U.S. allows Cuba to participate in WBC
Treasury Dept. grants license after MLB reapplication accepted
By Barry M. Bloom/MLB.com
Game on!
Major League Baseball received word on Friday that the U.S. Treasury Deptartment has granted a license so Cuba can participate in the upcoming inaugural World Baseball Classic.
MLB filed the reapplication on Dec. 22, a week after the Treasury Dept. denied the initial application on financial grounds, thus initially barring Cuba from the 16-team tournament that is now set to be played from March 3-20 in the United States, Japan and Puerto Rico.
MLB has been waiting for the past two weeks for the Treasury Dept. to act. And only two days ago, Bob DuPuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer, said he was "guardedly optimistic" that Cuba would be allowed to participate. On Friday that optimism came to fruition.
"I wish to thank the Department of State and the Department of Treasury for their assistance in securing the approvals necessary for Cuba to participate in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "The federal government thoughtfully and diligently helped us bring the application process to a successful conclusion. Now, with Cuba's entry in the tournament approved, the World Baseball Classic promises to be an historic event and will guarantee our fans the greatest possible competition among the best players in the world."
Cuba is the preeminent baseball power on the international scene and the winner of three of the four Olympic gold medals since baseball became a medal sport in 1992. They were the winners of the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and the 2004 International Baseball Federation World Cup in the Netherlands. The Cubans have won the latter tournament 25 times since its inception in 1938. The IBAF World Cup is now played on a bi-annual basis and Cuba has won 12 of the last 13 gold medals dating back to 1976 (South Korea won in 1982).
Cuba has never competed against MLB players at the international tournament level and this is the first one that will include Major League players. The closest it came was splitting a pair of exhibition games against the Baltimore Orioles in 1999, losing in Havana and winning at Camden Yards.
