President Barack Obama To Watch Rays’ Exhibition Baseball Game In Cuba

Major League Baseball will make its return to Cuba this March for the first time since 1999, and it will have the most powerful man in the world in the stands watching.

President Barack Obama will spend two days in Cuba later this month, where the Tampa Bay Rays also will be for an exhibition baseball game against the country’s national team on March 22. And Obama is scheduled to be in attendance for the historic contest.

“Americans and Cubans share a love of baseball, and this is yet another powerful reminder of the kinship between our peoples as well as the progress we can achieve when we leverage those natural ties,” a White House official said in a statement, via TheHill.com.

This will be the first time an MLB team has played a game in the country since the Baltimore Orioles did so on March 28, 1999.

“During a time of historic change, we appreciate the constructive role afforded by our shared passion for the game, and we look forward to experiencing Cuba’s storied baseball tradition and the passion of its many loyal fans,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said, via MLB.com.

Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images