by Michael McGraw, Associate Print Editor
As the third World Baseball Classic (WBC)
finished last month, with the Dominican Republic winning the 16-team
tournament, discussion and debate resonated over the effectiveness and
relevance of this international competition.
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While the WBC’s American
popularity suffers as a result of peripheral participation by the country’s top
players and low TV ratings, the importance of participation and success in such
international tournaments is indisputably meaningful for the country of Cuba.
Due to governmental relations and policies, international competition is the
only venue for Cuban players to oppose Major League Baseball (MLB) players;
however, it remains to be seen how a recent shift in Cuban policy might impact
Cuban baseball players and their ability to freely leave their home country.
Cuban
baseball enjoys a rich tradition, including competitive professional baseball
leagues and a pipeline to the MLB that has resulted in over 170 Cuban-born players
in the majors. However, after the Fidel Castro-led revolution against Cuban
dictator Fulgencio Batista in the 1950s, Castro eradicated professional
baseball and replaced it with an emphasis on a strong amateur Cuban national
team constructed to facilitate Cuban pride and reflect the revolution’s ideals.
Although
initially pro-Castro, diplomatic relations embittered quickly between Cuba and
the United States, and, as of 1960, United States’ President John F. Kennedy
placed an embargo on Cuban-United States trade and political connections,
intending to squeeze out Castro’s political-economic stronghold.
As
associations between the two countries have remained mostly contentious, baseball
has been a bridge connecting the respective countries’ citizens. Whether it be
Cuban players leaving their country in pursuit of playing professional baseball
in the United States, MLB teams bidding for the services of virtually
inaccessible Cuban premiere talent, or a surprising 1999 exhibition two-game series
(one game in Baltimore and one in Havana) between the Cuban national team and
the Baltimore Orioles, baseball’s discernable presence in the struggle has
remained consistent over the past two-plus decades.
Wet
Foot Dry Foot
Following
the 1991 downfall of the Soviet Union, Cuba’s main trading partner, the Cuban
economy experienced a precipitous fall, and Cubans began defection attempts.
The United States stance on its treatment of Cuban defectors is known as the “Wet-Foot,
Dry-Foot” policy: defectors who reach American land are considered to have “dry
feet” and can qualify for permanent residency status, but those who are
discovered in the water are considered to have “wet feet” and returned back to
Cuba.
The
first Cuban baseball player defection occurred during an emergency landing of the
Cuban national team’s plane in 1991 in Miami. When the aircraft landed, Cuban
pitcher Rene Arocha walked off the plane and later pitched for the St. Louis
Cardinals from 1993-1995.
Arocha’s
defection sparked what has become a common trend of Cuban baseball players
attempting to leave their homeland to play professional American baseball. With
full cognizance of their players’ desire to defect, the Cuban national team utilizes
extensive security when it participates in international tournaments, and
accounts of attempted defections involve tense circumstances.
For example, the
United States Coast Guard allegedly discovered former New York Yankees pitcher Orlando
“El Duque” Hernandez on the island of Anguilla Cay after him and others left
Cuba in a fishing boat. This 1997 attempt was Hernandez’s ninth at defection,
and he was banned for life from Cuban baseball due to the belief that he had a
hand in his half-brother’s (Livan Hernandez) defection in 1995.
At the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics, Cuban security patrolled in vans outside of the team’s hotel. Former
MLB all-star Rolando Arrojo had been in contact with baseball agent Joe Cubas,
who contrived a plan for Arrojo’s defection. Cubas checked into the team hotel
under an alias name, had someone provide Arrojo with a phone, and Arrojo hurriedly
escaped the hotel and into Cubas’ car for a successful defection.
When the
attempted defections are unsuccessful, players have been subjected to various punishments.
While playing at
a tournament in Panama, current Seattle Mariner Kendry Morales told his
roommate of his intention to defect. Morales’ roommate told Cuban security, and
Morales was sent immediately back to Cuba. However, Morales later succeeded in
2009, his twelfth attempt.
Current
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman unsuccessfully attempted to defect at
one point, leading to his suspension from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Chapman
later successfully defected in 2009, keeping his intentions a secret from
everyone, including his pregnant girlfriend.
Follow
the Money
Notwithstanding
the lure of playing against the best players in the world, the financial
component is often the driving force behind defection. Cuban players on the
national team make approximately $12-$16 a month, whereas the minimum major
league salary for the 2013 season is $490,000.
Defectors Alexei
Ramirez (second year of a $32.5M, four-year contract with the Chicago White Sox),
Aroldis Chapman (fourth year of a $30.25M, six-year deal with the Cincinnati
Reds), and Yoenis Cespedes (second year of a four-year, $36M contract with the
Oakland Athletics) are all making impacts, along with large salaries, with
their current MLB teams.
Additionally, Cuban
defectors Livan Hernandez (career earnings of $53M), Orlando “El Duque”
Hernandez (career earnings of $34.25M), and Jose Contreras (career earnings of $67.5M)
have all made substantial earnings after defecting.
As the United
States government has the “Wet-Foot, Dry-Foot” policy regarding Cuban
defectors, MLB has its own set of rules governing Cuban defectors. In 1977,
then-MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn issued the “Kuhn Directive,” declaring that no
team can engage in discussions with any Cuban player in Cuba. MLB rules further specify that United States, Canadian, or
Puerto Rican residents must participate in the first-year amateur player draft,
in which teams select which player
they want. Conversely, residents of all other countries are international free agents
and can pick which team to sign with, essentially create a bidding war between
teams.
Enter
the Agents
With such
significant salaries involved, agents have become a pivotal component of the
defecting process. Cuba has became notorious for diligently following the
Cuban national team around the world, attempting to gain potential defectors’
trust. Once he gained that trust,, he was
known to have personally assisted in their defections. Cubas would then try to
have defectors establish residency outside of the United States in order to be
considered international free agents.
Livan Hernandez,
represented by Cubas upon his entrance into MLB, was allegedly approached by a
female autograph seeker at an international tournament in Mexico. When
Hernandez went to sign her autograph book, he saw a picture of Cubas and the
words “Call him.” The woman provided Cubas’ number to Hernandez, Hernandez
called him, and the two were shortly thereafter traveling to Venezuela. Cubas later
secured Hernandez a guaranteed $4.5M contract in 1995 with the Florida Marlins.
Cubas also
represented Hernandez’s brother, Orlando, after his “wet foot” defection. Upon Hernandez’s
discovery by the United States Coast Guard, he was allegedly offered political
asylum in the United States but declined before ultimately resurfacing in Costa
Rica. In Costa Rica, Hernandez became an international free agent, and Cubas
negotiated a $6.6M contract for Hernandez with the New York Yankees.
Cubas is not
alone in his pivotal role in assisting with Cuban defections. Another agent who
represented Cuban defectors, Gus Dominguez, was convicted in 2007 of illegally
assisting five Cuban baseball players into the United States and consequently served
five years in prison for his actions.
Loosening
the Grip
As Cuban players
have sacrificed their personal relations and risked their lives attempting to
defect, current Cuban president, Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, established new
law earlier this year that has the potential to affect defections.
In January 2013, Castro
eased Cuban travel restrictions, allowing Cuban citizens to leave the country and
travel to certain countries without obtaining an exit visa or an invitation
from another country. Any Cuban who leaves the country can be gone for up to 24
months without forfeiting his or her citizenship or free health care. In
addition, Cubans who have previously left and wish to return can reapply for
residency; however, in a safeguard provision, Cuban leaders maintain the power
to deny permission for government officials, criminals, and athletes wanting to
leave the country.
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| © Getty Images |
Before this law,
any defecting Cuban baseball player in effect permanently cut all ties with his
country’s leadership. Now, this finite status appears to have shifted, as Jose Contreras
became the first baseball defector to return to Cuba when he traveled back in
early 2013 following this law change. The return allowed Contreras to reconnect
with his ailing mother after ten years away form his home country.
Although Contreras
hurriedly accepted the opportunity to return to Cuba, others, such as Orlando
Hernandez, have stated their skepticism and refrained from returning to Cuba.
Raul Castro’s
move has some hoping for the United States to cease its fifty-plus year Cuban embargo.
According to estimates from the United States Chamber of Commerce, the embargo
has cost the United States anywhere from $1.2B-$3.6B due to the trade and
travel-related restrictions, but depending on the administration and political atmosphere,
there have been faint signs toward an easing of the countries’ relations. President Barack Obama removed travel
restrictions to the country for Cuban Americans back in 2009.
Opponents of removing
the embargo, however, point to Castro’s unwavering, anti-democratic political
ideology, citing his inclination to be more aligned with the Chinese state-subsidized
capitalism approach while maintaining a non-democratic government.
While the effects
of Cuba’s new law on the United States remain undetermined, it has already positively
impacted one Cuban defector, Jose Contreras. The past two decades of aggressive
defections of Cuban baseball players to the United States might turn into a
whole new ballgame in the wake of these changes.
