Record 7 Cuban 'brothers' take the field for All-Star Game

PHILADELPHIA -- They hailed from Holguín and Las Tunas, from Mantua and Sagua la Grande, from Isla de la Juventud and La Habana. On Tuesday, they descended upon Citizens Bank Park, seven Cubans in all, marking a record for a Major League All-Star Game.

“We’re all Cuban at the end of the day,” Rays designated hitter Yandy Díaz said through an interpreter. “We’re all Cuban brothers and we all get along.”

It was Aroldis Chapman, the 38-year-old elder statesman of the group on his ninth All-Star roster, who officially set the record when he entered to protect a four-run lead in the ninth. Though the Red Sox closer faced just two batters, retiring them both, his presence completed a historic septet of Cubans.

Along with Chapman, there was Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, the Major League OPS leader who started at DH for the American League and recorded the game’s first hit. There was Tampa Bay’s Díaz, who replaced Alvarez as a pinch-hitter in the fifth. There was Chicago’s Miguel Vargas, a first-time All-Star who engineered one of the night’s most memorable moments when he homered off Justin Wrobleski in the eighth. There was Seattle’s Randy Arozarena, a three-time All-Star who finished the game in left field, going 1-for-2. There was Los Angeles’ Andy Pages, the National League’s starting center fielder, and Atlanta’s Raisel Iglesias, who fired a scoreless sixth.

“Seven -- it’s a big number,” Arozarena said through an interpreter. “Seven Cubans here. It makes me extra happy, because I know what everyone went through to come and play baseball at the highest level. And I know that there’s still a lot of talent, and there’s still more to come.”

Prior to Tuesday, the record for Cubans in an All-Star Game was six, set in 1968 by Joe Azcue, Bert Campaneris, Leo Cardenas, Tony Oliva, Tony Perez and Luis Tiant, and matched in 2023 by Arozarena, Díaz, Yennier Cano, Adolis García, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jorge Soler.

Making the new record all the more astounding was the fact that only 28 Cuban-born players have appeared in an MLB game this season. Of those, 25% made the All-Star Game, compared to around 5% of the general MLB population.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Díaz said. “I never thought I’d get to an All-Star Game, period. So to be in my second one and to be with this entire group is something really special.”

Long before coming together on Tuesday, the Cuban contingent formed a brotherhood across MLB. Arozarena and Díaz, for example, played four seasons together in Tampa Bay. Arozarena grew up close to Pages and was a childhood teammate of Alvarez, who often works out with him in the offseason. He also shares a birthday with Chapman and texts the reliever often.

“Happy and proud to be part of this group,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “That means a lot for us, and also talks about the season the Cubans are having and we are having. Hopefully next year, we get to break the record and bring even more.”

Of course, even in an All-Star Game, business comes first. In his first at-bat in the fifth inning, Vargas hit a 104.3 mph line drive to the right-center-field gap, where Pages ran it down with relative ease just shy of the warning track.

“He should be more of a friend of mine and let that go,” Vargas said, laughing. “Just in the All-Star Game. He can catch that during the season. He can be a good friend sometimes, but he’s not.”

On a more serious note, Vargas said the All-Star Game offered him an opportunity to bond with his fellow Cubans -- some, like Pages, that he knew well, and others that he did not.

“I mean this from the bottom of my heart,” Vargas said. “I know how hard it is for all the Cuban players to get this opportunity and be on the biggest stage. A couple years ago, I was watching all these guys being in the World Series and All-Star. Now for me coming in here and sharing a moment with them is unbelievable.”