Below is photo of Pete Caliendo (right) outside the big Havana stadium with, on the left, Pedro Medina, one of the Cuban National Team’s greatest-ever catchers and power hitters. Medina is now on the Cuban Baseball Federation with which Caliendo is close.

So far, the U.S. is running a balance of trade baseball equipment deficit with Cuba.

And that’s exactly the way Schaumburg’s Pete Caliendo likes it.

A globetrotting booster of youth baseball, longtime coach Caliendo found that the local opponents very much appreciated new, state-of-the-art equipment coming their way in post-game exchanges during his just-concluded barnstorming tour of Cuba.

“The Cubans were thrilled to meet our players and their families,” Caliendo said. “After every game, we would line up, shake hands and then give them a gift, each player and coaches. They’d trade things. The Cubans traded up. Our players gave them the best equipment, the Cubans had average. It was like gold for them. Their eyes lit up when they saw the equipment. They’d take really good care of it.”

A new bat or glove, or even a supply of baseballs were welcomed. Although baseball is Cuba’s national game and a way to further bridge the gap with the U.S., players lack the best in accoutrements and coaches have to teach more with their wits than with access to equipment and technology.

“Some of them only have 10 baseballs to use for 25 players,” Caliendo said. “How do you keep everybody active?”

In addition to the equipment exchanges, Caliendo and his coaching staff left behind extra baseballs. He’ll no doubt have more when he returns to Havana in November to conduct a coaches’ clinic with the full backing of the Cuban Baseball Federation, with which Caliendo enjoys an excellent relationship.

The federation gave its blessing to his first youth baseball junket that combined games and sightseeing. Serving as general manager of the trip, Caliendo organized two teams. The older squad was comprised of high school seniors through players around 20. The younger team was 14-to-16-year-olds. A number of parents also accompanied the teams.

The education of all was not limited to measuring the quality of competition, which of course was good in spite of the drawbacks Cuban youth players face in a poorer country.

The Caliendo crew quickly learned they live in a land of plenty, both spiritually and materially.

“The obvious (benefit) is the kids are very fortunate (to realize they live) in a great country with freedom of speech, which the Cubans still don’t have as much as we think they do,” Caliendo said.

The tour’s Cuban guide and bus driver felt fortunate. They got to eat at the hotel buffet with the junketeers. For the lucky pair, it was “like a festival,” said Caliendo — and for good reason. There is no repairing to the local fast-food outlet or Dairy Queen for refreshments after a Cuban youth game.

“The Cubans get so many pounds of meat, so many pounds of rice, so many pounds of oil,” Caliendo said. “It’s not a lot of food, for a month, and they have to make it last.”

The visitors found out why top Cuban players often went through harrowing travels and dealt with disreputable middlemen to escape to play pro baseball in the U.S. Even more than playing at the best competitive level in the world, they yearned for a living wage. The Caliendo tour was told the average person in Cuba lives on $30 a month.

“You take a chef, a cook or maid in the tourist industry, and they make more than doctors, orthopedic surgeons, brain surgeons and lawyers,” Caliendo said. “One time they had to stop and make it illegal for the highly educated to switch to the tourist industry to make more money.”

The older team roster was comprised of almost exclusively Illinois players: Connor Hogan, Ross Nations, Brady West, Julies Roman, Andrew Clavenna, Kenneth Alexa, Zachary Speaker, Nolan Gazouski, Kevin Carmondy, Kevin Jackson, Anthony Aducci and Justin Sartori. Player Trevor Blizzard hailed from Oregon.

Manager was Jim Hall, assisted by coaches Chris Hogan, Ryan Clavenna and Jon Guzzo, who handled the pitching.

Hall and his team were able to visit the main Havana stadium in which the Tampa Bay Rays played a Cuban all-star team in spring training with presidents Obama and Raul Castro in attendance.

Meanwhile, the 14-to-16 team had just one Illinois player: Connor Burns. Christian Murphy, Jack Zamrippa, Andrew Linseisen, Cameron Frezon and Julian Meza hailed from Texas. Coaches were Pat Reid and Roman Zamrippa.

The baseball federation permitted five Cubans to play with the younger team. In addition, several Cuban coaches were attached to the American team to view the game from that perspective.

Caliendo said the welcome mat was out for a good reason.

“From the Cubans’ standpoint, they knew Americans were great people,” he said. “But this really emphasized it, seeing how friendly our players and coaches were, how open our parents were. They wanted to give things to them, wanted to help. So it opened up the Cubans’ eyes that Americans are giving people.

“I got the impression that they hope America comes in, not to run their country, but to just be there, be friends.”

Caliendo hardly had time to bask in the good feelings from his trip.

He had to leave the younger team two days early. He changed planes in Miami, stayed overnight in Chicago and then hopped a 14-hour flight to Tokyo. As president of Caliendo Sports International and vice president of the international sports group of the World Baseball Softball Federation, he had an existing baseball commitment in Japan with a touring 13-year-old team and a clinic at the World Children’s Baseball Fair headlined by all-time slugger Sadaharu Oh.

Those interested in future foreign youth baseball trips can contact Caliendo at PeterCaliendo@icloud.com. His web site is www.caliendosportsinternational.com. Twitter is @baseballout.

— Youth teams participate in Cuban goodwill event —