The Tampa Bay Rays will face the Cuban National Team in an exhibition game on March 22 after the matchup was finalized on Tuesday. President Barack Obama will be in attendance for the historic event.
The MLB has not stepped foot on Cuban soil since 1999, which was the last time an exhibition game was held in the communist nation. The last time before that was 1959. The game will be covered by ESPN and ESPN Deportes and will be streamed on WatchESPN.
Obama's presence at the game should send a good message in terms of the relations between the United States and Cuba, as the two countries continue to repair what was once a strained and hostile relationship.
Commissioner Rob Manfred, who took over for Bud Selig in January of 2015, was hopeful to have an exhibition game be played in Cuba this year (and perhaps some regular season games down the road). He'll get his wish on March 22 as he continues to overhaul Major League Baseball in a number of positive and promising ways.
Rays owner Stuart Sternberg also said his club is "privileged" to participate in such an event. Tampa Bay was one of the teams interested in playing an exhibition game in Cuba and Manfred determined they'd be the one after holding a lottery.
The Cuban National Team will host the Rays at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana and ESPN's SportsCenter will be televised in Cuba's capital from March 21-22.
Cuba has had an enormous impact on the MLB in recent seasons as nearly every team looks for young up-and-coming prospects in the neighboring nation. Players such as Yasiel Puig, Jose Abreu, Yonder Alonso, Hector Olivera, Yoenis Cespedes, Rusney Castillo, Aroldis Chapman, Yunel Escobar, Jose Fernandez, Alex Guerrero, Adeiny Hechavarria, Jose Iglesias, Leonys Martin, Kendrys Morales, Alexei Ramirez, Jorge Soler, Yasmany Tomas and others have made an impact in the MLB while a number of prospects hope to make their debuts in the coming years.
The MLB hopes to establish a market in Cuba because of the country's passion for baseball. This is a good first step towards achieving that goal.
