# Cuban baseball players in America - how? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568 "2005-10-23T22:47:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/1 "2005-10-23T22:47:03Z")
How do great Cuban baseball players get here? Legally? In a small raft? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/2 "2005-10-23T22:51:24Z")
Some like, Rafael Palmeiro, emigrated here at a very young age with the permission of the Cuban government. The majority of them though sail away from Cuba for places like the Dominican Republic. They don’t want to land in the U.S. because MLB won’t let teams sign someone who is a refugee until they are naturalized. So instead they go to the Dominican Republic (or Costa Rica) where they get a passport from that country and then the bidding for their services begins. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/3 "2005-10-24T04:00:06Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > The majority of them though sail away from Cuba for places like the Dominican Republic. They don’t want to land in the U.S. because MLB won’t let teams sign someone who is a refugee until they are naturalized. So instead they go to the Dominican Republic (or Costa Rica) where they get a passport from that country and then the bidding for their services begins. I thought U.S. immigration law made an exception of Cuban refugees so that they become eligible for permanent status as soon as they touch U.S. soil. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/4 "2005-10-24T04:07:53Z")
> [@Jeff Lichtman](#): > > I thought U.S. immigration law made an exception of Cuban refugees so that they become eligible for permanent status as soon as they touch U.S. soil. I believe that **BobT** is speaking about MLB policy, rather than US immigration law. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/5 "2005-10-24T05:05:17Z")
> [@FlippyFly](#): > > How do great Cuban baseball players get here? Legally? In a small raft? [Orlando Hernandez](http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9712/31/cuba.defectors/). “El Duque,” came by small boat in 1997 and was admitted to the US (even though he only made it as far as the Bahamas). He was allowed in due to “special circumstances” - his half-brother Livan was already in the US, pitching for the Marlins, and Orlando had been banned from baseball in Cuba due to his Livan’s defection. Within a year he was pitching in the World Series for the Yankees. [More on El Duque and Jose Contreras](http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9712/31/cuba.defectors/). Contreras defected on a team trip to Mexico in 2002. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/6 "2005-10-24T05:21:05Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I believe that **BobT** is speaking about MLB policy, rather than US immigration law. My point is that since Cubans gain permanent status immediately upon hitting U.S. soil, there’s no reason for MLB to treat them as refugees. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/7 "2005-10-24T05:29:59Z")
> [@Jeff Lichtman](#): > > My point is that since Cubans gain permanent status immediately upon hitting U.S. soil, there’s no reason for MLB to treat them as refugees. The main consideration is that US residents would be subject to entering the baseball draft. If they go to a different country, they can sign as a free agent, rather than being drafted, which is likely to be much more lucrative for stars. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/8 "2005-10-24T05:47:40Z")
I seem to have been somewhat mistaken about the details of what happened to El Duque. Although he was evidently offered asylum in the US, he actually opted to go to Costa Rica from the Bahamas instead so he could become a free agent instead of having to enter the amateur draft. [here](http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,14,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/9 "2005-10-24T06:03:31Z")
Yes, I was a little hazy. If you’re a US citizen, you have to go through the first year player draft. If you are a citizen of another country, you can sign with anyone. ---
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/10 "2005-10-24T12:02:08Z")
How does a young ball player in Cuba learn all these complex imigration tricks? Do the MLB teams send them information somehow? I can only assume that under the strict Cuban government, such things are not talked about openly. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/11 "2005-10-24T14:57:07Z")
There is a network of people who help out the players. The agents for the players set a lot of it. Profit is a very big motivating factor. If the Cuban government finds out a player is thinking of defecting, he doesn’t get to play anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-baseball-players-in-america-how/327568/12 "2005-10-24T15:34:14Z")
Yes, as **BobT** says, there is a grapevine by which players in Cuba can find out information. Orlando Herandez no doubt got information from his brother Livan. The agent Joe Cubas (interesting coincidence in his name) in particular has been closely involved in the defections of Cuban ballplayers. Only the most loyal (at least evidently) of Cuban ballplayers are allowed to tour outside the country. Jose Contreras was publicly loyal to Castro, and was so trusted that he was put in charge of the team’s passports (which are held to deter them from defecting). That didn’t keep him from defecting when the opportunity arose to make more than 10,000 times what he was getting in Cuba. Players who are suspect, such as El Duque, have to flee by boat since they will not be allowed to leave the country. I meant to post this link in one of my earlier posts but screwed it up: [Castro in a White (Sox) Rage of Anger](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1506038/posts)