Juan Bustabad, the Cuban-born manager of the Dodgers’ low Single-A Great Lakes affiliate, was happy to learn that Fidel Castro had stepped down after almost a half-century as Cuba’s president. But Bustabad also realizes that it might not mean much, given that Castro’s brother is taking the reins.
“We left when I was 3 years old, so I really don’t remember anything,” Bustabad said. “Talking to my mom and dad, I know we got to a point where we just had to leave the country. We had to go through Mexico to get a visa to come to the United States. But nobody likes to live under communism. It’s one of those situations where eventually it had to come to an end. That time had come, and hopefully, things will be different. But with his brother in power, you just don’t know.”