American MLB fans welcome Cuban bullpen catcher as he becomes first-ever player to defect during the World Baseball Classic

By all accounts, the 2023 World Baseball Classic has been a smashing success. Due to the pandemic, this is the first glimpse of international baseball that fans have been able to witness since 2017.

However, if you dig past the cheering, passion and tremendous displays of skill that we have seen, some darker and harrowing storylines will be revealed.

According to Cuban-American baseball analyst Yordano Carmora, the 2023 World Baseball Classic has been the vehicle of the tournament's first-ever defection. Unsurprisingly, it features a member of the Cuban squad.

Ivan Prieto, a bullpen catcher for Cuba, reportedly left the team in Miami before they headed back to their Communist homeland following their semifinal thrashing at the hands of Mike Trout and Team USA.

"Per @YordiMLB, Ivan Prieto (Cuba’s bullpen catcher) left the Cuban National Team last night prior to the team returning home from Miami this morning. He is now the first ever player to leave Team Cuba during a World Baseball Classic." - Shawn Spradling

Although not a player, Prieto joins a long list of baseball-related individuals to defect from Cuba. Notable names include Houston Astros stars Yordan Alvarez and Jose Abreu, as well as Kansas City Royals closer Aroldis Chapman.

Cuba remains one of four countries on earth that still operate under the guise of Marxist-Leninist communism. Since the regime took power in 1959, the island nation has been widely criticized for political repression and human rights violations.

As such, professional baseball players in Cuba have been barred from playing in the MLB for decades. Cuba is thus known for having an untapped mine of baseball talent that MLB teams have been looking to exploit for decades. One of them wrote:

"Ada boy, good job getting outta there"

American MLB fans were delighted to hear the news that Prieto left his team after the culmination of their World Baseball Classic run. Many took to Twitter to welcome the Cuban to his "new home," with one tweeting:

"Huge W. Welcome home my friend"

Over 850,000 Cuban-Americans live in the Miami area, where Cuba's World Baseball Classic semifinal loss to the United States took place. Although far from a high-profile name, Prieto's defection provides just another example of the desperation felt by many in modern Cuba.

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Despite defection, the 2023 World Baseball Classic saw a thawing of Cuban baseball policy

Although thousands of Cubans still flee their country every year, the regime in Havana is determined to present a more modern, open-minded position to the world.

This is evidenced by the government allowing former defectors to represent the country at the 2023 tournament. Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert is a major example of the same.

Either way, the road to freedom remains a long and hard one.