Protesters rally outside Cuba-USA WBC semifinal
MIAMI — Cuban jerseys, caps and flags decorated the concourse directly outside LoanDepot Park on Sunday afternoon, moments before Team Cuba began its World Baseball Classic semifinal game against the United States.
That was within the gates. Directly outside of them, dozens of protesters gathered in front of about 15 police officers with signs speaking out against Cuba’s communist government and the political prisoners still detained on the island.
“Libertad!” one man constantly shouted.
“Freedom for Cuba!” another woman hollered from time to time.
Sunday marked the first time since at least the beginning of Fidel Castro’s reign more than 60 years ago that Cuba’s national baseball team had visited Miami, specifically Little Havana, the Cuban enclave that houses so many of the people who have fled the island dating back to the 1960s. Some have been able to separate its baseball from politics, while many others can’t, a singular dynamic that, for one night, was encapsulated within one baseball stadium.
It extended beyond the fans.
“To be quite honest with you, there’s a lot of anxious feelings,” said Team USA third baseman Nolan Arenado, the son of Cuban immigrants, adding that he had a long chat about Cuba’s presence with his family earlier in the morning.
“You know, if it wasn’t for the sacrifices my grandparents made to get here for my parents, I don’t know if I would have been the player that I am today, so there’s a lot of feelings I feel toward it. I respect them, I respect the players, but we have a job to do.”
Cheers and a faint “Cuba!” chant were heard when the Cuban flag was unfurled during pregame introductions, but Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox — the first two active major leaguers to play for a Cuban national team, a concession made between the Cuban and U.S. governments for this year’s World Baseball Classic — were roundly booed.
Later, while Moncada batted in the top of the fifth, the first of three fans to make their way onto the field held a banner that asked for freedom for Cubans imprisoned during the July 2021 riots.
Moncada and Robert represent two of the biggest Cuban-born stars in the major leagues, but many others were either not invited by the Cuban Baseball Federation or not interested. In many cases, both applied. The list of absentees included Jose Abreu, Yordan Alvarez, Aroldis Chapman, Yasmani Grandal, Yandy Diaz and, most notably, Randy Arozarena, who is instead starring for Mexico, the country he arrived in after fleeing Cuba in 2015.
Arozarena, who has been adamant about not representing his birthplace, said earlier Monday that he would attend the game and cheer for Cuba — but for different reasons.
“I want to face Cuba in the final,” Arozarena said in Spanish, “and hopefully, we beat them.”
Six police officers made up the warning track in foul territory moments before Adam Wainwright fired the first pitch, double the typical presence in this tournament. A heavier police presence was expected for Monday’s game. Ballpark security officials, meanwhile, were told to be diligent in identifying signs that violated the stadium’s code of conduct, which includes restrictions on language “regarding political affiliation, social and economic matters or other statements that undermine civil liberties.”
A large anti-government sign hung against the railing in left-center field for at least a couple innings, another directly behind home plate.
Apparel in support of the Cuban baseball team was prominent throughout the ballpark, but many fans also entered wearing T-shirts that read “Patria y Vida,” a homage to the famous anti-communism slogan and song associated with the Cuban protests of 2021. The expression, directly translated to “homeland and life,” is a play on the Cuban motto “Patria o Muerte” (“homeland or death”). One of its biggest supporters is Livan Hernandez, the famous Cuban pitcher who won the World Series with the Miami Marlins in 1997 and threw out Monday’s ceremonial first pitch, alongside former teammate Jeff Conine.
Hernandez said his ties to that movement stand as a reason he didn’t feel comfortable shaking hands with Cuban manager Armando Johnson, despite their long history. As Cuba’s coach, Johnson is naturally tied to Cuba’s government, given the way culture and politics are naturally entwined on the island.
“I don’t think I can extend my hand, even say “hi” because I don’t think it’d be appropriate for everybody who’s suffering or those who were imprisoned for things they shouldn’t be,” Hernandez told ESPN’s Marly Rivera. “Armando Johnson was my coach since I was a kid, but there are things in front of us that we are not in agreement on, and I’m here 150 percent with ‘Patria y Vida.'”
Hernandez, whose brother, Orlando, also fled Cuba, said he expected the reaction from the crowd to be “divided.” That was obvious as early as the second inning. A “libertad” chant broke out, but loud cheers for the Cuban team then were heard after a single by Yadir Drake. Three batters later, when Moncada came to bat again, another “Patria y Vida” chant was heard.
Hours earlier, Arenado was asked how he views the inclusion of major league players on Cuba’s national team.
“I think I’ve heard mixed reviews,” Arenado said. “I asked people about it. I asked Cuban players, former players that are Cuban what their opinion is about it. I’ll probably keep that to myself. But listen, I think people are proud to represent their country, just like I’m proud to represent USA. And I understand why they want to do it. I think over there, there’s a little bit more issues, and I think people have more issues with it. But I don’t think that’s for me to speak on.”
ARLINGTON, Texas — Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers became the first major leaguer to strike out 12 times in a season’s first four games.
Devers went 0-for-4 with two more strikeouts Sunday in Boston’s 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers.
Devers’ latest mark for futility came a day after he became the first big leaguer to be fanned 10 times in the first three games of a season.
He’s 0-for-16, though he did draw a two-out walk in the ninth Sunday to keep the inning alive and put the potential tying run in scoring position.
The 12 strikeouts broke the previous record of 11 in the first four games, which had been done four times previously since 1901, according to SportRadar.
Brent Rooker of the Athletics struck out 11 times to open last season. The others were Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2020, Minnesota’s Byron Buxton in 2017 and Houston’s Brett Wallace in 2013.
Devers is now solely the Red Sox DH after their offseason acquisition of third baseman Alex Bregman.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two teams suing NASCAR over antitrust allegations said Wednesday in a filing that a countersuit against 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports and Michael Jordan’s manager is “an act of desperation” and asked that it be dismissed.
NASCAR’s countersuit contends that Jordan business manager Curtis Polk “willfully” violated antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the most recent charter agreements.
23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of 15 that refused to sign the new agreements, which were presented to the teams last September in a take-it-or-leave-it offer 48 hours before the start of NASCAR’s playoffs.
The charters were fought for by the teams ahead of the 2016 season and twice have been extended. The latest extension is for seven years to match the current media rights deal and guarantee 36 of the 40 spots in each week’s field to the teams that hold the charters, as well as other financial incentives. 23XI — co-owned by Jordan — and Front Row refused to sign and sued, alleging NASCAR and the France family that owns the stock car series are a monopoly.
Wednesday’s filing claims that NASCAR’s counterclaim is “retaliatory” and “does not allege the facts necessary to state a claim.”
“NASCAR is using the counterclaim to engage in litigation gamesmanship, with the transparent objective of intimidating the other racing teams by threatening them with severe consequences if they support Plaintiffs’ challenge to the unlawful NASCAR monopoly,” the response says.
23XI and Front Row have requested NASCAR’s counterclaim be dismissed because it “fails at the threshold because it does not allege facts plausibly showing a contract, combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade.
“The counterclaim allegations instead show each racing team individually determining whether or not to agree to NASCAR’s demands through individual negotiations — the opposite of a conspiracy.”
The filing also defends Polk, who was specifically targeted in NASCAR’s counterclaim as the mastermind of the contentious two-year battle between the teams and the stock car series. NASCAR claimed in its countersuit that Polk threatened a team boycott of Daytona 500 qualifying races, but the teams argued Wednesday “there is no allegation that such a threatened boycott of qualifying races ever took place.”
“None of NASCAR’s factual claims fit into the very narrow categories of blatantly anti-competitive agreements that courts summarily condemn as per se unlawful,” the teams said.
Jordan, through a spokesperson, sent word to The Associated Press that Polk speaks for him and the NBA icon views any attack on Polk as “personal.”
NASCAR’s attorney has warned that a consequence of the 23XI and Front Row lawsuit could lead to the abolishment of the charter system outright — NASCAR argues it would be a consequence and not what NASCAR actually wants to do — and that 23XI first made this personal by naming NASCAR chairman Jim France in the original antitrust lawsuit.
The teams struck back at the threat to eliminate the charter system in Wednesday’s filing. It alleges it is an empty threat meant to scare the 13 organizations that did sign the charter agreements.
The claim also says Front Row should be dismissed from NASCAR’s countersuit because “NASCAR does not allege any specific conduct by Front Row or its owners or employees to support a claim that it participated in the alleged conspiracy.”
“The other allegations in the counterclaim against Front Row are all entirely conclusory or improper group pleading that seeks to lump in Front Row with 23XI Racing, Mr. Polk, and “others,” while never identifying what — if anything — Front Row Motorsports itself has done to purportedly participate in the alleged conspiracy.”
There is no deadline for a judge’s decision.
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