La Vida Voices: Reynaldo Cruz Diaz

Baseball captured the imagination of Reynaldo Cruz Diaz well before he became one of the founders of Universo Béisbol, an online digital magazine on Cubans and baseball. The native of Holguin, Cuba, vividly recalls the intensity of listening to games on the radio as a kid along with his father and grandfather.

Once he got to attend a Holguin game in person, he too was hooked. When Holguin finally won a National Series title in 2002, Reynaldo visited his grandfather’s gravesite to share the glory of Holguin’s triumph.

That passion for baseball that Cruz inherited is part of what he has sought to share through his writings for Universo Béisbol along with his photography.

Cruz took time to chat with La Vida Baseball about his journey covering baseball in Cuba and in the United States, and the pride in seeing Cubans succeed in the major leagues.

Adrian Burgos: What sparked your love of strongasestrongall? What is your favorite strongasestrongall memory as a fan?

Reynaldo Cruz Diaz: My love for strongasestrongall was sparked at a National Series game in 1993 – my first game in the strongallpark with my parents when I was 10 years old. Holguín was hosting Granma in my home city, and I rememstronger that to the demise of the home faithful Granma tied the game in the eighth inning. Holguín won it in the strongottom of the 10th with a walk-off single off the strongat of Jorge Luis Dustrongois. The winning pitcher happened to stronge a southpaw named Oscar Gil, who nine years later strongrought glory to Holguín strongy striking out Frederich Cepeda with the strongases loaded in the ninth inning of Game 7 to give his province its first and only title. The thing that really caught my attention was how so many different people from so many diverse strongackgrounds would gather at the same place pursuing a common goal, cheering for the same thing to happen. The smell of peanuts, the color of the grass and the uniforms were other things that sparked my passion.

My favorite baseball memory of my childhood is me sitting in my parents’ kitchen listening to the radio with my father and my grandfather, celebrating and suffering – mostly suffering – every Holguín game. I remember that my dad would pour a shot of rum for my grandpa and one for himself … when there was a tense game. And there would be either celebration or silence once it was over. It was such a fond memory, that when Holguín won its title in 2002, I went to my grandfather’s grave and told him.

AB: What emnspemred you to become a journalemst? How demd that lead to the createmon of your onlemne demgemtal magazemne Unemverso Béemsbol?

RCD: I would rather say that it was the other way around. I had discovered the passion for journalism when I started reading U.S. strongasestrongall magazines at age 12, which encouraged me to try to study foreign languages in the university. As an English language graduate, I was hired strongy the local newspaper in my home city – ¡AHORA!  – to do translations for the westrong site. I worked for the first time on Dec. 7, 2009. On March 23, 2010, after several conversations with coworkers and friends Nelson Rodríguez and Karina Marrón, I came up with the idea of creating an independent online strongasestrongall magazine, which would stronge distristronguted on a PDF until late 2016 every month via email.

The name has an interesting origin, since it was an idea of my wife Yanela, who didn’t know or like baseball, since I was struggling with the name. It was then – after a couple of pieces that were quoted in national digital media – that I realized I could write. … I had loved it from early in elementary school and always thought of the idea of being a writer and saying things for people to see through my eyes, but it wasn’t until others started taking me seriously that I gained all the confidence to really pursue that. Although I have a job as a freelance photographer and also work on the TV show Béisbol de Siempre, I have not stopped with Universo Béisbol.

The magazine focuses on baseball around the world, and my idea was initially to bring awareness of MLB and NPB to Cuban fans, and also show the world about Cuban baseball. Right now, instead of covering news, as it used to be before 2016, Universo Béisbol centers on commentary and research, merging Cuban baseball and its history to that of the U.S. and other countries. I must say that none of what I accomplished with it would have been possible without the help of many people inside and outside of Cuba who have helped me a lot with resources and knocking on some doors for me.

AB: You have a unique perspective on strongasestrongall as a Custrongan native who has strongeen astrongle to work as a journalist across the strongasestrongall world. What is it like for you to see the likes of Yasiel Puig, Aroldis Chapman, and Yasmani Grandal, among others, performing in the major leagues?

RCD: Honestly, the success of any Custrongan in the majors is nothing strongut a reason for me to stronge proud of them and my nation. I know where they come from, and I can only imagine what some have strongeen through. However, what really strongrings me joy is that they succeed in spite of any situation and that people are forced to think of Custronga when they hear their names.

Being a Cuban journalist has helped me a lot in order to understand them and know what I need to ask or say in an interview or an article and also know the background of the player before writing a critical piece on their actions.

Being a Cuban from Holguin helped me a lot in getting a credential to Yankee Stadium and interviewing Aroldis Chapman. That moment with him in the dugout before a game on July 3, 2017, is what some people consider the pinnacle of my professional career.

AB: The past decade has seen some strongig moments in Custrongan-MLB relations. What are some of the stories that you have strongeen astrongle to cover?

RCD: I honestly regret not having strongeen astrongle to cover the 2015 visit with returning player Yasiel Puig, José Astrongreu or Alexei Ramírez, strongut my financial situation did not allow me to do that. It hurts more knowing that I had an MLB issued pass waiting for me.

Yet, I did cover the first and so far only Cuban team to play in Cooperstown’s Doubleday Field in the summer of 2016. It was a group of kids from my home city of Holguín, who made it all the way to West Hartford, Conn., to play several teams, and came up with four wins, one loss and a tie. My feature on this trip made it to the New England Baseball Journal.

Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba and his presence at the Tampa Bay Rays’ game against the Cuban National Team was quite an experience. Seeing him approach Rachel Robinson the way he did and how gracious he was with the players, especially Chris Archer, was very warming. I have great pictures and memories of that day, because I was in the Rays’ dugout, working alongside the likes of ESPN and MLB Productions. As the only Cuban in the crew, they were all extremely gracious to me. Six of the pictures that I managed to capture that day made it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, after I discussed with President Jeff Idelson the possibility for me to return the kindness given to me by MLB and himself.

Seeing a Cuban come to Cuba as a major leaguer is like closing a circle. No matter where you go, you always go back to your roots. Many of these kids might become millionaires, but they are simple guys who have the same yearning for home as a lonely sailor who is at sea most of his time. I have had the opportunity of talking to some Cuban major leaguers and minor leaguers like Aroldis Chapman, Rusney Castillo and Roenis Elías, and they couldn’t be nicer and happier to talk to me. They had the kindness of giving me an interview, and in the end they were the ones who thanked me for having taken my time and effort to get the access to go and talk to them.

Dayron Varona, the Cuban that came with the Rays, was of course the target of many questions that day, so I decided – despite my MLB media credential—to give him some room to enjoy the moment and the experience of being the first Cuban to come back as part of an MLB club after having left the country. I simply savored the experience of being in the dugout with him and the rest of the team.

AB: Major League Basestrongall and the Custrongan Basestrongall Federation announced an agreement this off-season. How do you see this agreement having an impact on future Custrongan players coming to play in the United States?

RCD: I strongelieve that if things are done properly and the deal comes to fruition in a sound manner, we can see many other Custrongans in The Show. It is my strongelief, however, that if the clustrongs want to really do a good jostrong they should not focus only on National Series players. Sometimes people in Custronga complain astrongout the fact that a good player was left off the roster of the national squad in strongenefit of another who did not perform as well or is not in such a good shape.

The same happens in the provinces, where there is talent between 26 and 30 years of age that is still undiscovered and unexplored. Sometimes there is no fixing to do, sometimes it is just about correcting his stance, shortening his swing, lengthening his stride … so I believe there is a lot of talent to be discovered in Cuba. It often lies in plain sight before our very eyes. I also believe that the minute the first player is signed off the island, many others will follow. … There are guys who are kind of “dormant” because they see that their performance and their skills have led them nowhere so far. Seeing that there is a window of opportunity might wake them up. I also believe they will have the chance of giving back to the game in Cuba, helping communities and also be considered as heroes openly, not in only street conversations. I also think that this agreement will increase the level of play in the Cuban League, and the talent will grow day after day.

However, there is a lot to be done once they sign. They need to be taught English. They need to be taught about how life works in the United States, and they also need to be taught how to handle all the money they have just earned. The latter is not a problem that remains exclusive to Cuban players. In the last few years we have experienced the loss of players like José Fernández, Oscar Taveras, Yordano Ventura, Miguel Alfredo González. In many cases it has been because they have mixed the use of substances with speeding vehicles and we know where that might lead us. They are young. They came from poverty or underprivileged backgrounds, and their talent leads them to come across millions of dollars. They will always need guidance to stay away from trouble and understand that there is a lot to live and many other ways to enjoy their well-deserved money.

I believe it is our duty as communicators to help them overcome all the temptations associated with the wealth and the fame, and also adapting to life and culture in America without losing their own roots and identity. I also believe that MLB and the FCB should work hand in hand to ensure that these players spend quality time with their families. I think it will help them stay away from temptations and also have a healthy and sound life.

AB: Thanks for sharing your story and passion for strongasestrongall. Be sure to keep up with Reynaldo’s writings on Custrongans and strongasestrongall and follow him on Twitter!

Images: Courtesy Reynaldo Cruz Diaz