Baseball is in Milwaukee, but his heart is in Cuba
Sierra thinks of home as he contributes to Milkmen
With the game tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the ninth against the Houston Apollos, and two men on, Milwaukee Milkmen shortstop Anibal Sierra ripped a line drive to right field and drove in the winning run.
It was the first time Sierra, 27, delivered the winning blow, but when he was running to first base all he was thinking about was home.
“I was thinking ‘That was for Cuba,'” Sierra said. “To this day, it helped me lift my spirits. It helped me a lot.”
Earlier that day, on July 11, protests erupted in Cuba, the largest in decades, over the country's lack of food, medicine and its response to COVID-19. The protests were met with demonstrations and marches in numerous cities in the United States, including Milwaukee, with many Cuban Americans proclaiming their solidarity with the Cuban people.
“It's complicated,” Sierra said of the situation in Cuba. “The people are protesting the rights they haven't had for 40, 60 years. And it's getting violent now. And it's important that the government makes a different decision to be successful.”
In the weeks since the Cuban protests grabbed the attention of the world, the minds of most people in the United States have drifted to different issues. But Sierra is keeping an eye on homeland.
“The people of Cuba are crying, are hungry,” Sierra said. “(The Cuban government has) been given the opportunity to change the morale and everything.”
Since Sierra arrived in a trade to the first-place Milkmen in early June, he has been the leader of the defense, manager Anthony Barone said.
“He was really excited to get the opportunity to play here in Milwaukee,” Barone said. “Anibal just stabilized everything. He came here, plays a really solid shortstop and comes up clutch in situations.”
Barone describes Sierra as a “silent guy” that has fit in well with the Milkmen. Barone also understands that Sierra's journey to the United States and to Milwaukee is unlike most players in the league.
“You see him hit a walk-off the other day, that's an easy situation for him,” Barone said. “Growing up the way he grew up in Cuba ... it's something that a lot of us don't experience and it's tough to put ourselves in those shoes.”
From Cuba to the U.S.
When you ask Sierra where he's from he'll say Santiago de Cuba with a prideful tone like the way people don't just say they're from Milwaukee, they're from the northside or southside. He's not just from Cuba, he's from Santiago.
His childhood was happy but difficult, Sierra said, growing up in a oneroom home with his parents and sister.
“I got my first pair of shoes when I was 15 years old,” Sierra said. “A lot of times I practiced barefoot but I had shoes for the game. I didn't have a glove.”
“Sometimes I played and practiced without breakfast. Sometimes I'd have lunch at the stadium because we didn't have food at home.”
At age 21, Sierra was playing on Avispas de Santiago in the top Cuban baseball league and was surrounded by teammates who came from similar, difficult backgrounds.
Thinking of his family, wanting to create a better life and with a dream of playing in the majors, Sierra made the decision he was going to leave Cuba.
“I was 21 years old, and I didn't know I was supposed to be afraid,” Sierra said. “If I did it now maybe I would be. But in that moment, my mom said to me ‘Go, but it will test you.'”
In 2015, Sierra was able to take a plane from Cuba to Haiti, then drove to the Dominican Republic. He continued playing baseball and eventually got the attention of the Houston Astros.
The Astros signed him and brought him to the United States in 2016. Sierra estimates his journey from Cuba to the U.S. took about 20 months.
“It was hard when I was by myself,” Sierra said. “It was hard when I didn't know who to talk to because my family was in Cuba and it was hard to talk to them because they were in Cuba. It's not like how it is here with the internet.”
“I didn't know how to handle it. I couldn't distract myself from it.”
Although he was signed with the Astros, Sierra settled in Miami. But despite Miami's rich Cuban culture and Spanish speaking population, it was difficult for him to adjust.
“I was in Miami by myself, away from my family, I didn't know how to handle it,” Sierra said. “I didn't speak English, the food is different. When I went to the (Astros), I didn't know if I would understand them, if they would understand me because I didn't speak English.”
Because of an agreement between the MLB and Cuban government, Sierra said the Astros were able to eventually bring his parents to the United States. But his sister, who is a doctor and technically an employee of the Cuban government, was not granted a visa.
Joining the Milkmen
Sierra played in the Astros farm system from 2016 to 2019, when he was released. In 2020, he opted not to play during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year Sierra signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the independent American Association of Professional Baseball and after seven games was traded to the Milkmen.
In 60 games he has hit .192 with six home runs and 20 RBI. He's still holding on hope of getting another call from a MLB organization.
“It's difficult because right now I want to go back (to affiliated baseball),” Sierra said. “You can never lose sleep, you always try because you're an independent player . ... The dream is not far away and I want it.”
Although Cuban players are rare in the league, the Milkmen also had pitcher Misael Siverio early this this season.
Siveriomade international headlines when he defected from the Cuban national team in 2013 in Des Moines, Iowa, when the team was visiting the state for an exhibition game.
“Every Cuban wants to get out of Cuba, every baseball player,” Siverio said in July. “Each has a different journey and a dream by the end, the dream is to get to the big leagues.”
The hardest part for Sierra, besides watching and reading about the protests in Cuba, is being away from his wife and 3-year-old daughter in Miami.
Barone hopes Sierra can lean on his teammates when he's feeling homesick because "everyone misses their family during the season."
“That's something that we share as a team and that's why it's so important to have good clubhouse culture,” Barone said. “You can get through tough situations as a team rather than individually and that's what we've tried to preach here with the Milkmen.
“His circumstances might be a little different because there's some unrest down in Cuba. But we all have each other. We see each other every day ... we're like a big family here.”
When Sierra wants to feel more at home, at least for a meal, he goes to Cubanitas in Oak Creek. The pork with black beans and rice remind him of the country he left behind.
“I can't go back to Cuba; it's been five years since I left,” Sierra said. “I want to go, but I can't . ... I don't know when I'll go back.”