More than 50,000 Cuban fans -- including baseball-lover President Fidel Castro -- packed a Havana stadium Sunday to watch a US major league team take the field against a Cuban team for the first time in 40 years. The Baltimore Orioles defeated their hosts 3-2 in an 11-inning game that lasted four hours. But the home team was at a disadvantage, having never before played a game with wooden bats. In defiance of the longstanding trade embargo, wooden bats were brought in through a third country for the American exhibition game.
Baseball Diplomacy
More than 50,000 Cuban fans -- including baseball-lover President Fidel Castro -- packed a Havana stadium Sunday to watch a US major league team take the field against a Cuban team for the first time in 40 years. The Baltimore Orioles defeated their hosts 3-2 in an 11-inning game that lasted four hours. But the home team was at a disadvantage, having never before played a game with wooden bats. In defiance of the longstanding trade embargo, wooden bats were brought in through a third country for the American exhibition game.
