Baby dresses and weed whackers.
For Team Cuba at the World Baseball Challenge, Prince George stores are a shopping bonanza.
"They like to shop, we've gone to Wal-Mart a couple of times and it's kind of funny to see all these big ballplayers coming out of the store with little dresses for their daughters and shoes for their kids," said Cuban team host Jason McCarron. "One of the guys bought a weed whacker and a few extension cords. I've never been to Cuba so I'm not sure what they can or can't get, but it's just funny to watch."
McCarron says the Cubans like what they've seen in Prince George.
"They're impressed with how clean the city is, and they love the ballpark, they just think it's a great atmosphere," McCarron said. "Their focus is just on baseball and once the tournament is done I'm sure they will experience a few more things. It's a little cold for them and a few of them wear three or four layers at a time, but for the most part it hasn't really rained when Cuba's been playing."
McCarron has been following the team since it arrived in Prince George Thursday for the week-long tournament. Aside from team doctor Wilfredo Acosta, very little English is spoken around the Cuban camp. Although the language barrier creates a few hurdles, there is a common theme McCarron has picked up on that doesn't require a spoken language to communicate.
"The most surprising thing I've seen is how family-oriented these guys are, I've brought my son to the games a few times and they've taken to him like one of their own," McCarron said.
"The language is a challenge and you have to make sure the interpreters are around, but other than that, they make it pretty easy. Their main focus is baseball and that's all they want to do. For food, all they really want is beans and rice and meat. They're very concerned about their diet."
All interview requests have to be cleared by manager Eduardo Martin and it has been difficult for the media covering the tournament to get through the team-imposed barriers to talk to the Cuban players and staff.
For those who haven't seen the Cubans in action, there's been plenty of talk about catcher Ariel Pestano, and infielders Jose Dariel Abreu and Yulieski Gourriel, who deserve million-dollar salaries for the way they play. Cuba flexed its muscles Thursday in a 24-2 win over the Bahamas to finish the round robin with a perfect 5-0 record.
"There's some pretty top talent here, we have some Olympic champions here on this team --they're really the top team in the world," said McCarron.
As with all traveling Cuban teams who come from a land ruled by a communist regime, there is always a fear that some of the athletes will choose to desert their country and stay behind in the country they are visiting. There are lots of major league scouts in town for the WBC who would love to see some of the talented Cuban players defect, but McCarron doesn't think that will happen.
"We've heard that rumour before but these guys are so family oriented, they're just a bunch of great guys," McCarron said. "They are happy all the time, always shaking hands and always saying hello. They're great people."
