Maybe it’s me, but I was surprised and a little astounded at the seemingly underwhelming response to the presence of a Little League team from Cuba playing at the Little League World Series for the first time.

The 8,000 fans on hand enjoyed the tight 1-0 game, a loss to Japan, but the fact that Cuba was playing did not seem to register. There was a time when this would have been regarded as an earth-shattering event, particularly if it had taken part during the worst days of the Cold War.

Cuba has an unrepentantly Marxist regime that was beholden mainly to the old Soviet Union for many years and was a central front in the Cold War struggle between capitalism and communism. To consider this, one need only recall the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 or Cuban troops being utilized to spread Marxism in Africa in places such as Angola and Mozambique or, closer to home, Grenada.

So it was jarring for me, with my bachelor’s degree in political science and my minor in history, to see Cuban Little Leaguers displaying their talents at the Little League World Series.

The muted response by the local media is also a manifestation of this underwhelming reaction to the Cubans; perhaps this is good and may show that we have moved on from the terrifying tensions and misunderstandings of those tense Cold War years.

One person who does not have a muted response to the presence of the Cubans is Rosa Salinas, a Cuban-American who is originally from Granma, a town near Bayamo, where the Cuban team hails from. She is presently a dental assistant who lives in Bloomsburg with her boyfriend, Cody Hill.

“I’m so excited to be here and supporting the team from Cuba. It is very interesting to be here and a part of this,” Salinas told “Webb Weekly.” “I’m really hoping the boys from Bayamo do well in the series. I came to this country for a better life last year and am very glad to be in America.”

Lance Van Auken, former Vice President of Little League Baseball and Softball and former Executive Director of the World of Little League Museum, now retired, has an interesting and unique perspective of the Cuba game.

“I think it’s wonderful that a Cuban team has qualified for the Little League Baseball World Series for the first time. It may seem like a small thing to some, but it is truly monumental. This kind of cultural exchange can be a catalyst for better relations in the future.”

The effort to bring a Cuban team to the Little League Baseball World Series started 75 years ago.

“This story began in the early 1950s, when Little League founder Carl Stotz visited Cuba, among other countries, to get leagues started there,” Van Auken said. “So, we are seeing the culmination of years of effort on the part of the U.S. State Department, Cuban diplomatic officials, and the senior staff at Little League. All of them should be commended.”

Cuba was listed as having chartered Little Leagues in 1950s promotional material, news releases that Little League produced back then, and news stories.

“A Cuban team almost reached the Little League Baseball World Series in the mid-1950s, but the team did not end up playing in a qualifying regional tournament,” Van Auken said. “In fact, the World of Little League Museum has an embroidered uniform patch from that era that would have been on the front of the uniforms of the first Cuban team.”

Jack Houston, founder of the local chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, attended the Cuba-Japan game and had this to say about the event:

‘“At Little League’s Volunteer Stadium, 8,000 fans showed enthusiasm and appreciation for Cuba’s ‘Bayamo Players.’ But the team was all alone. They had no family members, friends, and travelers from their country to embrace them. The Cubans only had themselves for support. Will the inclusion of Cuban baseball fans take place in the future in the Little League World Series?”

Houston, who taught history and religious studies at Fordham University for 36 years, continued, “The Cuba-Japan Game was an historic moment. The World Series represents the recent approach of the United States and Cuba through ‘baseball diplomacy’ in restoring the early roots of the 19th-century American game and sharing baseball and tradition between the U.S. and Cuba. That baseball connection was spirit-filled in the first part of the 20th century, then interrupted and blemished by Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution of 1959.”

Houston added, “Baseball was introduced to Cuba in the 1860s and 1870s by Cuban students returning home from United States colleges. Baseball spread quickly throughout the island of Cuba and moved to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. For many, baseball became a symbol of freedom and equality.”

Houston recalled Esteban Bellan, an early Cuban player who remained in the United States and became the first Latin American player to appear in the major leagues.

“Bellan played baseball for the Fordham Baseball Club while attending Fordham University from 1863-1868. After that, Bellan joined New York City teams and was a member of the early major league named the National Association of Professional Baseball Players in 1871.

“In our present-day of 2023, we know that Youth Baseball in Cuba is everything and everywhere. Cuban players learn to compete, achieve, and gain success through competition by winning individually and as a team.”

Houston hypothesized that the Cuba team’s experience and participation in the 2023 Little League Baseball World Series might expand Cuban youth’s ideas of freedom and equality.

“Cuban players return to their country as ‘students of the game,’ appreciating the association and friendships with the International Little League Community, understanding the traditions of the game started in the United States, and growing up with the idea of Cuba’s family, friends, and baseball fans showing love and support at home and someday freely traveling to the Little League World Series. When that happens, another historical moment will take place at Volunteer Stadium.