Major League Baseball has been most international players' goal for decades. Baseball is an increasingly international sport, with players from Japan, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and even tiny Curacao. Pro ball welcomes all. But for the past half-century there has been a sad absence in the major leagues. Cuba, under Fidel Castro, has prevented its players from contacting agents in the United States. Players who have contacted agents about playing for major league teams have been denied the right to play the game at all. With the wealth of talent in the Caribbean area - see the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico - one has to wonder what American baseball fans have been missing without complete access to Cuban players. In March 2006, Major League Baseball hosted the World Baseball Classic, similar to the World Cup in soccer, where teams from 16 countries competed for the title of world's best. The United States - with star players such as Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey, Jr. - did not even make the semifinals. The finals saw Japan - no surprise there - defeat Cuba 10-6. Cuba advanced, but the United States did not? We live in the birthplace of the game and home of baseball's World Series. Our teams include the best of the best. Well, maybe not. Cuba's national team, which includes no current Major League players, won the gold medal in the 1992, 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games, and the silver medal in the 2000 Olympics. The talent is clearly present. But Fidel Castro's regime has prevented the migration of Cuba's best players to the major leagues. That hasn't stopped some players. Brothers-in-law Liván and Orlando Hernández, José Contreras, Yunel Escobar, Danys Baéz and Eli Marrero all migrated to the United States to play professional baseball. Other famous Cubans who played in the major leagues are Rafael Palmeiro, José Canseco - of steroids scandal fame - and Luis Tiant. Now that Fidel Castro has stepped down, it seems probable Cuba will see immense international pressure to reform. Such reforms may include allowing Cuban players to engage in contract negotiations with Major League Baseball teams. While the Cuban government will be reluctant to relinquish some control over its baseball players, Communist policies and athletes' migration to the United States can coexist. In 2002, the NBA's Houston Rockets drafted Chinese center Yao Ming with the first overall pick in the draft. Included in the terms of his four-year, $18 million contract was a clause giving the Chinese Basketball Association - and thus the Chinese economy - 5 percent of his salary. The Cuban National Series is Cuba's national amateur competition since the government abolished all professional leagues after Castro's takeover in 1959. While there are no salaries, it is possible that major league teams could sign Cuban players to a contract similar to the one the Rockets gave Yao in 2002. The Cuban government could use the extra revenue to renovate stadiums and pay for the youth baseball academy found in Havana. To get the Cuban government to engage in any reforms - including the reform of their national sport and favorite pastime - the U.S. government must be willing to open political and economic negotiations with Cuba. These negotiations would have an immediate effect on Major League Baseball. Even if the Cuban government allowed its best players to play in the United States, there is no guarantee the best players would migrate. In Eric Enders' article "Through the Looking Glass: The Forgotten World of Cuban Baseball," which appeared in "NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture," Enders tells how Omar Linares, arguably this generation's best third baseman worldwide, has opted to stay in Cuba rather than defect to the United States. "Though Linares has had countless opportunities to turn pro he has resisted the temptation of Major Leagues riches because, he says, he finds playing for his country more rewarding," Enders writes. Contests like the Olympic Games and the World Baseball Classic give Cuban players the opportunity to mingle with players from other countries and size up the competition. After success at the international level, it is clear Cuban players can hold their own on the biggest stages. Major League Baseball prides itself on being an international league, but for the past half century there has been a black hole south of Florida. Fidel Castro's resignation brings with it a hope for a new era in baseball, one in which Cuban players can be a part of the big leagues.
---- Contact Jack Collens at jcollens@lsureveille.com
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