Off Base

How the Cuban embargo threatened to endanger America’s pastime and the World Baseball Classic.

By Kelson Bohnet, Vanderbilt University
Monday March 6, 2006

A version of this article originally appeared in Orbis, a Campus Progress sponsored publication.

George W. Bush, this is the last straw.

Sure, we’ve had our differences in the past. There was your whole environmental policy thing, but I took a deep breath and was willing to let that go. Then you were wiretapping American citizens without a warrant, but I figured that despite your disregard for the Constitution, you really thought you had our best interests in mind. Those one million additional Americans living in poverty since you took office? Hey, at least they can get one of those dead-end minimum wage jobs that you so like to brag about creating.

I’m not even going to discuss declines in health care coverage, your unfunded education mandates, or cuts to certain veteran benefits, because that’s not the point right now. The point, Mr. President, is that you finally did the unthinkable and fiddled with that which I and other red-blooded, God-fearing Americans hold dear.

You decided to meddle with baseball, and that’s the final straw.

Back in May 2005, the creation of the World Baseball Classic, which began last week, was announced and baseball fans everywhere were giddy with anticipation. Here was our chance to see the best players in the world suit up for their native countries in an attempt to determine the true champions of the world. The U.S. lineup includes future Hall of Famers Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens, and many international lineups read like a “Who’s Who” of major league All Stars.

Yet when Cuba (the 2004 Olympic baseball champions) applied for entry to the tournament, the Bush administration refused to let them play. Citing the Classic as a potential source of profit for Fidel Castro’s communist regime, the government denied the Cubans’ application in mid-December.

There was immediate uproar from the world community, especially the world baseball community. Governments, fans and players alike saw it as unconscionable that one of the best teams in the world would be barred from baseball’s equivalent to the World Cup simply due to the ideology of their government, particularly because the players have no control over their government’s direction. Even politicians weighed in on the issue, including Rep. Jose Serrano, a New York Democrat. “Let’s leave the politics out of this,” he said. “The World Baseball Classic should not be tainted by our grudge against Cuba’s government.”

But just when the problem finally seemed to work itself out, it may have actually gotten worse. With their second application, Cuba was finally admitted to the classic on Jan. 20, but only with the stipulation that any and all Cuban profits gained as a result of the tournament were to be donated to Hurricane Katrina victims rather than return to Cuba.

While I was happy to see more aid earmarked for victims of that disaster, I was enraged by the Bush administration’s arrogance and sheer idiocy. Yes, Cuba had gained the acceptance it deserved, but only through agreeing to essentially pay a bribe to the United States.

Besides the affront to the spirit of athletic competition, the Bush administration’s actions in this debacle made two things painfully clear: the embargo on Cuba is a massive policy failure, and our current foreign policy is so juvenile that it could have been designed by a belligerent five-year-old.

Though communism does need to end in Cuba, the embargo and other antagonistic policies are simply making a bad situation worse. Families in Cuba and their relatives in the U.S. are often kept from contacting each other, innocent Cuban citizens are unable to obtain many of the necessities they need to survive, and the Castro regime is not much closer to falling than it was when all this started. If we are serious about bringing democracy to Cuba, then opening their nation to trade and treating their baseball team with a shred of respect would be a great way to start.

This story is yet another example of our current modus operandi in foreign affairs. We demonized France for its opposition to the Iraq war, even going so far as to ask for “freedom fries” with our Big Macs. For the invasion of Iraq, we assembled what John Kerry called “a coalition of the bribed and coerced.” And now, we’ve succeeded in bullying Cuba over what should be a game all can enjoy free of political grudges.

Did you know, President Bush, that many Cubans congregate in the streets and spend hours simply talking about baseball? Did you know that for a nation mired in poverty, baseball represents one of the few joys that many Cubans can cling to? Baseball is perhaps even more important there than it is here, yet your policies threatened to rob that nation’s team of this opportunity.

In a world rife with violence and divisions, though it may be cliché to say so, athletics have the power to overcome divisiveness and create unity. In a sporting stadium, politics, race, religion and social status are swept away with the roar of the crowd. It is at a ballpark where the enmity between neighbors is set aside for pure love of the game.

Mr. President, baseball and all types of sports present the opportunity to peacefully come together and celebrate our unity as members of the human race. Yet when the opportunity arose, your administration tampered with our revered national pastime and ultimately struck out.

What a surprise.

Kelson Bohnet is a commentary writer for Orbis, Vice President of the Vanderbilt College Democrats and a huge baseball fan.