Major League Baseball officials, players to lead goodwill tour of Cuba
Baseball Stadium in Havana
Major League Baseball and the Players Association said on December 3, 2015 that Joe Torre and Dave Winfield will be leading a baseball goodwill tour of Cuba Dec. 15-18 and the trip will include children’s clinics and a charity event.
This is Major League Baseball’s first visit to Cuba since the Baltimore Orioles played an exhibition game against the Cuban national team in 1999. The visit follows an agreement in July between the governments of the United States and Cuba to restore diplomatic relations after a 54-year break.
Commercial relations between Major League Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation are still largely blocked by the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba, although MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said he would like to see a minor-league team play an exhibition game in Cuba in 2016.
Cuba would like to reach an agreement with MLB to prevent the poaching of its players without compensation. For its part, MLB would like to regulate the transfer of players and have a chance to scout in Cuba as it does in other Caribbean countries.
Back in February, 2011, three Japanese coaches headed by Masatake Yamanaka held baseball workshops at the invitation of the Cuban Olympic Committee and taught their Cuban peers batting, pitching and strategy for 15 days in two courses in Havana and Santiago
