Newly acquired Orioles right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne was a week shy of his 12th birthday when the Orioles played an exhibition game against the Cuban National Team in Havana in 1999, marking the first time a major league club played a game on Cuban soil in four decades.
For many Cuban players, the Orioles’ trip to the island represented their first glimpse of baseball at its best and it gave young Cubans like Despaigne the first opportunity to dream that they could one day make it to the majors.
Shortly after he was traded to the Orioles on Thursday, Despaigne expressed that sentiment in a message he sent in a tweet (@despa40).