Cuba In 2009 World Baseball Classic
Cuban Players Not Allowed to Play Professional Sports
Mar 3, 2009
When the 2nd World Baseball Classic begins in early March of 2009, all eyes will be one one team.
One might think it is the team of United States of America, where the game was invented and has more than enough Major League and Minor League professional baseball players to fill a roster.
It could be Japan, a country that has played baseball since the turn of the century and even had the likes of Babe Ruth visit before the outbreak of World War II,
Japan is the current WBC champion.
Then there is South Korea, a country that was defended by the USA in the Korean War of 1950-53 which turned into a cold war until this day against communist North Korea.
Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States and stands on its own in the WBC.
The tiny country of the Dominican Republic has long had a history of providing MLB talent.
Canada is to the north of the USA and has a major league team in the Toronto Blue Bays and a former one in the Montreal Expos.
Then there is Venezeula, a country that is not exactly friendly to the USA, but still allows its ball players to travel and play in the major leagues.
Cuba Baseball in 2009 WBC
Of the 16 countries in the WBC, which will take place from March 5 through March 16 in Japan and Latin America, none will be more watched than Cuba.
In fact, the Cuban government will be keeping a close eye on the team itself.
That is because the Castro regime, with Raul as president as brother Fidel as retired president, never allowed Cuban players to play professional baseball.
Cuba has been a communist country since 1959 since the Castro regime took over in a coup of the former government that was friendly to the USA.
Under the communist system, all athletes are considered amateurs and cannot make a living of playing a particular sport without government support.
China Baseball in 2009 WBC
Cuba is not the only communist country playing in the WBC.
The Peoples Republic of China is also sending a team to play in the opening round of the tournament at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
Ironically, Chinese Taipei, or Taiwan is also sending a team to compete with Japan and Korea.
Taiwan is the island of the coast of China that has a democratic government and is considered a breakaway of mainland China.
Cuban Baseball Players Defect to MLB
Major League Baseball has a long history of signing Cuban baseball players that have defected to the United States or escaped their country through other means and gained their freedom.
The most talented Cuban players are worth millions of dollars in professional baseball. They would get paid far more money had they remained in the Cuban system.
During the last WBC in 2006, no Cuban players defected.
Nobody knows if one will get away this time.
