Baseball diplomacy

Could baseball bring Cuba and the US closer? For years, Cuban athletes like Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig had to defect in order to sign contracts with foreign leagues. But now, laxer Cuban regulations allow players to compete internationally. Some see this as a significant shift in Cuba's foreign policy, one that could soften its relationship with the US while others remain skeptical. Join us at 7:30pm ET as Cuban-Americans discuss diplomacy on the diamond.   

On tonight's episode of The Stream, we speak to:

Humberto Fontova @hfontova
Author, The Longest Romance: The Mainstream Media and Fidel Castro
hfontova.com

Arturo Lopez-Levy @turylevy
Board Member, CAFE
cafeporcuba.com

Luke Salas @LukeSalas
Producer, “The Cuban Dream”
thecubandreammovie.com

What do you think? Record a video comment or leave your thoughts in the comments below:

Despite over half a century of fraught relations, the United States and Cuba still have one thing in common: baseball. This shared national pastime has put a human face on a complicated political relationship. Could baseball diplomacy help the two countries improve relations?

When the Cuban government eliminated professional sports in 1961, many ballplayers chose to defect. The Lost Son of Havana documents Luis Tiant's return to Cuba after 46 years of exile and baseball fame in the US: