The Hardest Days Are When Calls Don’t Go Through: Andy Pages Opens Up About Family In Cuba

As he drives location from Dodger Stadium, Andy Pages, an migrant successful a metropolis of immigrants, runs done questions to inquire his family successful Cuba. How is Mantua, a municipality of 23,000 group tucked successful nan northwesternmost portion of nan island? Is nan powerfulness on? Is everyone safe?

Sometimes, nan WhatsApp messages Pages sends his family publication arsenic delivered. The hardest days are erstwhile nan messages don’t deliver, and his telephone calls spell consecutive to voicemail, he said. Somewhere successful nan backmost of his head, a sound whispers: Something must person happened.

Unlike his teammates — some American and those connected visas — Pages is distinctly trim disconnected successful nan United States, wherever he lives pinch his wife, Alondra, but is separated from his parents and sister successful Mantua. The third-year Dodgers halfway fielder is making $800,000 this twelvemonth but can’t walk his money connected flights location aliases connected bringing his family to nan state wherever he plays baseball. The tense relations betwixt nan U.S. and Cuba — nan Trump management has imposed economical sanctions and made negotiated threats — don’t let for that.

So arsenic nan telephone dials, Pages is put done nan agony of not knowing, hoping he doesn’t person to acquisition nan hellhole of thing bad happening.

“I haven’t recovered immoderate measurement that gives maine that tranquility and peace,” he told The Times successful Spanish 2 weeks ago. “Because nan measurement things are there, what’s ever connected your mind is that it could happen. Anything, anytime. And I person each my family successful Cuba. So, you person to unrecorded pinch that interest each nan time.”

Pages — 1 of 34 Cuban players successful MLB — is simply a quiet, backstage person. He doesn’t dwell for agelong successful nan bully aliases nan bad. Keeping his thoughts from drifting excessively much, moreover astir Cuba, has propelled his profession forward.

When he was younger, he didn’t deliberation overmuch astir being a shot subordinate successful nan United States aliases leaving nan island. He conscionable wanted to beryllium nan best, for illustration his puerility hero, two-time World Series victor Yuli Gurriel.

“As I grew up, I was capable to understand nan large leagues,” said Pages, astatine 25 a two-time World Series champion and nan youngest subordinate from Cuba to execute that feat. “I realized it was nan champion shot successful nan world. I had it successful my mind to scope this level.”

The Dodgers’ Andy Pages gets a hug from Teoscar Hernández aft hitting a two-run homer connected April 10.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Pages’ travel to nan U.S. was not unsocial among Cuban players. But, successful U.S.-Cuban relations, there’s ne'er been a greater infinitesimal of escalation successful Pages’ life. He was calved astir a decade aft nan extremity of nan Cold War, and tensions eased nether nan Obama administration. Pages remembers this clip successful Mantua pinch a smile, 1 of nan fewer times he isn’t serious.

“It’s a beautiful cheerful spot wherever everyone tries to thief each other, and wherever group for illustration to walk clip together,” he said. “They person awesome scenery that anyone who visits tin enjoy. And yes, I would opportunity that group are ever happy there, spending clip together and tons of parties, tons of music.”

Nowadays, Pages sees Cuba done nan eyes of others: nan tv packages astir nan U.S. government’s sanctions, the substance restrictions that origin blackouts, and nan little glimpses of Cuba his family sends him.

The 2 countries’ overseas relations complete much than a period person been complicated, oscillating betwixt a hesitant neutrality and saber-rattling. But ever since nan United States captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro successful January connected charges related to narco-terrorism and supplier trafficking, nan officials successful President Trump’s administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, declared nan Cuban authorities is “in a batch of trouble.”

In precocious January, Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs connected countries that waste aliases proviso Cuba pinch oil, causing hospitals to suspend noncritical surgeries and rampant blackouts connected nan island. In caller weeks, a national expansive assemblage successful Miami indicted erstwhile Cuban president Raúl Castro, 95, connected charges related to a 1996 shooting successful which a Cuban combatant pitchy downed 2 planes piloted by Cuban exiles from nan U.S.

The humanitarian crisis successful Cuba places players specified arsenic Pages successful difficult situations.

He can’t spell backmost and he worries astir expressing his thoughts astir nan situation, risking becoming a liability. The pressures, some economical and personal, are acquainted to nan different Latin American players connected nan team. Some, for illustration Teoscar Hernández, effort to make life a small lighter.

“This crippled is, for illustration I ever said, already difficult for america to beryllium putting much unit connected ourselves, truthful I spell around, I conscionable effort to beryllium affirmative to everybody, truthful they tin consciousness bully going into nan games,” Hernández said.

But dissimilar nan family of Hernández, who watched his children tally astir nan mound erstwhile nan Dodgers precocious honored nan Dominican outfielder pinch a bobblehead doll, astir of Pages’ family tin only perceive to his shot games connected nan power aliases done fuzzy images connected nan television.

Dodgers halfway fielder Andy Pages has steadily improved his defense successful halfway section complete nan people of his first 3 seasons pinch nan team.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

No 1 understands that much than Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas. A Venezuelan immigrant, Rojas said he felt a individual work for Pages, who is caught betwixt wanting to speak much astir nan business and being guarded because of his budding profession and nan truth that he’s not yet eligible to beryllium a free agent.

“We request to sphere our job, because this is our only measurement to make an income, and a batch of america are nan caput of nan family, truthful we sewage to proceed to deliberation astir it that way,” Rojas said. “I would for illustration to beryllium much vocal and beryllium a small spot much coming for my community, but it’s really difficult because I’m performing my job, and if I extremity doing this, I don’t cognize really to do thing else.”

The duality of Pages — nan shot subordinate and nan personification disconnected nan section — was connected show pursuing a 4-3 nonaccomplishment to nan Philadelphia Phillies connected May 30, a crippled successful which he’d doubled and scored a run. He squeezed past a huddle of media members waiting to talk to Tanner Scott, and Scott’s locker stood betwixt Pages and nan double doors that lead retired of nan clubhouse.

The accustomed bass-thumping reggaeton euphony was obscurity to beryllium heard. Instead, it was quiet arsenic nan players entered, heads tucked arsenic they softly bid each different a bully night. Pages’ achromatic headdress was pulled low, and he shuffled through, turning only to opportunity bully nighttime successful Spanish quietly.

Pages has been a breakout star for nan Dodgers this play and has shouldered nan weight of steadying a squad that had an unsteady May. He‘s tied for nan awesome convention lead successful RBIs pinch 56 and is 2nd successful nan National League successful protect runs saved (13) while playing error-free ball. Pages has nan second-most location runs connected nan Dodgers (15) and is successful nan apical 5 connected nan squad successful batting mean and slugging percent — each while he monitors his family’s business from afar.

Pages doesn’t speak overmuch astir his life successful nan U.S. different than successful small, wide assertions. He’s grateful for nan state he has here. He struggles to flooded nan sadness that he can’t stock his life pinch his family. He leaves his hopes for a amended early successful nan hands of his Christian faith.

There are besides glimpses of homesickness. He rattles disconnected everything he loved astir Mantua without hesitation erstwhile asked, circling done nan words to make judge he didn’t miss anything. When he’s tired, he orders from Porto’s, a concatenation of Cuban bakeries successful Los Angeles that Pages said punctual him astir of home. Though, truthfully, he doesn’t deliberation thing successful nan metropolis lives up to Cuba. It’s conscionable not nan same.

“Those things shouldn’t hap successful a state arsenic beautiful and joyful arsenic Cuba,” he said, looking disconnected into nan distance.

As Rojas describes, it is not easy to attraction connected your occupation erstwhile you spot group you cognize astatine location suffering.

“We are present to execute and really supply intermezo to people, and sometimes we are seen for illustration that,” he said. “The problem is erstwhile nan lights are disconnected astatine night, erstwhile you person to spell home, erstwhile you go a regular quality being that is connected nan streets.”