In 1999, the Orioles played the Cuban national team in a home-and-home exhibition. Fifteen years later, Obama announced a diplomatic thaw with Cuba. Orioles fans (like us) started reminiscin about the last series dreaming of another one. Now that things are all “normalized” and it’s cool to play Cuba, though, the Red Sox want a piece.
According to ESPN, the O’s and Red Sox have each spoken up about hosting an exhibition game with our Caribbean neighbor. First, another AL East team tried to scoop up our GM, now another wants our Cuba connection. And it figures that it’s Boston, who is also trying to ape our love for Edgar Allan Poe and steal our ability to pull out NFL playoff games they have no business winning. Don’t even make me bring up the Babe!
They didn’t win the AL East last year and don’t have owner/seasoned foreign diplomat Peter Angelos on their side, but, unfortunately, the Red Sox do have a few things going for them.
Secretary of State John Kerry is a Red Sox fan, and the Orioles were embarrassed at the Camden Yards edition of the series in a lopsided loss. We’re not even going to mention the score, but you can see it here.
Still, the history of the last series shows that Angelos’ ambition was the single force behind getting the series done last time. Plus, the O’s owner already has relations with Castro. Red Sox owner John Henry has a British soccer team, a newspaper and a host of other moneymaking machines to worry about besides the Sox. Our money’s still on the O’s.
