Local baseball team to break barriers with game in Cuba

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – A local youth baseball team is preparing for a historic match-up this summer in Cuba.

The Fort Myers Academy Giants will be be one of the nation’s first youth baseball teams to travel to Cuba since the U.S. reopened its embassy less than a year ago.

But the trip is not just about baseball. For some of the players it’s about family. Some of the Giants are Cuban-Americans who have been unable to meet their family on the communist island until now.

“Really just seeing my family mostly is what I’m excited for,” one player said.

For other players, the trip is about extending empathy to fellow lovers of the sport.

“They don’t have everything we have. They have to like share gloves, share bats and everything,” a player said.

The team is raising money to donate baseball equipment to their competitors.

“We are going to bring baseball bats. We want to bring balls, gloves, everything that is related to baseball we want to donate to them,” Giants Coach Carlos Perea said.

The Giants’ game is in July.

To donate to the Giants’ efforts visit https://www.gofundme.com/prvaf4tw.

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