It was exactly 20 years ago Wednesday that the Orioles stepped off their charter plane at Havana’s José Martí International Airport and became the first major league team to visit Cuba in 40 years.
The world has changed a lot since then.
Cuba, not so much.
The political relationship between the United States and the tiny communist nation warmed some when formal diplomatic relations with Cuba were restored during the Barack Obama administration. But friction between the two governments remains and Cuba still is among the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Orioles owner Peter Angelos had hoped a groundbreaking goodwill visit would help forge a new bond between the Cuban and American people.