WBC Cuba question

[Gainesville Red]

Guys like Contrares and El Duque came from Cuba, right?
And basically it means they have to escape Cuba to play here, correct?

I haven't watched much of the Cuba team play before tonight, but surely they have at least a couple guys MLB teams would be interested in.

What's to stop these guys from just not going home if they don't want to? It seems like it would be a lot easier to just sort of get lost in the United States when it's time to go home than it is to escape on a boat (or however they escape).

I mean, are they under strict lock and key in their hotel rooms after a game, or what?

Send a couple pitchers the address to GAB under the table or something.

[KronoRed]

They have families, hard to leave them behind.

[NastyBoy]

I think Cuba has a couple of pitchers the reds would be interested. LOL

[realreds1]

Originally Posted by KronoRed

They have families, hard to leave them behind.

That might lead to a really nasty, five-alarm international scandal, too.

[Gainesville Red]

Originally Posted by realreds1

That might lead to a really nasty, five-alarm international scandal, too.

Maybe I just don't remember, but why did it not lead to an incident when Contrares crossed over?

[vaticanplum]

Originally Posted by Gainesville Red

Maybe I just don't remember, but why did it not lead to an incident when Contrares crossed over?

This is halfway-informed speculation, not necessarily fact, but...Contreras had a very different relationship with Cuba than did many players who ended up defecting. He was openly supportive of the Communist government and in general I think was viewed as a rather quiet, non-threatening patriot. He actually resisted defecting for quite a long time -- scouts were all over him several years before he broke down and did it. He was viewed as the best pitcher in the world not playing in MLB and could easily have had the means to get out before he did. And he kept saying he didn't want to leave. Although he did, of course, ultimately defect, he hasn't changed in some of his beliefs. Whereas some Cubans have vehemently criticized their country since arriving in the US, Contreras has always held that he is Cuban, that he loves his country, that he always will play for them given the chance. This could have affected how they viewed him. In addition, Contreras defected WITH Miguel Valdez, the much-respected and highly successful technical director of the Cuban national team. Perhaps this had something to do with the lack of a "stir" on this defection -- either because the attention was deflected (unlikely given how well-regarded Contreras was) or because of the respect that Valdez commanded.

Castro was very hard on Contreras, especially near the end. Didn't he make him pitch like three straight Olympic games in a row? Something like that.

While there may not have been a public fuss made on the level that it could have, the defection was huge, HUGE in the public of Cuba, who took it horribly. And if I remember correctly, Cuba did pull out of the Central American Games shortly thereafter, and I think that was definitely a statement on the part of the Castro regime, a warning to other players not to defect.

[MasonBuzz3]

not only some of the cuban pitchers, but i would like to see 2B Yulieski Gourriel in a Reds uniform. 21 year old infielder, has some serious talent

[BCubb2003]

The Cuban players are watched and guarded, and they wear red track suits in public so they can't escape into a crowd at the mall, or something. It takes a lot of undercover work by agents (baseball agents) to get close to them and get them into the network that breaks them free. The book "The Duke of Havana" is a good look at how El Duque made it out.

[Gainesville Red]

Interesting. I'll be visiting the library tommorow.

[Nugget]

Think of the Russian musician and ballet dancers and you will get the picture on how closely guarded players are. Don't know about the Cuban regime but in certain countries when highly gifted individuals go on international tours their families are placed under house arrest.

[Gainesville Red]

Originally Posted by Nugget

Think of the Russian musician and ballet dancers and you will get the picture on how closely guarded players are. Don't know about the Cuban regime but in certain countries when highly gifted individuals go on international tours their families are placed under house arrest.

WOW. I had no idea.

[Heath]

Originally Posted by Gainesville Red

WOW. I had no idea.

Communist-crazied dictators can make you do funny things.

[BCubb2003]

Hmmm... I'll bet RedsZoners have a lot of red track suits. We just kind of show up outside the Circuit City or the Chick-fil-A at the right time and cause a rhubarb, maybe we can make it out the door with some pitchers.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by BCubb2003

Hmmm... I'll bet RedsZoners have a lot of red track suits. We just kind of show up outside the Circuit City or the Chick-fil-A at the right time and cause a rhubarb, maybe we can make it out the door with some pitchers.

Or the government could just end this ridiculous stand off with Cuba and just normalize relations...

...on second thought, maybe the Chick-Fil-A approach might be more feasible.

[LoganBuck]

Several years ago I read an article on a player who tried to defect by boat. He was caught either by the US or by Cuba and was forced to go back. Once back he was sent to a govenment prison farm and his wife was imprisoned. Basically Castro made an example out of this guy.

For purely selfish reasons I think Yulieski Gourriel looks like a superstar.