Cuban national pitcher defects in Iowa

Report: Cuban national pitcher defects in Iowa
Bryce Miller, USA TODAY Sports 6:39 p.m. EDT July 17, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Misael Siverio, 24, left the team Tuesday night at a central Iowa hotel
Representatives of USA Baseball decline to confirm or deny the report

A newspaper report and congresswoman in Florida indicate that a pitcher
on Cuba's national baseball team defected after the team arrived in Des
Moines, Iowa, for an exhibition game against the United States.

Misael Siverio, 24, left the team at 10 p.m. Tuesday night at a central
Iowa hotel, aided by friends, according to the El Nuevo Herald, a
Spanish-language sister newspaper of the Miami Herald.

Today, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen — a U.S. Representative from Florida's 27th
District — tweeted: "This week, #Cuban defector @ynscspds won @MLB
#HRDerby. 2day pitcher Misael Siverio defected hours after arriving in
US. Welcome 2 freedom!"

It was not immediately clear if Ros-Lehtinen was independently verifying
the information or reacting to the Herald report.

Representatives of USA Baseball decline to confirm or deny the report,
directing questions to the Cuban delegation. When asked about the
incident today at Principal Park by The Des Moines Register via a third
party, Cuban officials declined comment.

Cuba's team arrived in the United States on a flight to Chicago earlier
Tuesday, officials confirmed — and both teams traveled by bus to Des
Moines. The Cuban team arrived in the Des Moines area around 2 p.m. on
Tuesday.

Siverio, a left-handed pitcher, was one of 24 players listed on Cuba's
roster for Thursday's matchup against the U.S. — the first of five
exhibition games for the traveling team. He said the decision proved
difficult, according to the El Nuevo Herald, because it was in the best
interests of his and his family's future. Siverio's dream, he said, is
to reach the Major Leagues.

The Des Moines Register published a column earlier Tuesday on its
website that raised the possibility of a possible player defection while
the team played in Iowa.

Arguably the two biggest stories of Major League Baseball's All-Star
week revolved around players who defected from Cuba. Yoenis Cespedes of
the Oakland A's won Monday night's Home Run Derby and Los Angeles
Dodgers star Yasiel Puig created debate about whether he should play in
the All-Star Game, despite just five weeks in the major.

Miller writes for the Des Moines Register

Source: "Report: Cuban national pitcher defects in Iowa" -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2013/07/17/misael-siverio-cuban-national-pitcher-defects-from-country/2530287/