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Field of dreams in Cuba

Nurturing the big-league ambitions of the island's young baseball players, as the MLB seeks permission from the U.S. to sign Cuban athletes.

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Field of dreams in Cuba

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  1. Field of dreams in Cuba

  2. Children from the Marianao baseball team warm up before a match in Havana, December 19, 2015. Major League Baseball is asking the U.S. government for special permission to sign players in Cuba, handing the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama the opportunity to try some baseball diplomacy while dealing a setback to human traffickers. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  3. Children play baseball on a street in downtown Havana, November 24, 2015. The U.S. trade embargo generally bars MLB from any agreement directing money to the Cuban government, but the White House says baseball is one area where it can advance U.S. goals and the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has authority to allow a deal. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  4. The U.S. Penn State baseball team and Cuba's Industriales perform a pre-game flag ceremony at the Latinoamericano stadium in Havana, November 23, 2015. MLB and Cuba are closer than at any time since the 1959 revolution, as evidenced by a goodwill tour last week in which big leaguers, including Cuban defectors, gave clinics to Cuban youth. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  5. Players of the under-18 Plaza baseball team attend a training session in Havana, December 17, 2015. "Indeed, baseball has a unique cultural significance to both the United States and Cuba. It is therefore an area where we can further our goals of charting a new course in our relations with Cuba and further engaging and empowering the Cuban people," a senior administration official told Reuters. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  6. People react as they watch a baseball game in Havana, December 19, 2015. Since Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro broke with Cold War history and announced detente a year ago, Obama has asked Congress to repeal the embargo, but the Republican majority has resisted. Instead the administration has used other means to promote exchanges. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  7. A soft drinks vendor displays his jewelry during a game between the Marianao and Cerro children's teams in Havana, December 19, 2015. If MLB were able to sign players in Cuba, where baseball is the most popular sport, it could end a wave of defections in which Cuban ballplayers put themselves in the hands of human traffickers and risk their lives on illegal journeys at sea. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  8. Gear of Cuba's Ciego de Avila baseball team is seen before a game against the U.S. Penn State team at the Latinoamericano stadium in Havana, November 25, 2015. Some 130 ballplayers have defected this past year, according to Cuban journalists. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  9. Players of the Cerro baseball team sing the national anthem before a game in Havana, December 19, 2015. But the best players on the island remain off limits, and the Cuban government stops them from leaving without permission, leading those with big-league dreams to turn to smugglers. In some cases, organized crime rackets force players to sign over huge cuts of future earnings, threatening players and their families. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  10. A cat walks underneath the bleachers as people watch a baseball game in Havana, December 19, 2015. When Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers left Cuba in 2012, he soon found himself entangled with Mexico's notorious Zetas crime organization, which threatened to chop off his arm if it failed to receive a promised $250,000 fee. While Puig signed a $42 million contract, others are abandoned in foreign countries, never to hit paydirt. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  11. People watch a friendly match between the La Habana juvenile baseball team and the Matanzas team in Havana, December 19, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  12. Players of the under-18 Plaza baseball team attend a training session in Havana, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  13. People watch a game between the Marianao and Cerro children's teams in Havana, December 19, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  14. Children from the Marianao baseball team buy sweets before a match in Havana, December 19, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  15. Baseball bats hang on a fence during a game between the Marianao and Cerro children's teams in Havana, December 19, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  16. Players of the under-18 Plaza baseball team leave the field after a training session in Havana, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  17. Children from the Marianao baseball team get ready for a training session in Havana, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  18. Children from the Marianao baseball team carry their bases before a training session in Havana, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  19. The U.S. Penn State baseball team and Cuba's Industriales perform a pre-game flag ceremony at the Latinoamericano stadium in Havana, November 23, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  20. Children from the Marianao baseball team get ready for a training session in Havana, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

  21. Children play baseball on a street in downtown Havana, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

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