César Prieto: Cuban baseball player defects on Florida trip

[Nino]

César Prieto: Cuban baseball player defects on Florida trip

• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57266959
•  

 

 

image copyrightGetty Images

image captionThe young player, 22, reportedly fled in a car shortly after arriving in the US

César Prieto, one of Cuba's top baseball stars, has abandoned his national team while in Florida for a qualifying event for the Olympics.

Prieto left the hotel shortly after he and his team mates had arrived.

In a statement, the Cuban Baseball Federation confirmed the 22-year-old had "abandoned" the delegation.

Cuban athletes have a long history of defecting, with baseball players, ballet dancers and footballers among those who have left their country.

• Cuban baseball defectors visit Havana
• The baseball game that brought the US and Cuba closer
• Trump backtracks on Cuba baseball deal

Baseball journalist Francys Romero tweeted that Prieto had jumped into a vehicle shortly after getting off the team bus and was reportedly quickly driven away.

image copyrightGetty Images

image captionThe infielder (in red) has previously broken records while playing for Cienfuegos

In its statement, the Cuban Baseball Federation criticised Prieto's move and said it had generated "repudiation among his colleagues and other members of the delegation".

Prieto is considered one of the country's best young prospects.

Analysis by Will Grant, BBC Cuba correspondent

Prieto's defection undoubtedly weakens the Cuban team as it heads in search of its fourth Olympic gold for baseball in Japan. Prieto was a record-breaking batter on the Communist-run island and considered one of the team's most valuable assets.

If, as expected, he now follows other high profile Cuban defectors into a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, he could sign a contract worth tens of millions of dollars.

Cuba denounced the practice of enticing its best talent to abandon the island with lucrative contracts as "people trafficking" and criticised the US government for not facilitating a system to, as it put it, "normalise" the inclusion of its players in the MLB without them having to resort to defection.

The Cuban team had arrived in Florida after a lengthy battle to obtain US visas.

Relations between Cuba and the US have been strained for decades. The US embassy in the capital, Havana, which re-opened under President Barack Obama, has been closed for all but emergency consular affairs since President Donald Trump reversed much of Mr Obama's thaw in Cuban-US relations.

 

The Cuban players finally obtained the necessary visas on Tuesday after a special effort by the US Embassy in Havana, according to the AP News agency.

The last-minute issuing of visas furthered Cubans' hopes of achieving a fourth gold medal in baseball at the Tokyo games later this year.

The side is set to play in a group along with Canada, Colombia and Venezuela during the qualifying tournament held in Florida next week.

[Kevin48438]

2 hours ago, Nino said:

Cuba denounced the practice of enticing its best talent to abandon the island with lucrative contracts as "people trafficking" and criticised the US government for not facilitating a system to, as it put it, "normalise" the inclusion of its players in the MLB without them having to resort to defection.

This shows some of the evil, ideological roots of communism.

Let’s start with “abandoning the island.”  It’s Cuba that forces one to abandon.  In every sport, players from almost everywhere else come and go freely to their home country.  Their family, friends, and fans can watch them play the highest level of a sport on television.  Did Hideki Matsuyama abandon Japan when he played in The Masters golf tournament?

“People trafficking?”  Was Hideki trafficked?  Was Prieto forced into anything?  The best American footballers play for European clubs.  They come back to train and play for the national team.  Nobody here thinks that Christian Pulisic “fled” the US.   They shrug and say, good for him that he is good enough that Chelsea FC is willing to pay him what they do.  It’s more than US pro football clubs can afford as they don’t have nearly the revenue that the European clubs do.  Everyone understands that.  I’ll watch and root him on this Saturday in the UCL finals.  It’s on TV here.

This Cuban spokesperson is speaking as if they own Prieto.   What you “flee” is bondage.

This is the kind of language that also shows the hatred the Cuban leaders have for the US and how they regard the US as enemies.

[Kaptain Karl]

@Kevin48438 Couldn’t of said it better!!!

If he’s a great prospect I hope my Giants can snag him!! I’m sick of watching the Dodgers dominate!

 

[Nino]

7 hours ago, Kevin48438 said:

This shows some of the evil, ideological roots of communism.

Let’s start with “abandoning the island.”  It’s Cuba that forces one to abandon.  In every sport, players from almost everywhere else come and go freely to their home country.  Their family, friends, and fans can watch them play the highest level of a sport on television.  Did Hideki Matsuyama abandon Japan when he played in The Masters golf tournament?

“People trafficking?”  Was Hideki trafficked?  Was Prieto forced into anything?  The best American footballers play for European clubs.  They come back to train and play for the national team.  Nobody here thinks that Christian Pulisic “fled” the US.   They shrug and say, good for him that he is good enough that Chelsea FC is willing to pay him what they do.  It’s more than US pro football clubs can afford as they don’t have nearly the revenue that the European clubs do.  Everyone understands that.  I’ll watch and root him on this Saturday in the UCL finals.  It’s on TV here.

This Cuban spokesperson is speaking as if they own Prieto.   What you “flee” is bondage.

This is the kind of language that also shows the hatred the Cuban leaders have for the US and how they regard the US as enemies.

Excellent comment - Thanks !

Indeed, the Cuban rulers do believe they own the island and its people ....

[Nino]

This is what happens when you are "owned" by the state :

Cell phones are taken away from Cuban players in Miami to avoid more "desertions"

César Prieto's family is evicted from the house provided by the State to the player

14ymedio, Havana | May 28, 2021

https://www.14ymedio.com/deportes/beisbol-Cesar_Prieto-deserciones_0_3102289747.html

The family of player César Prieto, who this Wednesday left the national baseball team as soon as he arrived in Florida to play the pre-Olympic, has already been evicted from the state house where he lived, according to sources close to Cienfuegos, where he comes from.

With the abandonment of the team, the family has been forced to leave the apartment that the State handed over to the second base in the municipality of Rodas a year ago and must return to Sympathy, where it was originally from. The delivery of vehicles and houses, under the concept of "basic means", has been frequent as a material stimulus with athletes and artists.

The Cuban communicator Francys Romero, a sports expert and resident of Miami, has told in the program Now by Oscar Haza, on Mega TV, that the Government has ordered the removal of personal phones from members of the Cuban team to prevent them from communicating with managers Florida or any other contact that facilitates the escape.