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Winning isn't everything

Cuban ballplayers make statement
in 3-2 extra-inning loss to Orioles

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Posted: Monday March 29, 1999 11:09 AM

Diplomacy: Pitcher Mike Timlin and the Orioles trade congratulations with the Cuban national team. AP

HAVANA (AP) -- The ball snapped into Will Clark's glove for the final out and the pumped-up Cuban crowd knew exactly what it meant.

Juego completado. Game over.

Cuba's president and No. 1 baseball fan, Fidel Castro, shrugged his broad shoulders ever so slightly, raised his arms in an "oh well" gesture and turned to leave.

Time to shake hands.

The Cuban all-star team didn't beat the Orioles on Sunday, but they sure came close -- losing 3-2 in 11 innings but proving again they have some of the best players in the world.

Harold Baines, only 6 days old when major league teams last played in Cuba in 1959, singled in the tiebreaking run in the 11th inning after Baltimore wasted a 2-0 lead.

"The main thing is that this was a good show," Cuban manager Alfonso Urquiola said. "We have the respect of the Orioles."

Tame by Cuban standards for six innings, the specially selected 50,000 fans yelled and shouted as the Cubans rallied to tie the game in the eighth. Even without benefit of the customary drums or bells, the fans made enough noise to shake the glass window in the tiny press box.

"It was exciting to see how excited all the people were," Baltimore starter Scott Erickson said.

Many of the Orioles insisted for weeks that this was just another exhibition game leading up to the season opener on April 5. It took a while for them to realize that it was, in fact, a big deal.

"Even fans who don't follow baseball are curious about this game," center fielder Brady Anderson said, casting an eye around the packed stadium. "Anytime you play a game like this, you remember it."

Few in the crowd will ever forget it.

Sure they were disappointed after Orioles backup second baseman Jesse Garcia made his second straight nice pickup of a grounder to end the game. But the players at Estadio Latinamericano did a lot better than many Americans expected, outhitting the Orioles 10-6.

"I'm not sure I see enough power," Orioles manager Ray Miller said, "but I certainly see enough pitching."

Jose Contreras, the most sparkling of several Cubans who showed they could compete at a major league level, allowed two hits in eight shutout innings and struck out 10. Twice he fanned Albert Belle, who went 0-for-5 after drawing oohs and aahs during batting practice by sending several balls deep into the seats.

Baltimore took a 2-0 lead on Charles Johnson's two-run homer in the second, but Roberquis Videaux hit an RBI single in the seventh and Omar Linares, Cuba's most renowned player, singled in the tying run in the eighth.

These teams are literally from two different worlds.

The Orioles have a projected payroll of about $80 million; the Cubans are amateurs who earn an average of $10 a month.

But, as Erickson noted, "Once we walked on the field it was basically a baseball game between two teams."

Castro, wearing olive military fatigues, watched from the first row behind the plate, sitting between baseball commissioner Bud Selig and Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who first broached the idea of the game three years ago.

Major league teams once visited Cuba regularly, but this was the first game since the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds played on March 21, 1959, about 2 1/2 months after Castro's revolution ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista on New Year's Day.

This exhibition -- agreed upon after the Clinton administration decided in January to ease the four-decade-old U.S. trade embargo against communist Cuba -- ended the seemingly indefinite baseball disassociation between two countries that consider the game its national pastime.

There will be a rematch in Baltimore on May 3, and perhaps the Cubans will fare better with the addition of players who missed this exhibition because of their involvement in the country's playoffs.

This time, however, the Cubans barely came up short when Baines' two-single single off Pedro Lazo scored Will Clark, who doubled with one out.

Jesse Orosco then preserved the lead in the bottom half after allowing Loidel Chapelli's one-out single. Mike Fetters got the win, pitching a scoreless 10th.

Cuba threatened in the first but was thwarted by Baltimore's defense. Luis Ulacia was thrown out by Belle trying to stretch a single to right, and Jose Estrado was cut down at the plate trying to score on an infield grounder.

Baltimore went up 2-0 in the second when B.J. Surhoff got a leadoff single and Johnson drove a pitch from Jose Ibar over the left-field wall. Ibar, who went 18-2 this season, was given the quick hook after hitting Anderson with a pitch opening the third.

The refurbished stadium, like Camden Yards, offers a panoramic view of the city beyond the outfield bleachers. Some fans beat the invitation-only requirement by watching the game from a couple of apartment buildings behind left field.

Notes: Baltimore third baseman Cal Ripken missed the game due to the death of his father Thursday. The Orioles are wearing "7" on uniform shoulders to honor Ripken Sr. ... The teams used Cuban baseballs, which are softer and smaller than Rawlings balls used in the majors. ... The Cubans recently switched back to wood bats after using metal for many years. With a rule change allowing U.S. professionals, the Olympics are switching to wood, too. ... The umpires were all Cubans. AL umpires refused to make the trip.

 

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