Ortiz: Cuban players overwhelmed with joy as MLB comes to agreement on posting system
From Jose de Jesus Ortiz at La Vida Baseball on December 20, 2018:
Some risked their lives on makeshift rafts with friends and family. Others defected while at international tournaments with the Cuban national team. Others escaped via speedboats. Quite a few were smuggled out and exploited, paying heavy prices early and, in some cases, long after they debuted in Major League Baseball.
Almost all of them, it should be noted, left their beloved island to chase their major league dreams while knowing that they may never see their families again.
After paying such heavy tolls, some current and former Cuban big leaguers were moved to tears Wednesday when MLB, the players’ union and the Cuban Baseball Federation announced a deal to facilitate the signing of Cuban players.
Under the proposed agreement, Cuban players will no longer need to defect to sign with MLB teams, as they did during the final two decades of the Fidel Castro regime. Two years after Castro died, MLB, the union and the Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) have agreed to a system that was greeted enthusiastically by Cuban big leaguers.
Read the full article here: https://www.lavidabaseball.com/cuba-mlb-agreement/
Originally published: December 21, 2018. Last Updated: December 21, 2018.