Days after President Barack Obama landed in Havana for a historic visit, Major League Baseball returned to Cuba for the first time in 20 years. The Tampa Bay Rays arrived at the Estadio Latinoamericano to face off against the Cuban national team, and the stadium was packed. President Obama and Raúl Castro were both in attendance, along with several baseball legends. Here’s what went down:
Before the game began, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Archer made a new friend.
.@ChrisArcher22 and
his new best friend, Diego, working on their game. #MLBinCuba pic.twitter.com/R7R3JQAoj8— MLB (@MLB) March 22, 2016
Credit: @MLB / Twitter
After a game of catch, Archer made his way over to President Obama…
.@ChrisArcher22 wasn’t going to miss a chance to chat with @FLOTUS. #MLBinCuba pic.twitter.com/UaPtNZRB4q
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) March 22, 2016
Credit: @MLBGIFs / Twitter
Earlier this month, Archer asked Obama to join him for lunch in Cuba. Obama didn’t reply to his tweet, so Archer teased him about it before the game.
The Cuban national anthem rang out loudly at the Estadio Latinoamericano.
#Cubans sing their national anthem. #ObamaenCuba @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/aLs6xBYrKu
— Hatzel Vela (@hatzelvela) March 22, 2016
Credit: @hatzelvela / Twitter
As did the “Star Spangled Banner.”
The presidents rise again for Cuban and US national anthems. Hands over hearts for the Star Spangled Banner. pic.twitter.com/uQsHmhribr
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 22, 2016
Credit: @markknoller / Twitter
Cuban baseball legend Luis “El Tiante” Tiant threw out the first pitch along with two-time Olympic gold medal-winning pelotero Pedro Lazo.
Proud to have our own El Tiante throw out today's first pitch in Havana! #MLBinCuba ?? pic.twitter.com/TT8vhFAp4P
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) March 22, 2016
Credit: @RedSox / Twitter
Lazo, who is still playing at 42 years old, is the one on the left. Tiant, who left Cuba in 1961, told Fox Sports it wasn’t easy to return to Cuba. But the 75-year-old former pitcher said he hopes the U.S. and Cuba can mend their relationship: “The world changes. We have to fix it.”
After a moment of silence for the victims of the terror attack in Brussels, Belgium, the game began.
Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty
Obama later defended his decision to attend the game following the attacks: “The whole premise of terrorism is to disrupt people’s ordinary lives.”
Once fans heard the first crack of the bat, things became a bit more festive. Here’s everyone doing the wave:
First wave. #michelleobama and girls do the #wave at Estadio Latinamericano #obama @latimes @katelinthicum pic.twitter.com/MN3611YDvI
— Robert Gauthier (@rgaut999) March 22, 2016
Credit: @rgaut999 / Twitter
And, yes, both President Obama and Raúl Castro joined in.
President Obama does the wave with Castro before baseball game in Cuba -> pic.twitter.com/NQRyQ0TxJc
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) March 22, 2016
Credit: @charliespiering / Twitter
When the Rays scored the first run of the game, Obama started a little trash talk.
A handshake between @POTUS and Cuban President Raul Castro says it all after Tampa Bay scores the 1st run #MLBinCuba pic.twitter.com/ALOxzI9O9B
— Tyler Feldman (@FeldmanWBNG) March 22, 2016
Credit: @TyFeldman / Twitter
But the Cuban team showed they’re also loaded with talent.
We’ve got ourselves a game.https://t.co/qslmxulSkl #MLBinCuba pic.twitter.com/T8vIM1Jojk
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) March 22, 2016
Credit: @MLBGIFs / Twitter
At one point, President Obama must have ticked off the First Lady, because we all know a “Hey, don’t be mad me” shoulder grab when we see one.
Credit: @JemeleHill / Vine
Seems like everything was OK, because Obama was all smiles when he met up with Derek Jeter.
The Captain and the Commander in Chief. https://t.co/7XNLdhvx3f #MLBinCuba pic.twitter.com/yXSp1jPgOF
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 22, 2016
Credit: @Yankees / Twitter
When it all ended, Tampa Bay was victorious, defeating the Cuban national team 4-1.
Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty
After the game, Dayron Varona, a Cuban player who defected from Cuba in 2013, embraced old friends.
Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty
Varona, who plays for a minor league team affiliated with the Rays, was not even thinking about making the trip to Cuba. But several Rays players, including Evan Longoria, Kevin Cash and Chris Archer, asked for Varona to be included on their roster. Varona told ESPN he was surprised by the gesture: “It’s amazing. Longoria, Archer, the manager and other players on the team, who I’ve only known for around 20 days, have supported me so that I can go back to my country.”
Just a few days earlier, Varona reunited with his family for the first time in three years.
After 3 years apart, @DayronVarona is reunited with his family in La Habana. #RaysInCuba pic.twitter.com/Bw3sUvWMxK
— #VoteRays (@RaysBaseball) March 21, 2016
Credit: @RaysBaseball / Twitter
Moments after the game, a protestor interrupted a live report from ESPN’s Bob Ley.
Credit: CorkGaines / ESPN / YouTube
A man in a white shirt jumped in front of the camera and threw up a handful of pamphlets in the air.
Cuban police quickly swarmed the man in the white shirt and another man, then threw them into a police car. Ley then remarked that the situation underscored “the entire political nature in which this game took place.”
Whoa… #Sportscenter #MLBinCuba pic.twitter.com/p2QDSViMSq
— LizzLocker (@Lizzs_Lockeroom) March 22, 2016
