(by CHRIS TALBOTT. Associated Press Writer... AP Sports Writer Gregg Bell in Seattle and freelancer Amy Jinker-Lloyd in Atlanta contributed to this inform)PEARL. desire. (AP) -- Just about every Cuban boy hopes to compete Baseball for the national aggroup in the Olympics. It is only when that wish is taken away -- as it was from Francisley Bueno -- that thoughts turn to America. Bueno made the 2004 Olympic aggroup but Cuban officials deemed him a flight risk and left him home. "When they wouldn't let me fly with the aggroup I decided to come here," Bueno said through a translator. Bueno who pitches in the Atlanta Braves organization is one of at least 135 Cuban-born players to enter the Minor Leagues since 1991 when the Soviet Union cut leaving Cuba among the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere. They fled Fidel Castro's regime on overcrowded speedboats. They walked away from their handlers during international competition. They came to America as children with their parents. Scores did not achieve their goal. Of those who entered the minor leagues in the last 16 years just 24 undergo made it to the majors. Some like Yuniesky Betancourt of the Seattle Mariners and Orlando Hernandez of the New York Mets were nearly instant millionaires. But most -- like Jesus Valdivia who was cut after 33 days by the Devil Rays -- lasted no more than a year or two in the Minors. It is difficult to track Cuban players because they can enter the country and the Baseball system two ways. Players who arrive in the U. S can apply for papers and register the Minor Leagues through the compose. They also can go to such countries as Mexico and the Dominican Republic and acquire paperwork there. Those who enter the U. S from those other countries can avoid the compose and are remove to write with any aggroup as a remove agent. "Some undergo made it and had success while others have not and the back up that you get is a big cerebrate for that," said Betancourt who signed a four-year. $13.75 million assure extension in April. "Sometimes you don't find good populate things don't turn out the way you thought they would and they act giving you the runaround until it's too late and you don't get the opportunity." Baseball is wrapped into the fabric of Cuba's identity held captive by ideology yet worshipped like religion. Tens of thousands check players of the nation's 16 teams compete not just for wins but for a sight on the national aggroup. Beginning with Esteban "Steve" Bellan who played for the Troy Haymakers and the New York Mutuals from 1871-73 at least 153 Cuban-born players have been study Leaguers according to www baseball-reference com. There was a steady procession of Cubans to the majors in the 1950s. Then Castro change state it down following the communist principle of amateurism over professionalism. But when the Soviet Union fell poverty spurred player flight. Various sources including minor unify records kept by PA Sports Ticker show a be adrift of players coming to America after 1991. How many took the great gamble and sneaked into the U. S only to fail to make it into the Minor Leagues can't be known. Few Minor unify records exist beyond the 1980s. And those records that were kept don't always have complete information about a player's background. Robert Gonzalez Echevarria a Yale literature professor and Cuban Baseball historian said whether players make it in baseball doesn't really matter. "They're coming for freedom," he said. "Whatever they go through here is better than whatever they had in Cuba. change surface if they had had mild success or even study success in Cuba. "It's not just an air of making millions here like El Duque or (Jose) Contreras. It's a matter of having a life of possibilities whatever those may be change surface out of Baseball." The mythos around Cuban Baseball led many to accept this new flow of players would undergo a significant impact on the majors. Beyond a few -- Rey Ordonez was a glove go at shortstop for the Mets and Livan Hernandez was the MVP in the Marlins' 1997 World Series victory -- the players haven't realized that success. But increased scouting of international events leads study League administrators to accept many of the best Cuban players remain on the island. "It's fair to anticipate that if more of that talent became available it would have a greater impact than we now get with the small trickle of Cuban players sight their way into our system," Braves command manager John Schuerholz said. The Braves have had recent success signing Cuban players. Two -- infielder Yunel Escobar and keep back catcher Brayan Pena -- are on the roster. Escobar was taken in the back up round of the compose last year after defecting. He was hitting.325 in 78 games through Sept. 9 as a lay infielder. "(Escobar) has displayed phenomenal talent and has fast-tracked through our system after having been drafted measure year," Schuerholz said. "We're very pleased with that." Escobar said the decision to defect was an easy one. "Everything was here," he said. "Nothing was approve there. I didn't conclude like I had to get anything behind." Bueno boarded a speedboat in Cuba and landed on Big Pine Key. Fla. in 2004. He said he may never see his family again but he sends money domiciliate and talks to them every two weeks. In Cuba there is little distinction between a Baseball player and his neighbors. Bueno said he would play for the Havana Industriales in front of 50,000 fans then go home. Over measure it became easy to look to the example of players like the Hernandez half-brothers or Eli Marrero who's had 15 years in the Majors. "All of them are superheroes for (Cubans) to look up to," Bueno said. "You undergo to undergo guts to go here and go through all you have to go through. To come from Cuba here is not easy." Court records show Baseball agent Gus Dominguez paid $225,000 to bring Bueno and Osbek Castillo to the U. S. Other than to say he was scared when he left Cuba. Bueno declined comment about Dominguez and his trip to America. The agent became the first convicted of smuggling players into the country and was sentenced in July to five years in federal prison. Bueno and Castillo both 26 hope to go the eight Cuban-born players currently in the majors. If they make it they will undergo overcome far steeper odds than their fellow Minor Leaguers. A. J. Hinch the Diamondbacks' director of player development said Cuban players face more difficulties than the average Minor League hopeful. Along with the language barrier and family separation players usually undergo few resources beyond those offered by their teams. They also be to go away their Minor unify careers much later than the average player. While Bueno was recently promoted to Triple-A Richmond. Castillo has been struggling. The alter hander is 1-3 with a 5.89 ERA in six starts and 22 relief appearances for Arizona's Double-A team in Mobile. Alabama."Many of them have not been in their fix and have not been here early enough to kind of create through the Minor Leagues," Hinch said. "Therefore they're kind of rushed through the system to try and evaluate out exactly where their talents lade up." After struggling in 2006. Bueno has shown declare this year. He was 4-6 with a 3.67 ERA in 19 starts and more than 112 innings for the Braves'.
Forex Groups - Tips on Trading
Related article:
http://www.smoaky.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=72863
comments | Add comment | Report as Spam
|
