Description[]
The team looks into the murder of a former Cuban baseball star who escaped to the U.S. to provide for his family after the Cuban government fired him for talking to a U.S. sports agent. Meanwhile, the team plays their annual softball game.
Synopsis[]
In 1998, a group of Cuban refugees took a raft that arrived on Miami Beach. On the shore, several officers chased after the escapees. If they reach dry land, they can seek asylum. If they are arrested in the water, they will be deported. A man named Gonzalo remembers his time as a baseball player and uses those skills to out run an officer to reach dry land. At a press conference, a man named Sammy Reyes announced that Gonzalo Loque, who is considered the Cuban Mickey Mantle, just signed with the Phillies. Later, Gonzalo is found killed.
In the present day, a Haitian convict tells Rush that he saw Gonzalo’s dead body at a baseball field, which was a different location than where he was reported to be found. The Haitian says that he took a bat at the scene and gave it to a relative. He says that he saw a car that scared him off. The Haitian says that he came back later and discovered that Gonzalo’s body was gone. Stillman says that Gonzalo was found dead in an alley with blunt force trauma to the chest. Jeffries brings in the bat that the Haitian took from the scene. The detectives see that the bat is marked with the initials ’ST’. Vera announces that there is going to be a softball game against the firefighters. Miller and Rush sign up to play.
Vera and Miller visit Piedad, Gonzalo’s wife, who arrived in the U.S. after he died. She tells them that the Cuban government prevented Gonzalo from playing on the island. She says that Gonzalo has a cousin named Juan. Valens and Rush bring Juan to the station. Juan looks at the bat that the Haitian found and tells the detectives that it is too heavy to belong to Gonzalo. He says that he doesn’t recognize the initials on the bat. Juan remembers being dropped off at his cousin's apartment after Gonzalo signed with the Phillies. Juan remembers Gonzalo giving him a bottle of champagne that he told him to open after the Cuban government falls. Juan says that Reyes, Gonzalo’s agent, also handled Gonzalo’s money. Juan says that after Gonzalo died, he tried to take his money.
Jeffries and Stillman meet with Reyes. He tells the detectives that Gonzalo was the first player that he managed. He says that when he watched Gonzalo practice, he remembered that another player named Eric Hines was jealous at his talent. Reyes says that Eric never got into the big leagues because he was busted for a crime. Juan says that Eric liked to call himself Show Time. Jeffries and Stillman look at a picture of Eric and see that he is wearing a necklace with the letters ST on it. Eric is brought to the station. He tells Vera and Miller that he gave Gonzalo that bat. Eric remembers meeting Gonzalo at a bar. He remembers introducing Gonzalo to a woman who instantly took a liking to him. Eric says that Gonzalo never told him that he had a wife and kid in Cuba. Vera asks Eric where he was when Gonzalo died and he says that he was playing baseball in Taiwan. Vera announces that he lost a player on his softball team. Stillman tells him that he can take his place.
Rush and Valens bring in Marisol, the woman who met Gonzalo at the bar. Marisol says that she fell in love with Gonzalo and used to live with him. She remembers that one day she returned to Gonzalo’s apartment and overhead Juan tell Gonzalo that his wife wanted to divorce him. Marisol says that she didn’t know that Gonzalo was married. Later, Valens receives a fax with Piedad's intake file that includes a photo taken immediately after she arrived in Miami. He looks at Gonzalo’s picture and sees that he is sunburned from sailing on the raft. Valens tells Rush that he thinks that Piedad was taken to America on a speedboat. Miller and Vera meet with Piedad. She tells them that neighborhood spies watched her in Cuba so she divorced Gonzalo to make it easier for her to escape. Piedad says that she didn’t tell them the truth because she is afraid of the person who brought her and her son to the U.S.. She remembers that she called Gonzalo after she arrived in America. She told Gonzalo that the people who brought her over would not let her go until he paid them more money. She tells Miller that the person who brought her over is named ’Oz’.
Miller and Vera go downtown to meet with Clifford, an informant. He tries to run, but Miller knocks him down. Vera asks Clifford if he knows Oz. Clifford says that he knows the man as the Wizard. Valens and Rush go to the Wizard’s office. Oz tells the detectives that he is a legitimate businessman. Valens says that he knows that he held Piedad and demanded Gonzalo pay him more money. Oz says that Gonzalo wanted his family back and he wanted to send him a message. Oz says that he remembers that he told Gonzalo that he brought two of his teammates over from Cuba on the orders of his agent, Reyes. He told Gonzalo that Reyes owed him more money for bringing over the players.
Jeffries and Stillman go to Reyes’s office. Reyes says that he liberated the players from Cuba. He remembers that Gonzalo was angry after he learned that he didn’t bring over his parents like he wanted. Reyes says that he tried to sign Juan for a team, but he ended up not being a good player. Miller discovers that Juan came to the U.S. on the same raft as Gonzalo. She says that Juan was immediately returned to Cuba after he arrived. Juan is brought to the station. Valens says that he knows that Juan played on the same team as Gonzalo in Cuba. Rush tells Juan that she knows that he was treated as a traitor when he returned to Cuba and was broken in jail. Valens relates the story of his grandfather who came to the U.S. and his grandfather's brother who remained in Cuba where he was jailed. "His heart didn't stop," Valens says. "It broke." Rush tells Juan that she knows that he was angry at Gonzalo and attacked him with a bat.
Juan remembers when Gonzalo found him at a baseball field after he met with Reyes in his office. Gonzalo told Juan that he fired Reyes. Juan told Gonzalo that Reyes was supposed to give him a try out for a team as a pitcher. Juan reminded Gonzalo that Juan was the one who built the raft that brought them to the U.S. Juan says that in Cuba, the jailers broke his arm repeatedly. Juan says that he got angry and hit Gonzalo with a bat. He says that after he realized what he did, he tried to save him, but it was too late. Later, Juan is arrested for Gonzalo’s murder.
The episode ends at the annual homicide vs. firefighters softball game. Vera hits the home run that wins the game and they celebrate. Valens is seen at home, opening his refrigerator. The photo of his grandfather and his great-uncle is taped to the refrigerator. In the fridge is a bottle of champagne, waiting to be opened when the Castro regime is overthrown in Cuba.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Kathryn Morris as Lilly Rush
- Danny Pino as Scotty Valens
- John Finn as John Stillman
- Jeremy Ratchford as Nick Vera
- Thom Barry as Will Jeffries
- Tracie Thoms as Kat Miller
Guest Cast[]
- Shalim Ortiz as Gonzalo Luque
- Silvana Arias as Piedad Luque
- Steven Bauer as Osmany "Oz" Leon
- Darius McCrary as Eric "Showtime" Hynes
- Nestor Serrano as Jaime Reyes
- Oscar Torre as Juan de la Cruz
- Valery M. Ortiz as Marisol Acosta
Co-Starring[]
- Bambadjan Bamba as Eddie St. John
- Dominic Pace as Steve Scarcelli
- Grant Monohon as Clifford
- Marcus DeAnda as Reporter
- Robert C. Lopez as Andres Luque
- Unknown actor as Butch
Notes[]
- Danny Pino co-wrote this epiosde, the first to be written by a member of the cast.
- This episode was the first episode where a song in another language was used in the ending. In this case was "Vida más simple" by Nil Lara
- This is the third episode in which a baseball player was killed with a bat. (A Time to Hate, Colors)
- In the beginning of the episode, the case box of the victim is put next to that of Grant Bowen.
Music[]
- Orishas "537 C.U.B.A"
- Beny Moré "Que Bueno Baila Usted"
- Tupac Shakur ft. K-Ci & Jojo “How Do U Want It”
- Closing Song: Nil Lara "Vida Mas Simple"
