NEW YORK (AP) - The Tampa Bay Rays' exhibition game against Cuba's national team in Havana on March 22 has been finalized, Major League Baseball's first trip to the communist island nation since the Baltimore Orioles played there in 1999.
MLB and the players' association announced the game Tuesday. It will be televised by ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says "during a time of historic change, we appreciate the constructive role afforded by our shared passion for the game, and we look forward to experiencing Cuba's storied baseball tradition and the passion of its many loyal fans."
Manfred drew the Rays on Nov. 13 from a bin of teams that wanted to make the trip. U.S. teams played spring training games in Cuba before Fidel Castro's revolution but none appeared there from March 1959 until the Orioles faced Cuba's national team in Havana in March 1999.
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