The Macon Telegraph from Macon, Georgia • B9

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 2 2019 9BSportsMACON.COM BAYAMO, CUBA The Sancti Roosters will face the Villa Clara Orangemen, and the Ciego de Tigers will meet Las Tu- nas Woodcutters as the Cuban National Series playoffs begin Jan. 4. But none of best base- ball players will be on the diamond. the stars have said Mario Ojeda, 79, a fan and former catcher in the league. has baseball changed over the last decade? like night and Cuba is hemorrhaging ballplayers: Over the last three years, more than 300 have left the country, some after arduous jour- neys in the hands of smugglers, most hoping to try their luck in the United States.

There are now 25 players on Major League Baseball rosters who were born in Cuba. On a proud island where baseball embodies the national identity, this exodus has been painful. said Ismael a Cu- ban baseball historian. like our play- ers going. But, on the other hand, we want them to triumph abroad because they are products of our Top ballplayers have dribbled out since the Cuban Revolution ended in 1959.

(To a lesser ex- tent, some left before then). Yet despite receiv- ing multimillion-dollar offers to defect while the national team was on tour, the vast majority of players remained loyal. Some were committed to team and country or were discouraged by the diffi- culty of leaving. Some feared for their loved ones, who would be left behind indefinitely. Defections, however, began to accelerate a decade ago.

Relaxed travel restric- tions and the spread of the internet allowed base- ball agents to penetrate Cuba as never before. Even Cubans who had left the country but failed to sign in the major leagues could earn a commission by recruiting former teammates through social media. Cuba has relaxed its migration laws: Before 2013, move- ments were more strictly controlled, enriching smugglers who siphoned players off the island on cigarette boats for hefty fees. It became easier for an agent to pay for a player to get a passport, fly him to Haiti (where he could establish the third- country residence re- quired to sign as a free agent) and have him cross the border to the Dominican Republic, where he could train and demonstrate his skills in MLB academies. Major leaguers Yuli Gurriel and Lourdes Gur- riel Jr.

walked out on the national team in 2016 as it played in the Domin- ican Republic; Mesa, Mesa Jr. and Lionard among the last prospects on the island, flew away last spring. All are children of Cu- ban baseball royalty who won Olympic gold in 1996. Their dream of representing the homeland has largely given way to the dream of playing in the major leagues for U.S.-style paychecks. Cuban ball- players make $40 a month, slightly more than the average state wage.

When they won the National Series last sea- son, the Granma Stallions were rewarded with rice cookers and a week at an all-inclusive resort; as a free agent in November 2016, Yoenis Cespedes, who grew up playing in Granma province, signed a four-year, $110 million contract with the New York Mets. baseball feder- ation and Major League Baseball announced an agreement Dec. 19 to legalize and streamline the transfer of profession- al baseball players to the United States and Canada in an effort to end the smuggling of athletes and to bring order to the byz- antine paths that players from the island must take to clubs. The agreement, however, must be ap- proved by the U.S. gov- ernment because of the long-standing trade em- bargo against Cuba, and the Trump administration has so far given mixed signals.

Yovani national baseball com- missioner, said boys as young as 13 were being lured away to sign as free agents in major and mi- nor leagues in other countries, including South Korea, Panama, Nicaragua and Venezue- la. Some go to Puerto Rico. This puts them in a better position to eventu- ally sign with Major League Baseball. now make contact with the he said. are taking away not just players but entire response to defectors is uncompro- mising: Those who leave illegally are, with the rarest exceptions, barred from returning for eight years.

But players who leave legally, such as Las Tunas first baseman Ra- fael whose Amer- ican dream work out, can now return to play. And since 2013, Cuba has borrowed from the capitalist playbook, allow- ing clubs in Japan, Italy, Canada, Panama and Colombia to lease players for a part of the season. Roel Santos, 30, Gran- ma and leadoff hitter, earned $150,000 for playing five months last year in Japan. He said the cash had stopped him from worrying about making ends meet and allowed him to focus more on his game. He has bought a few houses in Cuba but is hardly living the high life like other Granma players, he shares a no-frills hotel room with a teammate on game days.

Foreign contracts have led to abrupt inequality on the field but have not stopped the flight: Ciego de Tigers outfielder Adolis did not come back after his con- tract with the Yomiuri Giants expired. Last year, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. hurts when a col- league known for ages decides to San- tos said. people took it more to heart.

Now happened so many times, become The consensus among Cuban players, coaches and fans is that the best way to stem the flow is through the deal with the MLB. Reaction to the deal from players and fans was euphoric. The agreement would make Cuban players in their mid-20s eligible, in an effort to preserve youth development and play in Cuba. baseball federation would get a cut of the MLB earnings. would create a system that allows Cuba to retain their home- grown talent for an ap- propriate period of said Dan Halem, MLB chief legal officer.

Approval of the agree- ment can come none too soon for those in Cuban baseball. at a critical said Aliet Arzola Lima, a sportswriter for Granma, the Communist official newspa- per. a deal, the situation will continue but it get any worse than it is at the FRANK FRANKLIN II AP New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, seen in 2007, played on the Cuban national team and with the Olympic team who won gold in Barcelona in 1992. Cubans can sign under rules similar to what players from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan face, according to a new agreement between Major League Baseball, its association and the Cuban Baseball Federation. Players from Cuba would be allowed to sign big league contracts without defecting.

COMMENTARY Can Cuban baseball still be great when many of its stars have left? BY ED AUGUSTIN New York Times WE LIKE OUR PLAYERS GOING. BUT, ON THE OTHER HAND, WE WANT THEM TO TRIUMPH ABROAD BECAUSE THEY ARE PRODUCTS OF OUR SYSTEM. Ismael a Cuban baseball historian.