Coming on the heels of American President Barack Obama’s announcement of improving relations with the communist island nation of Cuba, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has announced his intentions to hold exhibition games in the country just 90 miles south of Key West.

“I can envision us playing games in Cuba,” Manfred told the Associated Press. “I’m hopeful that the situation in terms of actual changes in federal policy clarifies in time to put us in a position to play some exhibition games in Cuba next spring.”

The game of baseball has proven to be a popular sport in Cuba, as nearly 80 players throughout the American major league and minor league systems defected from Cuba to play in the United States. Due to America’s trade embargo on Cuba, the Treasury Department must clear defectors before allowing them to begin playing for a major league team.

It is tricky getting into the country for many defectors, and controversial methods of smuggling players in such as Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig have surfaced. Puig was smuggled into the United States by human traffickers that promised safe travel in return for a portion of his eventual major league contract.

“It concerns us that there have been allegations of either unethical or illegal conduct. You have a fair amount of powers as the commissioner of baseball, but enforcing laws across international borders on human trafficking is sort of outside the ambit of those powers,” he said.

Following the overthrow of Cuba’s government by Fidel Castro, the Cincinnati Red-Los Angeles Dodgers match in March 1959 was the last American baseball game held in Cuba. Team Cuba has since participated in many events such as the World Baseball Classic, and it is evident that the Caribbean nation is thirsty for baseball. Maybe the game of baseball can be a method of diplomacy through sports such as Dennis Rodman’s basketball in North Korea and Team USA’s ping pong team in China.

FSA Connection Questions

1. In the article, when was the last baseball exhibition game played in Cuba?
2. What does the word “trafficking” mean in the story?
3. What is the author’s main idea?
4. Select two sentences from the story to support your answer to #3
5. What is the connotation of the word “phenom” in the story?
6. Select one sentence that best summarizes the story