Baseball Team to Play Exhibition Series in Cuba
8/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 6, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama baseball team will play an exhibition series in Havana, Cuba, in mid-December 2008, head coach Jim Wells announced today.
While most of the details will not be finalized until later this year, the Crimson Tide will play a three-game exhibition series against a group of collegiate level players from the Institute of Superior Physical Education in Havana. The trip was approved by the United States Treasury Department and is permitted by NCAA rules. The three games will not count towards Alabama's 56-game schedule during the 2009 season.
"We are very grateful to all the people who worked so hard to make this trip possible," Alabama head coach Jim Wells said. "This will be the opportunity of a lifetime for the players, coaches and staff who participate. The trip to Havana will be a wonderful educational experience for all of us involved. And, since we will play against some of the very best collegiate players in Havana, this will be a great opportunity for the Crimson Tide program."
The trip to Cuba is not the first time the Alabama baseball team has played exhibition games off American soil. In 1957, the Crimson Tide team played a 20-game exhibition schedule that included a series of games in Japan.
