GO TO MY BLOG TO READ PART 1 and 2!
Chapman was suspended by Cuban officials for being too cocky and complaining he could not pitch in a big international game. The officials decided that Chapman was a detriment to the team and therefore was suspended for a year. Enrique was ready for that curveball and made my day with his reply. I asked him some questions about Aroldis and what he was like. He told me that he was an amazing athlete. That he was always around the park and was actually annoying sometimes because he was always begging people to play baseball or have a catch with him. It wasn’t Chapman’s youth that I was enthralled about; it was the stories that Enrique was able to tell me. What he was telling me was exactly what I wanted to hear; Cuban baseball stories of success and even defeat. He told me about his job and how many kids he saw go on to pro careers. He admitted he wasn’t their number one coach but he had a hand in their youth. He was a humble man and I sat on the edge of my seat for the 1 hour drive talking to Enrique about baseball. To me this man was the man who made Cuban baseball what it is, a legend, a builder, a coach; he was baseball to me.
I hadn’t noticed the drive and the next thing I know we are in our resort. I had gotten to know Enrique on the drive and found out he has a 25year old son who uses a left handed glove but he is a lefty. Bingo again. I had a left handed glove in my suitcase. I brought two gloves, four baseballs, a baseball hat and a soccer ball to give away. Enrique was smiling from ear to ear when I produced the glove. He told me to ask for him and his tour to Holguin and then I was invited to his home to meet his son and see the stadium. He told me exactly how to get there and he would show me around Holguin personally. He even told me he would take me to his son’s work which was a cigar warehouse where we could smoke the best cigars on the East part of the island. All this hospitality because I gave him a glove! He shook my hand and made me feel lucky to have met him. It was only the beginning of my trip too! I had big ideas for the week and it started with a safari trip.
I did manage to get the safari trip. It wasn’t hard because my wife and friends are adventurous. I also knew that I was going to be watching for baseball games while the rest of the crew was looking at mountains, houses and the odd animals in the fields. I made it through the day without seeing a big game; then it happened. We had seen some small games in the middle of streets, intersections and the odd grass field but no real game on a real field. We were headed to the marina, going down a steep hill into a valley. The hill was steep and made the drive fast. As we came out of the hills and into the flat of the valley, I saw a baseball game to my right. I spun around in my seat like a kid who just saw Santa. It literally yelled out loud and pointed and asked my friends if we could stop but we were a part of the convoy and therefore we kept couldn’t. My heart sank and it hurts to write about it. Truly it does.
As I type this, I am getting the feeling that I missed out on exactly what I wanted to see and do in Cuba. I wanted to go watch real Cubans playing a sport I love. I wanted to see their uniforms with holes in them, their handmade gloves, bats, balls and their skill and their love for the game. Albeit I didn’t get to see some of things I wanted, I am more than happy to have started a story that I know I will build on as time goes by. I could not be happier I have these small victories to report. In two trips I met true baseball people, a real mentor to a pro and got to buy a glove that I will cherish as much as I cherish this great game.
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