‘ESPN 30 for 30: Brothers in Exile’ Review

The story of Livan Hernandez and his half-brother Orlando Hernandez is one that at the time was widely ignored. Cuban defectives were an unfamiliar idea and not something most Americans bothered to learn about. It was a new concept and considering there were still ramifications if we knew the full story, most of their struggles were left in the darkness.

Thankfully there’s an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about it titled ‘Brothers in Exile.’ Brief details about their childhood up until the present day, just about everything you would want to know about the Hernandez Brothers is covered.

The first important thing we learn in the film is how big of a star Orlando, better known as El Duque, was in the Cuban League. I struggle to even find a comparison in Major League Baseball at the time. No pitcher seemed to epitomize baseball like El Duque could in his native country.

At the time Orlando was a star pitcher, his younger brother Livan was just coming up. Both eventually became teammates on the Cuban National Team. Different from the teams within the country, the Cuban National Team toured the world playing exhibition games against teams representing other nations.

Since Cuba was and still is under rule of the Communists, even leaving the country was repressive. Livan had his breaking point while in Japan he was forced to throw away all of the shampoo and soap he was going to take from the hotel back to Cuba for his family. Small material items like this were not readily available in Cuba even for someone like a popular professional athlete.

Livan’s plan was set. He would defect when the Cuban National Team played in Monterrey, Mexico. He had his contacts set and eventually found a home in the Dominican Republic where he could then tryout for a Major League Baseball team. Most of us know by now that it was the Florida Marlins to sign him. This happened in 1996 and by 1997 he was in the team’s starting rotation.

Everything was not perfect for Livan as he was gaining weight and spending far too much money. Livan only settled down thanks to the guidance of Triple-A coach Carlos Tosca, a fellow Cuban. Tosca helped Livan adjust to his new life and get him on a better training regimen that didn’t involve McDonalds. Livan’s first season at the big league level ended on a high note with a World Series victory with the Marlins.

By MissChatter on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile things for Orlando were worse than ever. Because his brother defected, the Cuban Government thought he would be doing the same. Orlando chose to stay behind because he was married with children. Daily harassment from the police however made him begin to reconsider.

Due to speculation on possibly defecting, Orlando was banned from baseball and had to settle for playing in pickup games just to keep sharp. His life had become a hell and he finally decided it was time to follow in his brother’s footsteps.

Far more complicated than Livan’s plans to leave, Orlando needed to setup several moves to make it work. Fidel Castro had just brought Christmas back to Cuba–mostly to gain more favor with the visiting Pope. Orlando knew because of the return of Christmas most of the guards in the water would be drunk and unable to do their job effectively. He took advantage of this and departed on a motorboat toward a small island off of The Bahamas.

Since The Bahamas had a treaty with Cuba to return all refugees home, he couldn’t go straight there. Instead Orlando along with eight others waited on an island for their second boat to arrive which would then take them to their next destination. It took them about four days before they realized no one was coming to transport them to their next destination.

Their lives were saved when the US Coast Guard spotted them on the small island they had called home for half a week. They were rescued then brought to The Bahamas where they would then be sent back to Cuba and most likely at best imprisoned.

It took Orlando calling up agent Joe Cubas, known for getting Cuban baseball players out of the country and to the United States, to do exactly what he did best. Cubas was no angel though as most of his maneuvers were self-serving and for the money. Since Orlando could earn Cubas lots of cash, he was willing to do anything to help.

Cubas worked his magic and Orlando was released along with his fellow passengers. From there, Orlando eventually landed a job pitching for the New York Yankees in 1998.

While with the Yankees in his rookie season, Orlando had a very similar experience as Livan did. He pitched well during the regular season and ended it with a World Series victory.

By Delaywaves (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

So now that I have spoiled everything for you, let me tell you what I thought about it. I really liked it. This was one of those 30 for 30’s where you understand why it was almost an hour and a half long. Believe me, there are some I haven’t even been able to finish they were so bad and never-ending.

I am a fan of the Hernandez Brothers (for signing autographs for me) and other reasons including just how humble they always appeared. Neither was ever a superstar and after their rookie seasons faded a bit into oblivion.

The more important impact they had was on all of the other Cubans to come over here, especially in the last five seasons. It has become a yearly requirement now where the United States is treated to a new Cuban star. This would not have been possible without the bravery of these two men.