Greener Grass: Cuba, Baseball and the United States
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Aaron Woolf
Rich Shaeffer
Wilfredo Sanchez
Rudolfo Fernandez
Tommy Lasorda
Timothy J Anderson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Documentary that brings into focus the history of Cuban-American relations through the lens of baseball. In addition to the historic two-game series that pitted the Baltimore Orioles against the Cuban National Team in 1999, the program highlights the defection of Cuban pitcher Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who was signed by the New York Yankees in 1998. At the time of Fidel Castro's revolution, 10 percent of major league players were Cuban and Americans played on Cuban teams. The Havana Sugar Kings were poised to join the major league until Castro banned professional sport from the island. The program reveals how the sport can be seen as a microcosm that reflects divergent national identities, as well as underlying tensions of race, democracy and opportunity.
