BASEBALL DIGEST  ALL STAR EDITION 

A Special Publication of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

By Abe J. Schear Tommy Goodman July 2019 “A Baseball Ambassador” * * * Schear: I am talking with Tommy enjoyed listening to it as well throughout Baseball we have long said is an American Goodman. Where did you grow up? the summer. It always provided the sport and, of course, that includes all of I grew up in Reston, Virginia. cadence of the evening. There was America. In fact, the history of baseball in Did your family like baseball? the regularity of the broadcast whether the Caribbean (and in Cuba in particular) Yes, my family loved baseball. Believe I listened to TV or radio, so it didn’t is every bit as passionate and colorful as it it or not, I played soccer mostly growing matter. is in the United States. up but I was a huge baseball fan. There What are your first memories of Tommy Goodman evokes that passion and were no Nationals back then so we baseball? is Executive Director of the Caribbean had to drive up to Baltimore to see I don’t know if this is my first, but Educational Baseball Foundation. As professional baseball, but we loved doing my clearest is opening day at Camden such, he has explored how baseball can it. Yards (April 6, 1992). I was a teenager bring people and countries closer together, Who were your favorite players for the by then so that when the magic of this relying on that little white ball to stimulate Orioles? sport occurred, especially watching it mutual interests. Cal Ripkin, far and away the favorite. live, kind of hit me. Even today, there Again, different teams, different players. is nothing like that stadium and that As you will read, the history of baseball in Brady Anderson, before stadium packed on an April day was even countries like Cuba is similar to that in the he went to the evil empire, the Yankees, more magical with a 2-0 Orioles win. United States, though it is more about the game and less about the business. Tommy shares with us the emotions of Caribbean “The mission statement is to build youth baseball in a way that will encourage many to explore the shared histories and, perhaps, focused bridges between the US and our even go watch a game or two. Caribbean neighbors with a shared passion Thanks so much to my friend, Jay Epstien, for this introduction. for baseball.” and a couple of others were favorites. Rick Sutcliffe pitched a three hit shutout. * * * Did you play baseball as a youngster? There was a fly-by, so a lot of excitement Not much. I played some neighborhood because Baltimore is a great baseball baseball. I was limited to one sport town and, with that new stadium, it just by my parents and that was soccer. I reached a new level. So that’s not my tell people I like to watch movies even first, but my clearest memory. though I’m not an actor. I was always a And the ballpark really revitalized not fan of watching baseball. only downtown but a neighborhood as Did you watch it? I guess you were well. Abe J. Schear is an attorney with Arnall young enough so you never listened to Our tradition with my dad and my mom Golden Gregory LLP and is a member of it much on the radio. You probably was to go out and get crab cakes for the firm’s Real Estate Group. Contact Abe watched it on TV. lunch at the inner harbor and walk over at 404.873.8752 or [email protected]. I did a combination of both. I always to the game. I remember two years A r n a l l G o l d e n G r e g o r y L L P | July 2019 later, the All Star Game was there along things. When I got to law school, I took other parts of Central America. I learned with the home derby and all the international law classes and sport law through research and through talking to excitement around the stadium. There classes and I realized that a lot of what people. I started to travel down there. were all these other things to do around sports laws are is really domestic laws The initiative had to be started from there besides the inner harbor so it was with sports related issues. I also realized the grass roots level. The model of the awesome. that being a , though there Cohen Group was really to get hand in When you were little did you throw are elements of sports law, it was as glove with the client so you become ball with your siblings or parents? much a business and salesmanship as a member of the client’s team. Over How did you learn how to play? anything else. I tried to become involved time I became a trusted member and Not much. Mostly just neighborhood in sports and baseball for a little while through trips to Cuba, dealing with folks kids. Like I said, I was not into and I just focused on the international related to Cuban affairs in Washington, organized baseball so it was mostly just affairs. I moved to DC after law school, at the Cuban Embassy and at the State Department, then I really became one and the same with the client and that led “Baseball really is the common language that me onto the path I’m on today. You are with the Cohen Group now? we both speak.” Nope. I left about 18 months ago to become the first Executive Director of through watching the Orioles and playing tried a bunch of different things in the the Caribbean Educational Baseball with kids in the neighborhood. legal space, worked for the federal Foundation. For a while, I was with And did you collect baseball cards government, worked for a law firm, the Cohen Group working for this when you were a child? and I wasn’t satisfied. Then I ended up organization and they were a client, Oh yeah. I don’t collect them now but moving over to the Cohen Group, which but then they became a non-profit I still have them all. I can’t even put a is an international business advisory firm organization and they needed an number on it. headed by former Secretary of Defense, Executive Director so now that’s the only I still have mine. It’s nice when you Bill Cohen. hat I wear. come from a family of collectors What are the initiatives there and how as opposed to cleaners. That’s all I I started to get satisfied with the that is going? can figure. No reason I still have my international aspects. From there, The mission statement is to build youth cards from when I grew up except my around 2012, I got an email from my focused bridges between the US and mother never threw anything away. boss and the subject line was :”Cuba our Caribbean neighbors with a shared baseball” and there was a client who at passion for baseball. It was started by a So tell me, somehow you got into the the time was a Triple A general manager former general manager of the Pawtucket business of baseball. I know after high for the who had Red Sox, Lou Schwechheimer. He now school you went to college and after a really fascinating project involving leads an investment group that owns college you got a job. Why don’t you Cuba related to baseball. So, for me, it the Marlins’ AAA team (which is now tell me how you got from the end of was a turning point in my career and my the Baby Cakes, but is college to being involved in baseball, life. Finally my interest in international moving to Wichita starting next year) because it certainly is an interesting, affairs was going to be wed with my and the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs. He circuitous route. With the foundation of being a baseball fan as a kid and collecting baseball “The Cincinnati Reds had their Triple A team cards and playing in the neighborhood, in Havana.” I didn’t know how that would marry up to a professional career. I got my interest in sports because I was tapped first traveled to Cuba 15 years ago and interest in traveling and seeing the world into client needs for that project and that established a vision. We wanted to build when I studied abroad in Spain. After led to all of my work in Cuba and the a bridge despite the political difficulties. graduating from University of Virginia, I other parts of the Caribbean. There were a lot of years of mistrust wanted to continue sort of exploring the Did you just have an opportunity between the US and Cuba, but despite world so I got a job as a school teacher because you were at the Cohen all that, baseball really is the common in Costa Rica for three years. Right after Group? Was this a big group or was language that we both speak. We set out that I went to law school and I thought this sort of an exploratory mission to to help make relations better through this maybe through the law I could get back work in Latin America and in Cuba? board and also to help the kids in Cuba into baseball as my professional career. I already came with that background. I because they have the passion but they The movie “Jerry Maguire” had come was a teacher in Costa Rica and studied don’t have a lot of resources. out and being a sports agent might be in Spain and had traveled throughout the way to do it, combining that with my Latin America. That was my area of We also did research and recognized passion for traveling and international specialty. I had worked a lot in Mexico, that this bridge went way back. In the 2 BASEBALL DIGEST by Abe J. Schear

1960’s, when the first Cuban ballplayers parts of the region. So we have active which is your favorite ballpark in actually studied at Springhill College programs in Jamaica, the Dominican Latin America? in Mobile, Alabama, they brought bats Republic and Puerto Rico. I have I think there is one in Havana is called and gloves back to Cuba and baseball had conversations with folks in Aruba, La Tropical. It’s called that because back in the 1940’s and 1950’s it was on “The smile you see on their faces, it’s like the property of a brewery there called Tropical Havana. Many spring trainings nothing you’ve ever seen.” were held there by teams. It’s now the national soccer thereafter became popular on the islands. Mexico, Curacao and we will just see stadium, Estadio Latinamericano. If you The first organized team was played in where those conversations take us. compare how it looks today to how it Cuba in 1874. So it’s almost 150 years People can go to your website and was used as a baseball field, it’s a very ago and almost as long as they’ve been make donations? magical feeling and you can sense the playing baseball in the US. Unlike other They can. Yes. presence of the former ballplayers. It’s countries and parts of the world, Cuba The website is? really special. actually made baseball popular through the US baseballdiplomacy.org broke the color barrier in Havana in military presence and otherwise. There Tell me, I’m guessing that the youth 1947 and the Dodgers held their spring is unique history and unique evolution of all countries are very responsive, training there, thinking there would be of the sport. It evolved separately from notwithstanding the governments. less discrimination from fans and media. baseball here because for decades it’s Yes. There is nothing like giving a kid Some games were in the Grand Stadium. been on its own. Prior to the split, and who’s never seen or owned his own Seeing both stadiums, you remember the I mean the revolution, the Cincinnati baseball. The smile you see on their history and it has more of an impact. Reds had their Triple A team in Havana. faces, it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. What’s the difference between the fans It was called the Havana Sugar Kings Do you have organized trips to Cuba in the Caribbean and Cuba and the (1946-1960). Lou saw this history and or other Latin American countries that fans in the United States? thought that maybe someday affiliated adults can go on to see baseball, to see Well I think when you go to a game baseball can return to Cuba. We set out fields? in Cuba the fans are there to see the to sort of build the bridge through this Yes we do. We organize what we game. There is a lot less distraction, goodwill initiative with the hope that one call “experiential trips”, based on our people aren’t on their phones, they day affiliated baseball would return to networks and knowledge, especially are not in line to buy food or drinks. Cuba. So now, the way it stands is we in Cuba where we tailor sort of an They’re there with their families, with their friends. They’re watching the “Jackie Robinson actually broke the color game. They are there to watch baseball. There is live music in the stands. You barrier in Havana in 1947.” don’t really have a jumbotron, the big advertisements, the clips of yesteryear have a non-profit called the Caribbean itinerary to give travelers a very and games. It’s just baseball. It’s a Educational and Baseball Foundation unique educational, baseball focused community gathering. Lou, our founder, and for the last 4 or 5 years leading back experience. It includes giving baseballs likes to say that the baseball stadium is to before Obama’s opening of Cuba – or other equipment to youth teams the front porch to the community. The though this now faces more difficult and also meeting with managers of the model is about the times with Trump – we’ve been working professional teams, visiting baseball experience, about families going out and with our counterparts in Cuba on a artists, historians, journalists, taking having fun. I don’t think it’s like that series of goodwill exchanges. Visits tours of the stadiums and, if it is in much anymore in major league baseball. by youth teams from the United States season, attending games in the evenings. It’s more just about the business, to Cuba, from equipment donations to Given some of the difficulties in Cuba, charging fans. field renovations, to identifying areas of we are also doing this in other countries. How did you get involved with shared common history and heritage that baseball in art? use baseball to celebrate shared histories. The Dominican Republic is our next big Again through the founder and also Also, we bring clinics with former major geography of interest. What is unique through a couple of dozen trips to Cuba. league players. there is that each major league baseball We talk about the common passion, the team has its own academy there so the common languages that we speak outside It has been a little slow in Cuba, baseball infrastructure there is a lot more of the politics and baseball and art and especially lately. I’m recognizing developed. The passion is the same but music fall within that rubric. We had the that other countries in the region have the infrastructure is more developed so good fortune of meeting a baseball artist a similar passion for baseball and the experience will be a little different. I on one of our first visits and he embodied understand that our programming and was just there 2 weeks ago. these characteristics. Baseball is a thing our partnerships will include other Of the stadiums that you’ve been to, that you can relate to regardless of what 3 A r n a l l G o l d e n G r e g o r y L L P | July 2019 your politics are, where you are from. the initiative that you all have in the They had a license from the Department You look at a piece of art and you don’t Caribbean and Cuba? of Treasury on issues that were related see it the same way as somebody else They are. A big part of our strategy is to the Cuban players who were forced from a different culture. to make sure that any folks that don’t to leave through unsavory means and When we met this artist, Reynerio appreciate our engagement at least now that’s been squashed by the current Tamayo, he had baseball art portraits understand why we’re doing it and administration. MLB wants to be sure and some paintings of American understand the impact. We are youth that Cuban players can get hired and part baseball players, Cuban baseball players, focused, so while we do have goals to of that, of course, is helping with Cuban Dominican baseball players, players in bring the countries closer together, really youth baseball development. That said, the Negro leagues, players from today 1 and 1(a) is to focus on the kids that we want to make sure we don’t get too and yesterday. The project that we are don’t have a lot of resources. Through far out in front of MLB. most proud of was bringing him up to that lens, it is our mission to explain the If someone was interested in going Washington, D.C. last summer during impact to people that have their own on a trip to Havana that satisfied the All Star Game, and we brought three political reasons. We try to emphasize their curiosity towards Havana and dozen of his works and had a reception the benefits for the kids, and we respect baseball, what are the lengths of the to kick it off. The cultural event brought everyone’s way of doing things. trips? attention to the common ties that we Is major league baseball supportive or It’s not just Havana. We also go to have with Cuba through the love of are they neutral? Is this an initiative a town called Hershey, which has its baseball and through the love of art. So that is relevant to major league own baseball history. [Note: Hershey, through the trips that I was referencing baseball or is this a parallel mission? Cuba was founded in 1916 by chocolate earlier, we also bring our travelers to Well I can’t use the word parallel tycoon Milton S. Hershey. It is 30 miles the homes of the baseball artists to because we are affiliated with two minor east of Havana.] We also go to a few learn more about how they can express league clubs. Minor league clubs have other towns where baseball has tradition themselves, especially through their to follow major league baseball. So just and history. Usually about 4-5 nights. work. It is not the primary focus of our like the governments that are involved in We try to accommodate busy schedules. work, but it is a bridge. all of our work, we respect major league That is a model that we follow. I only have a couple of more baseball. I think their program, their This is really fascinating to me and I questions. Is the Cuban American ideas in Cuba, are different than ours. appreciate your time. I look forward community, particularly in South Thankfully, they reached an agreement to seeing you again soon. Thank you.

Florida, interested and supportive of with the Cuban Baseball Federation.

“A Baseball Ambassador” Baseball “A

Tommy Goodman Tommy

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