Bush involved in OK of Cuba
- New York Times
Saturday, January 21, 2006
The field for the World Baseball Classic is complete after Cuba was granted a license Friday to participate in the 16-team tournament when President Bush intervened and ordered his staff to settle the issue.
The tournament organizer's second attempt to get a license for Cuba from the Treasury Department was successful and eliminated the chances for a fatal jolt to the event. If Cuba had been denied again, the inaugural classic could have been jeopardized because the International Baseball Federation had threatened to withdraw its sanction if Cuba was left out.
Instead, after Major League Baseball and the players' union revised their application to guarantee that Cuba would not make American money by playing, the Treasury Department approved the license. If Cuba made money from the tournament, that would have violated the U.S. trade embargo against the country.
Administration officials said the reversal of the position came after the president became directly involved. As a former partner in the Texas Rangers, they said, he knew immediately that there were ways to organize the high-profile exhibition games without aiding Castro's government.
Besides Cuba, the other 15 teams will make at least 1 percent of the net profits from the March 3-20 event, with those percentages escalating as teams advance. The champions will reap a 10 percent profit. But Cuba, the gold medal winners in the 2004 Olympics, will get nothing.
While the Cubans said they would donate proceeds to Hurricane Katrina victims, it will not actually happen because that would mean they still would have received American money before transferring it. Instead, the World Baseball Classic will handle the money Cuba would have earned and will make the donation.
When the Cubans travel, they typically have more security guards than players and say they need the additional manpower to prevent possible defections. It was unclear how many visas Cuba will receive for personnel who are not players or coaches, but State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said any concerns about Cuba's delegation were addressed in the second application.
In Miami, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American who lobbied the Bush administration to bar the Cuban team, called the decision to let it participate "lamentable and unfortunate."
Other Cuban-Americans in Miami were more supportive.
"This was certainly not a worthwhile battle," said Joe Garcia, the former executive director of the Cuban-American National Foundation. "What do you gain -- that a few ballplayers can't play ball? This was a silly resistance."
Status changed his mind: Alex Rodriguez changed his mind and decided to play in the World Baseball Classic -- for the U.S. -- because of his status in the sport.
"I realized how important it was for me to play because of the position that I have in the game," the Yankees third baseman said. "When I looked at that, I felt I needed to be there."
After initially saying he would play for the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez changed his mind last month and said he wouldn't play in the Classic. On Tuesday, he decided he would participate as a member of the U.S. team.
World teams
Pool A (in Japan)
China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan,
Pool B (in Arizona)
Canada, Mexico, South Africa, United States
Pool C
(in Puerto Rico)
Cuba, Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico
Pool D (in Orlando)
Australia, Dominican Republic, Italy, Venezuela
- New York Times
Saturday, January 21, 2006
The field for the World Baseball Classic is complete after Cuba was granted a license Friday to participate in the 16-team tournament when President Bush intervened and ordered his staff to settle the issue.
The tournament organizer's second attempt to get a license for Cuba from the Treasury Department was successful and eliminated the chances for a fatal jolt to the event. If Cuba had been denied again, the inaugural classic could have been jeopardized because the International Baseball Federation had threatened to withdraw its sanction if Cuba was left out.
Instead, after Major League Baseball and the players' union revised their application to guarantee that Cuba would not make American money by playing, the Treasury Department approved the license. If Cuba made money from the tournament, that would have violated the U.S. trade embargo against the country.
Administration officials said the reversal of the position came after the president became directly involved. As a former partner in the Texas Rangers, they said, he knew immediately that there were ways to organize the high-profile exhibition games without aiding Castro's government.
Besides Cuba, the other 15 teams will make at least 1 percent of the net profits from the March 3-20 event, with those percentages escalating as teams advance. The champions will reap a 10 percent profit. But Cuba, the gold medal winners in the 2004 Olympics, will get nothing.
While the Cubans said they would donate proceeds to Hurricane Katrina victims, it will not actually happen because that would mean they still would have received American money before transferring it. Instead, the World Baseball Classic will handle the money Cuba would have earned and will make the donation.
When the Cubans travel, they typically have more security guards than players and say they need the additional manpower to prevent possible defections. It was unclear how many visas Cuba will receive for personnel who are not players or coaches, but State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said any concerns about Cuba's delegation were addressed in the second application.
In Miami, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American who lobbied the Bush administration to bar the Cuban team, called the decision to let it participate "lamentable and unfortunate."
Other Cuban-Americans in Miami were more supportive.
"This was certainly not a worthwhile battle," said Joe Garcia, the former executive director of the Cuban-American National Foundation. "What do you gain -- that a few ballplayers can't play ball? This was a silly resistance."
Status changed his mind: Alex Rodriguez changed his mind and decided to play in the World Baseball Classic -- for the U.S. -- because of his status in the sport.
"I realized how important it was for me to play because of the position that I have in the game," the Yankees third baseman said. "When I looked at that, I felt I needed to be there."
After initially saying he would play for the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez changed his mind last month and said he wouldn't play in the Classic. On Tuesday, he decided he would participate as a member of the U.S. team.
World teams
Pool A (in Japan)
China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan,
Pool B (in Arizona)
Canada, Mexico, South Africa, United States
Pool C
(in Puerto Rico)
Cuba, Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico
Pool D (in Orlando)
Australia, Dominican Republic, Italy, Venezuela
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URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/21/SPG52GR1GB1.DTL
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