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Hola - ya' all - from southern Cuba
There's lots to report on this
unique wonderful softball trip covering experiences with the games, touring, and the social and political situations.
I'll send other emails, but this first one covers the "First USA-Cuba Senior Softball Tournament."
We got trounced! There were 2 USA teams - white and red - and we were 0 and 8 vs four senior Cuban teams. Unfortunately
for us, "senior" in Cuban softball means anyone over 30. We estimated our average age to be in the mid-60s
(with an 80 year-old pitcher) and the Cuban average in the mid-40s.
We held our own in most games,
losing only one or two games by double digits. The Cubans were amazed and very complimentary at our skill level and
committed to fielding older players next time. In the end, they felt so embarrassed that they insisted the USA teams
be placed 2nd and 4th, instead of 5th and 6th.
The biggest differences were the speed and arm strength
of the Cubans. Many of our line drives - which would have easily been hits - were caught by the Cubans.
I recall hitting a little looper behind second that neither the SS or 2nd baseman could get, but was caught by a streaking
right fielder! One hitter was thrown out at first base after hitting a liner to left field. Another runner was
thrown out at home with a line drive throw from center field which got no higher than 5 feet off the ground.
The Cubans said we would easily beat their 60+ players, but I'm not sure. I knew the Cuban players would be very skilled,
but they were way better than I expected. I remember the quick snap of the wrist by the second basemen turning double
plays with a rocket to first. Most of us would have to wind up and throw. On defense: they dove for
balls, we bent.
It was obvious they had played lots of baseball as kids and perhaps as professionals.
Kids were playing baseball all over Havana in any open space. One of the attached pictures show 3 young boys playing
baseball in a walled enclosure covered with debris - something well below our sandlot experiences.
We held our own on offense, hitting just as many homers as they hit. We were more strategic, hitting to opposite
fields whenever. But our team batting averages were pretty low due to the excellent Cuban defense.
We
played a practice game and the Red team won; but the White team won during the round robin and captured top USA honors.
We played 2 games on one day and 3 more the following day. It rained the last day and all championship games
were cancelled.
We played on two fields a few miles apart and we took a high-end bus to, from
and between the fields. They had irregular outfield boundaries - see pictures - and very rough outfields and infields.
The weather sucked and we saw only glimpses of sunshine. It was so cold that many of us wore long pants and sweatshirts.
One of the wives wore a blanket from the hotel. Sandwiches and full lunches were seved after the games at the fields.
The opening ceremonies were quite moving and many a tear was shed during the Star Bangle Banner. You can
see the flags and teams in the pictures, but can't see Irene balling.
Because of the rain, the closing ceremonies
were held in our hotel lobby - see more pictures. Perhaps one symbol of the difference between our cultures was
the gifts we exchanged with the Cuban players - we gave them bats, balls, gloves, shirts and they gave us Che Guevara
key chains.
Mike Sisavic (Senior Softball NorthWest Region)
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Florian Michael Sisavic, Ph.D.
5620 SW Riverside Ln #8
Portland, OR 97239
503 243 1179 home
503 314 3967 cell
fsisavic@hotmail.com
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