Trip to Cuba will be a learning experience
Wayne Graham was in the International League with the Buffalo Bisons when he last visited Cuba to play against the Havana Sugar Kings in 1960.
He distinctly remembers how the announcers pronounced his name.
“Waa-ne Graam,” Graham said. “I’d never forget that.”
It comes full circle 56 years later.
The Rice baseball team is going abroad for a series of preseason exhibitions against teams from the Cuban Baseball Federation from Nov. 23 through Dec. 4.
The trip comes after the formal re-establishment of U.S. and Cuba diplomatic relations last year.
The turbulent history between the countries hasn’t stopped other collegiate baseball teams from visiting in the last 15 years, though. Washington visited in 2000, Tennessee in 2002, USC in 2004 and Alabama in 2008, for example. Penn State and Richmond did so in 2015, as did the Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team and Princeton track and field team. While it’s a first for Rice, the NCAA allows teams to go abroad every four years.
Studying culture
Rice will use this as an educational opportunity, which the Owls hope will make a lasting impact on the baseball diamond and beyond.
Rice baseball players will take part in a class led by Luis Duno-Gottberg, associate professor of Caribbean and Film Studies and chair of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies. The class involves studying Cuba’s history, political culture, evolution and future relations with the U.S.
Cultural events and museum tours are on tap, too. But so is baseball, particularly the kind Rice players aren’t used to. Graham sees value in being out of the comfort zone this preseason.
“Every game you can play particularly under different conditions than you already play under, it’s growth,” Graham said. “And that’s what we want.”
The exact schedule of games will be determined later, but Graham and the players know they’ll go against teams from an island with a staunch baseball reputation.
Pitcher Glenn Otto knows well. He spent this summer playing for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in a few international games. Cuba was one stop.
“They love the game,” Otto said. “They’ve been playing it their whole lives. A lot like us, but they probably put in more hours than us honestly and it shows. It’s going to be a challenge, but it’ll be fun. It’ll bring us together.”
Pitcher and Miami native Evan Kravetz is familiar with how much baseball talent comes from the island, too.
“A lot of my friends are second and third-generation Cuban Americans,” Kravetz said. “It’s really interesting to be able to go there. It’s a shorter trip for my parents, too.”
Rice athletics director Joe Karlgaard said planning this trip naturally took some leg work, with the necessary NCAA approval and support from faculty.
Figuring it all out
A trip like this with a college baseball team takes some maneuvering to pull off, considering it’s happening in the middle of the semester. During the offseason, college baseball players play in summer ball leagues. Conversely, college basketball teams often go abroad during the season or offseason.
So, exposing the Rice brand internationally during a time when it’s commonplace to see college and professional teams play abroad is a plus.
Karlgaard hopes this opens a door.
“Major League Baseball was down there several months ago, so I think it’ll be nice for them to see the Old English R down there,” Karlgaard said. “Hopefully, that’ll lead to some support and, potentially in the future, some more of these types of trips or even potentially Cuban student-athletes coming to the United States to attend college.”