Published Tuesday, May 4, 1999, in the Miami Herald

Cubans win on U.S. soil

FRANK DAVIES
Herald Staff Writer

BALTIMORE -- The twin passions of baseball and politics mixed uneasily on a blustery Monday night in Camden Yards as the Cuban National Team -- playing on U.S. soil for the first time in 40 years -- routed the Baltimore Orioles, 12-6.

Cuba's victory avenged a 3-2 loss to the Orioles on March 28 in Havana -- a game that marked the first visit of a U.S. big-league team to the island since shortly after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959.

Under a steady, intensifying drizzle, a sellout crowd of 48,000 fans watched flags exchanged, heard two national anthems sung and then cheered for its heroes -- from both countries.

Then a downpour accomplished what protest could not, holding up the game for 56 minutes.

Ponchos outnumbered any signs of protest inside, although chants of ``Viva Cuba Libre!'' echoed near the Cuban team's dugout. The Cuban delegation, about 330 people, sat, cheered and blew whistles immediately behind the dugout, providing something of a security cordon around the team.

Several hundred anti-Castro demonstrators denounced the event. They jammed Babe Ruth Plaza at the main entrance to the Baltimore stadium, shouting, ``Cuba sí, Castro no!'' and urging fans to remember political conditions in Cuba.

A block away, a smaller crowd opposing the U.S. embargo of Cuba held a ``celebration'' of the game, an unprecedented ``people to people'' exchange that was the brainchild of Orioles owner Peter Angelos.

The festive atmosphere inside Orioles Park at Camden Yards, with balloons and banners displaying a special Orioles-Cuba logo and music from Cubanismo!, a 15-piece group from Cuba, contrasted to the emotional swirl of politics just outside.

The demonstrators, many from South Florida, were joined by two Cuban-American congressmen, Republican Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Miami and Democrat Bob Menendez of Union City, N.J.

``This game is an insult, the result of Mr. Angelos wanting to do dirty business deals with Castro,'' Diaz-Balart told the crowd, which carried posters and coffins to highlight oppression in Cuba.

Concern about rights

Alicia Giro, a Cuban American who teaches Spanish in a Baltimore school, carried a small sign that read, ``I'm a Fan of Human Rights,'' and said she had to come Monday: ``This game was designed to say Castro is OK -- we need to remind people he's not.''

Many fans had a more ambivalent reaction to the game.

Robinson Agresott, from Colombia, noted that many Hispanics in the Baltimore area quickly grabbed tickets for this contest because they wanted to see a good game with a legendary Latin American team.

``I wanted to see history, and I want to see the Latin team win, but I'm no fan of Castro,'' said Agresott, entering the stadium as the aroma of roast pork wafted through the air. A nearby fan from Panama by way of Philadelphia, Phyllis Gomez, nodded her vigorous assent.

Incidents on field

As the Cuban team took control of the game in the middle innings, three adults and one juvenile, all from Miami according to the Associated Press, were arrested for running onto the field.At least one had an anti-Castro sign. One man was slammed to the ground by Cuban umpire Cesar Valdes near second base.

Police arrested four people for scalping tickets.

Bomb-sniffing dogs searched the stadium before the game. A double row of police kept many protesters separated.

In the shadow of Babe Ruth's statue, a fan in an Omar Linares jersey -- for Cuba's star third baseman -- argued loudly but politely with a man in the New York Yankees uniform of Orlando ``El Duque'' Hernandez, the pitcher who defected from Cuba.

``It has been spirited but peaceful,'' police spokesman Rob Weinhold said one hour after the game began.

No banner-towing planes flew over the stadium, after federal officials enforced a ``security rule'' that pilots could not fly lower than 1,500 feet. A ban on banners, flags and noisemakers kept demonstrations to a minimum inside the stadium.

Little League play

A small event earlier in the day signified what this exchange was supposed to be about. Little Leaguers from the Baltimore-Washington area played a couple of pickup games with 24 Cuban youngsters at the Gilman School in this city.

On the sideline, Lazaro Perez, 11, of Havana played catch with David Donahoo, 12, of Baltimore. Neither could speak the other's language, but the smiles and laughter were relaxed.

And they did speak a common language: baseball. ``He's a pitcher like me,'' Donahoo said. ``Did you see his submarine pitch? Whoa!''

The kids ate hot dogs after the game and then visited the Babe Ruth Museum near the legendary slugger's birthplace. It was the sort of low-key event that organizers hoped would lead to more exchanges.