lot for the streets of Old Havana to go silent, for the normal hum of activity to diminish to a barely audible whisper. The World Classic Baseball Final played on March 20, 2006 in front of a crowd of 42,696 in San Diego was one such event. It was viewed in virtually every home in Cuba and transfixed the nation. On Obispo (the main thoroughfare of Old Havana) security guards discreetly listened to the match through their ear-pieces as the few people that were still out and about hurried to get somewhere they could see the game.
For a team whose participation in the inaugural tournament had been in doubt right up until the last moment, Cuba’s progression to the final was a fantastic achievement. This, though, was the first time that the Cuban team had competed against the real deal in a tournament. The other teams were packed with Major League Baseball stars and there were whispers beforehand that the Cuban team would not be able to compete. Cuba ended up losing in the championship. Despite the loss in the final, the Cuban players had demonstrated that they could compete with the multimillionaires of the MLB.
I thought this article was right in that the Major Leagues is a lot of politics and money. Actually basbeall itself has to do with a ton of politics. There is a good chance you can get farther in baseball just by who you know sometimes. But like the author says, there are teams out there like cuba or other MLB teams that don’t get paid like the Yankees but can still keep up with them. As you can see in the 2010 world series.
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