The Major Leagues have spoken about the new change of direction that the Cuban sports movement has taken. The famous MLB has raised the issue with much suspicion, with tact, almost side looking the new implementation of policies that have been adopted on the Island
According to a cable from Associated Press (AP), MLB considers impossible to predict the impact of partial professionalization of sport in Cuba “Given that we do not have any details of this change in policy, it would be premature for us to speculate what effect it may have,” the commissioner’s office said in a statement.
It turns out that now after the thousand and one obstacles that prevent Cubans from being associated to major league franchises, the organization said that “There are no provisions in the major league rules or bylaws that make it more difficult for Cuban ballplayers to play Major League Baseball, but MLB and its clubs have and will continue to act in accordance with the laws and policies of the United States government.”
Meanwhile John Sullivan, spokesman for the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, said that “Our policy has not changed. Cuban players need to be unblocked by a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control in order to play for the MLB,” and “In order to qualify, the players must prove that they have permanent residency outside of Cuba.”
“We have seen the press reports. This is an internal Cuban matter,” Deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. “Generally speaking, the United States welcomes any reforms that allow Cubans to depart from and return to their country.”
It seems that for Cubans to play in the majors they will continue to resort to harsh sea crossings or delegation dropouts. Never mind the new regulations approved in Cuba, the story will remain intact.
The reality is there is no formula possible even for a Cuban soil born to play baseball at the highest level. Cubans and Americans are still to sign the armistice, a common agreement in baseball that achieves some consensus. At the moment everything will remain a utopia, a game where the players either flee or stay.
