When Javier Báez of the Chicago Cubs signed to play with the Puerto Rico (P.R.) national baseball team during the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Puerto Ricans living both in Chicago and on the islands grew a bit more prideful, a bit more hopeful and even a bit more political.
I decided to spend my spring break in P.R. for a few different reasons, but I definitely underestimated how baseball would hold such an important part of islander’s hearts during the WBC.
This wasn’t just any other game for most Puerto Ricans. This was a game that was symbolic of the difficult relationship between the United States and P.