Biloxi Shuckers’ owner planning to play vs Cuban teams

The first signs of a thawed relationship between Cuba and the USA are getting visible.

Tim Bennett is negotiating with a Cuban delegation to play a few exhibition games vs Cuban teams.
The intention is to have two Cuban teams to come over to Biloxi.

The intention is to play the games in late summer or early spring, at least when the Shuckers’ season is over. There may be a tiny problem here. The Cuban season runs from September through April, so that may be a spoiler.

Bennett announced his plan last night when he had an appearance at a radio show of a local radio station.

One team that should be involved is the 12 time Cuban champion Industriales from the Cuban Series Nacional. The intention is to get more teams to Biloxi so they can take on each other. Teams from Korea and China. It is not clear if those teams need to come to Biloxi this year or next year.

In my opinion there remains an even bigger question than the availability of the Cuban team: Does Bennett wants the Shuckers to play in these two games? If so, I think that the Milwaukee Brewers have to approve this. They own the players, not Bennett. Next question is if the players on the Shuckers’ squad are willing to participate after the regular season is over. The Southern League’s regular season runs until September 7. Then the playoffs will start. So IF the Shuckers will make the playoffs they will be available at the end of September.

If this plan will work, it may be the start of a kind of annual baseball week in Biloxi. A nice initiative if you’d ask me.