A happy smile came to my face while watching the story of 7 Cuban soccer players who recently defected in Orlando from their Under-23 team. It’s not that soccer is that close to my heart or that Communism strikes a strong cord with me. Consider for a second though the planning, effort and most of all risk that goes into such an action, just ask Captain Marko Ramius. Great suffering must exist to lead up to this. Furthermore it’s a small indication of the world’s perception of America despite what the media will have you believe (thanks FoxNews).
This isn’t the first time defection has brought an influx of athletic talent to America, though. Let’s take a quick look at some of the recent contributions Cuba has made to our sports:
Livan Hernandez Pitcher – 2 time All-Star and World Series MVP in 1997 with the Marlins, Livan has been one of the most reliable and durable pitchers in the league over the past decade.
Orlando Hernandez Pitcher – Better known as “El Duque”, he’s killed my Red Sox for years as a Yankee, his age changes more than Oprah’s waist size, but despite probably being 57 continues to throw from 10 different angles to keep hitters off balance
Jose Contreras Pitcher – George Steinbrenner’s big prize in one of the first major bidding wars for international talent (which needs to be fixed)
Boxers Guillermo Rigondeaux (Olympic Champ 2000, 2004) and Erislandy Lara recently defected during the Pan-Am Games
These are just a few of the 50 or so athletes of have defected in just the past 10 years, the most popular exit door for them have been the Pan-Am games. I can’t help but be happy for them when I see they make it, ecstatic actually. What I would hope for, though, is with the failing health of Castro and his recent relinquishing of power that Cuba be able to restore its quality of life, national pride and sporting dominance…..at least until the Red Sox need a flame thrower for the stretch run :)
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