The oppressive rule of Castro's regime, and forty years of failed American policy designed to crush the iron-willed dictator, have created a sanctuary for antique car enthusiasts and baseball purists alike.
Cuban baseball is unfettered by business interests and played for sport and love of the game.
And while Cuban players are among the world elite, they are puerile at play. They are children in men's bodies often battling for illusionary glory at the behest of the national oppressor. Like most twenty-nothings I know, I could not care less about contemporary American baseball. But I couldn't make myself care about baseball itself. It just isn't the same as it used to be when chimerical nabobs by the name of Yastrzemski and Jackson ignited my childhood imagination.