Antonio Castro Soto del Valle, 41-year-old son of Fidel Castro Ruz, on Sunday was elected one of the three vice presidents of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) in Lausanne, Switzerland. The term will last four years.
The news was released in Cuba by the national Sports Institute (INDER).
Castro Soto, an orthopedic surgeon, is vice president of the Cuban Baseball Federation and the Cuban national team's physician.
According to INDER's website, "Castro emerges as an important bridge between America, Europe and Asia for the development of [baseball]". His election "is an endorsement to Cuban sports in general and to its baseball in particular."
Castro Soto made headlines in June of this year when a Miami TV station revealed that he had conducted an 8-month-long cyber-romance with someone he thought to be a 26-year-old Colombian woman but who turned out to be a male Internet prankster, a 46-year-old Cuban-born Miamian.
[RELATED STORY: "Can baseball help bring U.S. and Cuba together?" is the title of an article in the IBAF website. Click here.]
–Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Bay State seniors try softball diplomacy
A follow-up to our Oct. 4 blog item "Senior softball teams will play in Cuba," about the superannuated softball players from Massachusetts who traveled to the island this month, appeared Tuesday in The Boston Globe.
To read about their experience, click here. The story is titled "In Cuba, diamond diplomacy."
Enjoy.
–Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Basketball defectors fare poorly in Spain
Three of the four Cuban basketball players who defected from the national team in the Canary Islands in mid-August are not doing well, according to an update published Saturday in the Spanish daily ABC.
Georvis Elías, Grismay Paumier and Taylor García are still waiting for work permits from the Spanish government and job offerings from Spanish basketball teams. Worse, they're running out of money and fear being evicted from the apartment they share in Las Palmas.
The fourth defector, Georffrei Silvestre is better off, playing in Spain with Plasencia Extremadura, a second-division team. He told ABC that he and his compatriots "keep in touch by phone. I know they're going through a rough time. I always tell [my coach] that I have some buddies [in the Canaries] who are good enough to play with us."
Elías (in photo) told ABC that "we're not staying idle." Job hunting "has stretched out a lot but we see options in the future. This month, we're trying to find solutions to pay the apartment rent, because if we don't, we'll be thrown out."
For background, read our previous blog items on this subject, under Sports (click here).
–Renato Pérez Pizarro.
The fourth defector, Georffrei Silvestre is better off, playing in Spain with Plasencia Extremadura, a second-division team. He told ABC that he and his compatriots "keep in touch by phone. I know they're going through a rough time. I always tell [my coach] that I have some buddies [in the Canaries] who are good enough to play with us."
Elías (in photo) told ABC that "we're not staying idle." Job hunting "has stretched out a lot but we see options in the future. This month, we're trying to find solutions to pay the apartment rent, because if we don't, we'll be thrown out."
For background, read our previous blog items on this subject, under Sports (click here).
–Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Defector goes AWOL in Spain
Cuban basketball player Georffrei Silvestre, who defected in Spain in mid-August, is already in hot water with his adoptive team, Plasencia Extremadura.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Periodico de Extremadura, Silvestre left his residence on Wednesday (Oct. 7), failed to report for practice, and did not pick up his paycheck. He also disconnected his cell phone.
His agent, Arturo Ortega, told the newspaper he did not know Silvestre's whereabouts, adding that Silvestre had told him he had found "a Cuban friend who was going to take care of his [immigration] paperwork" and expedite his transfer from the Cuban basketball league.
Team president Martín Oncina was unhappy about the player's unexplained disappearance. "Silvestre cannot sign up with any other team, national or foreign, because he has signed a work contract with us," he told the newspaper.
Alluding to Silvestre's "Cuban friend," Oncina said: "Somebody has turned his head around. Somebody must have told him a story, and a man in his situation reaches out for any hope he's offered."
Oncina said his team deserves Silvestre's loyalty. "We have helped him in everything. We furnished him housing, work and a future. We even paid him before he worked. We opened ourselves to him and I think we're owed an explanation."
[UPDATE: The Spanish newspaper Marca on Friday reported that Silvestre had contacted his agent and told him he was in Madrid but would return to Plasencia to apologize for his absence. No further details were immediately available.] For background on Silvestre, click "Sports" in our "Categories" column at right.
–Renato Pérez Pizarro.
His agent, Arturo Ortega, told the newspaper he did not know Silvestre's whereabouts, adding that Silvestre had told him he had found "a Cuban friend who was going to take care of his [immigration] paperwork" and expedite his transfer from the Cuban basketball league.
Team president Martín Oncina was unhappy about the player's unexplained disappearance. "Silvestre cannot sign up with any other team, national or foreign, because he has signed a work contract with us," he told the newspaper.
Alluding to Silvestre's "Cuban friend," Oncina said: "Somebody has turned his head around. Somebody must have told him a story, and a man in his situation reaches out for any hope he's offered."
Oncina said his team deserves Silvestre's loyalty. "We have helped him in everything. We furnished him housing, work and a future. We even paid him before he worked. We opened ourselves to him and I think we're owed an explanation."
[UPDATE: The Spanish newspaper Marca on Friday reported that Silvestre had contacted his agent and told him he was in Madrid but would return to Plasencia to apologize for his absence. No further details were immediately available.] For background on Silvestre, click "Sports" in our "Categories" column at right.
–Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Senior softball teams will play in Cuba
Sixty softball players from eastern Massachusetts will fly to Havana next month to play a series of exhibition games, The Boston Globe reported Sunday. They have permission from the U.S. Treasury Department, but that's not the only newsworthy fact.
Their ages range from 54 to 74 and their games will be played against Cubans of roughly equal age and ability.
According to The Globe, the Eastern Massachusetts Senior Softball Association will send four teams of different skills and ages to the island. Cuban softball officials have offered to provide two teams for each of the American squads to play. The league’s players will each play seven games over the one-week trip, Nov. 13-21, including some double-headers.
The Massachusetts league has about 350 players, ages 50 to 80, from more than 100 communities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire,
(PHOTO SHOWS the Red Sox, 2008 Atlantic Division Tournament champions.)
Outfielder David Brisson, 57, whose parents honeymooned in Havana in 1951, is enthused. Cuba, he said, is "a beautiful place, from what I hear."
To read the entire story, click here.
According to The Globe, the Eastern Massachusetts Senior Softball Association will send four teams of different skills and ages to the island. Cuban softball officials have offered to provide two teams for each of the American squads to play. The league’s players will each play seven games over the one-week trip, Nov. 13-21, including some double-headers.
The Massachusetts league has about 350 players, ages 50 to 80, from more than 100 communities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire,
(PHOTO SHOWS the Red Sox, 2008 Atlantic Division Tournament champions.)
Outfielder David Brisson, 57, whose parents honeymooned in Havana in 1951, is enthused. Cuba, he said, is "a beautiful place, from what I hear."
To read the entire story, click here.
Defector makes basketball debut in Spain
Cuba's Georffrei Silvestre, the newest player in the Spanish basketball team Plasencia Extremadura, made his debut Saturday as a professional in a pre-season game against Illescas Urban. He also made a very good impression.
Plasencia lost, 77-79, in the game at Navaconcejo Stadium in Cáceres, but that didn't much matter. According to the Spanish newspaper Hoy, "Silvestre delighted all the fans who came to the [stadium] and demonstrated that he has been called upon to be one of the great figures of the Spanish Basketball League's [second] division."
In 32 minutes on the court, the 6-foot-5-inch Silvestre accounted for 28 points and more than a dozen rebounds, "and all that after only two practice sessions with Plasencia," the paper reported. To read Hoy's account, click here. (PHOTO SHOWS Silvestre during game against Illescas.)
Silvestre's fellow defectors -- Taylor García, Grismay Paumier and Georvis Elías -- left the Canary Islands several days ago for Barcelona, where they hope to find work in professional basketball. For background to this story, go to Categories column, at right, and click on Sports.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
In 32 minutes on the court, the 6-foot-5-inch Silvestre accounted for 28 points and more than a dozen rebounds, "and all that after only two practice sessions with Plasencia," the paper reported. To read Hoy's account, click here. (PHOTO SHOWS Silvestre during game against Illescas.)
Silvestre's fellow defectors -- Taylor García, Grismay Paumier and Georvis Elías -- left the Canary Islands several days ago for Barcelona, where they hope to find work in professional basketball. For background to this story, go to Categories column, at right, and click on Sports.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Defector is signed up by pro team in Spain
Basketball defector Georffrei Silvestre was paid 10 dollars a month in Cuba for playing for the Ciego de Avila Búfalos. He has just been offered 2,500 dollars a month by Plasencia Extremadura, a second-division 
team in Spain.
The Spanish sports website Marca.com reports that the next step for the 30-year-old center is to secure legal permanent residence in Spain, obtain a Spanish work permit, and get a transfer from the Búfalos. But even if the Cuban team refuses to give him a transfer, FIBA (the International Basketball Federation) would allow him to play as a professional in Spain, on the grounds that Cuba's basketball association is, by its own definition, an amateur body and therefore separate from professional basketball.
Silvestre is expected to arrive in Plasencia on Sept. 10.
For background on this story, read our blog items "Lakers wanted me, defector says" (Sept. 01), "Defector joins pro team..." (Aug. 31) and other related entries. Click 'Sports' in the 'Categories' column at right.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
The Spanish sports website Marca.com reports that the next step for the 30-year-old center is to secure legal permanent residence in Spain, obtain a Spanish work permit, and get a transfer from the Búfalos. But even if the Cuban team refuses to give him a transfer, FIBA (the International Basketball Federation) would allow him to play as a professional in Spain, on the grounds that Cuba's basketball association is, by its own definition, an amateur body and therefore separate from professional basketball.
Silvestre is expected to arrive in Plasencia on Sept. 10.
For background on this story, read our blog items "Lakers wanted me, defector says" (Sept. 01), "Defector joins pro team..." (Aug. 31) and other related entries. Click 'Sports' in the 'Categories' column at right.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Star pitcher Maya emigrates – illegally
Pitcher Yunieski Maya Mendiluza fled from Cuba Monday night and is hiding in another country, the sports blog Terreno de Pelota reported. "We spoke with him last night and he's safe. We cannot name the country where he is, for reasons of security," sources told the blog. That country is believed to be Mexico.
The pitcher was arrested in mid-July when he tried to escape from Cuba to Mexico and was kept in custody for several days.
Maya, 28, who pitched for the Pinar del Río team, had been a pillar of the national team since 2005 and played in the 2006 and 2008 World Classics. The official newspaper Granma listed him in May as this year's Best Right-handed Starter, but on July 17 announced that Maya wouldn't play for Cuba in the World Cup this month "because of grave problems of indiscipline." The tournament begins Sept. 9 in several European cities. Cuba opens Sept. 10 against Puerto Rico in Barcelona, Spain. Its other Group B opponents are Spain and South Africa. For details, click here.
For an account in El Nuevo Herald, click here.
[RELATED STORY: Cuban players and officials are seething over a decision by the International Olympic Committee's executive board not to reinstate baseball to the schedule for the 2016 Summer Games. Click here.]
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Sports body calls defectors 'vulgar wimps'
The four basketball players who defected Aug. 17 in Grand Canary Island are vulgar cowards whose only concern is money, Cuba's National Sports Institute (INDER) stated Wednesday in its digital magazine Jit.
In an article titled "Defectors and Illegal Immigrants," INDER's media director, Pedro Cabrera, aims an angry broadside at the four for stating publicly that they "could progress no more in Cuba." The athletes, "formed by a system [...] that guaranteed them free education, health care and a high-quality professional preparation, abandoned their teammates [...] and assumed the sad role of supplicants for 'political asylum,'" the article says.
"How can citizens who are not persecuted by anyone in their homeland ask for political asylum?" Cabrera asks, pointing out that the players "traveled to Spain not in rafts [but] in comfortable commercial flights, with tickets paid by the same system that, they claim, persecutes them?"
A media campaign from the United States wooed them, the official contends.
"These four athletes, simple and vulgar wimps, who abandoned their team and a social project [...] beg for an asylum they don't deserve, in order to obtain what truly demarcates their narrow horizon: money, simply money."
What would happen, the writer wonders, if thousands of professionals from poor countries flocked to rich countries and asked for political asylum "simply because in their country they have no chance to advance?"
The objective of the United States' immigration policy is "to destabilize Cuban society, discredit it, and drain its human capital."
"Cubans who abandon their delegations and teammates abroad are treated [...] as refugees. Stories are written about them, intended as epics, whereas in reality they could barely qualify as slapstick comedy."
By leaving a country "where they enjoyed food, work, education, health care, a tradition of unity and patriotism, and especially respect as human beings, they absurdly qualify to some [...] as heroes," Cabrera concludes. To read the article in its entirety, in Spanish, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
"How can citizens who are not persecuted by anyone in their homeland ask for political asylum?" Cabrera asks, pointing out that the players "traveled to Spain not in rafts [but] in comfortable commercial flights, with tickets paid by the same system that, they claim, persecutes them?"
A media campaign from the United States wooed them, the official contends.
"These four athletes, simple and vulgar wimps, who abandoned their team and a social project [...] beg for an asylum they don't deserve, in order to obtain what truly demarcates their narrow horizon: money, simply money."
What would happen, the writer wonders, if thousands of professionals from poor countries flocked to rich countries and asked for political asylum "simply because in their country they have no chance to advance?"
The objective of the United States' immigration policy is "to destabilize Cuban society, discredit it, and drain its human capital."
"Cubans who abandon their delegations and teammates abroad are treated [...] as refugees. Stories are written about them, intended as epics, whereas in reality they could barely qualify as slapstick comedy."
By leaving a country "where they enjoyed food, work, education, health care, a tradition of unity and patriotism, and especially respect as human beings, they absurdly qualify to some [...] as heroes," Cabrera concludes. To read the article in its entirety, in Spanish, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
Lakers wanted me, defector says
Cuban defector Georffrei Silvestre was scouted by the Los Angeles 
Lakers in 2005 and offered a tryout, but the Cuban basketball federation turned down the invitation, the player said this week.
In an interview with the Spanish sports publication Marca.com Silvestre said his team, the Ciego de Avila Búfalos, "paid me 10 dollars a month. I don't think that's an honorable wage for a quality player. In 2005, during the Centrobasket [tournament in the Dominican Republic], an emissary of the Lakers came to me and told me they wanted to give me a tryout. Cuba didn't let me go. Things [in Cuba] should be better, especially for athletes. They don't look after them at all."
Cuba's decision not to send a basketball team this year to the Americas Tournament in Puerto Rico was prompted by the fear of defections, Silvestre said. "We were going to escape there, yes," he said. "Two or three teams were after us. We were not allowed to go, so we decided that at the next opportunity we'd escape."
Silvestre says he hopes to reunite with this wife and two daughters, "and, in sports, to get a chance at a tryout. My dream is the NBA [National Basketball Association] but hopefully I can play in Spain and prosper, so I can bring the family together."
To read the entire interview, in Spanish, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
In an interview with the Spanish sports publication Marca.com Silvestre said his team, the Ciego de Avila Búfalos, "paid me 10 dollars a month. I don't think that's an honorable wage for a quality player. In 2005, during the Centrobasket [tournament in the Dominican Republic], an emissary of the Lakers came to me and told me they wanted to give me a tryout. Cuba didn't let me go. Things [in Cuba] should be better, especially for athletes. They don't look after them at all."
Cuba's decision not to send a basketball team this year to the Americas Tournament in Puerto Rico was prompted by the fear of defections, Silvestre said. "We were going to escape there, yes," he said. "Two or three teams were after us. We were not allowed to go, so we decided that at the next opportunity we'd escape."
Silvestre says he hopes to reunite with this wife and two daughters, "and, in sports, to get a chance at a tryout. My dream is the NBA [National Basketball Association] but hopefully I can play in Spain and prosper, so I can bring the family together."
To read the entire interview, in Spanish, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.
