Cristobal Cuevas - A Baseball Story

[illeracula]

I tried to a dynasty on my managerial career, but I couldn't keep it up to date enough, so I figured I would try to pick a player and write about his career and life. So here is my 2nd attempt at a decent dynasty...hopefully you all enjoy...

The life and times of Cristobal Cuevas

[illeracula]

MIAMI, Sep 5 (Reuters) - A prominent baseball player and five other people who fled Cuba together last week were granted visas for Nicaragua on Tuesday, averting the prospect they would be deported from the Bahamas, a U.S. congressman said.

Star outfileder Cristobal Cuevas, who was banned from baseball in Cuba following a recorded conversation between him and 2 of his teammates hinting around defecting in early 1999, and his companions have been in diplomatic limbo since being picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard on a tug-boat in the Caribbean Sea and taken to the Bahamas on Aug. 21.

Cueavas was granted a visa for the United States because of his sporting prowess and the likelihood he would face reprisals if he was returned to the communist-ruled island.

But he had not departed by Tuesday, saying he would not leave the Bahamas until he was sure their companions, who did not receive permission to enter the United States, would not be sent back to Havana.

On Tuesday, Bahamian authorities gave the Cuevas until Wednesday to make a move. Later, U.S. Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart said in Miami he had obtained transit visas from the Nicaraguan government for all seven Cubans.

"These transit visas will allow the refugees to travel to Nicaragua and remain in that country while they make arrangements for political asylum with other countries,'' the Florida Republican said in a statement.

"More importantly these visas will keep them from being deported to Cuba, which was imminent, due to the repatriation agreement between the Bahamian government and the Cuban regime,'' said Diaz-Balart, a Cuban American and prominent opponent of Cuban President Fidel Castro.

[illeracula]

In a interview with a local Miami based Cuban-American newspaper, Cristobal Cuevas announced he plans to join the Global Baseball Federation for the year 2001.

"I have come a long way to play-ball in a America and to live a dream that many of my friends haven't been able to. The Global Baseball Federation has welcomed me with open arms and I look to be able to contribute this year"

[illeracula]

A GBF Announcement:
Here at the headquarters of the GBF on the Lower Eastside of Manhattan have fielded many phone calls and received many emails about why players such as, Cristobal Cuevas, aren't allowed in the Global Baseball Federation while being a Cuban Citizen. The GBF is a US based Global Corporation, with 32 teams in global locations. The GBF has strict rules on who is allowed to play in its league and who is not. There are around 19 countries on the "Are not Allowed" list, Cuba being one of them.

There have been many rumors that Cuba was going to field a Minor League team in the upcoming season, but that will not become reality. The GBF has pushed and pushed to make this happen, but this was blocked by the US State Dept. Being a US company there are many rules that we must follow (eventhough they may hurt our league) or we would be subject to large fines which could end the GBF's short existance. And until the State Department updates the embargo on Cuba our stance will not be able to change.

As a reminder to all teams and team owners. Any team that doesn't follow the GBF rules and guidelines on eligibility will face fines and possible expulsion from the GBF.

All "free-agent" type and first year players will be subject to the first year draft after each season. The pre-2001 draft is slated for January 10th, 2001. The draft will be 10 rounds.

[illeracula]

"Cuevas is real good. He's got a lot of tools and he's a physical guy, about 6-foot-4, 180 pounds. He's a strong kid with room to grow," said an Atlantic Confernce scout who has seen the Cubans play on several occasions. "He has strong hands and above average arm strength. The bat's got present ability; he has strong hands and wrists and can swing it. Cristobal is a HUGE prospect, and will be an All-Star in the GBF within 4 years, you can write that down."

A career .301 hitter in three seasons in Cuba, Cuevas batted .321 in his last full year there, at the age of 20.

[illeracula]

MIAMI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A prominent baseball player and five other people who fled Cuba together last week, finally arrived on U.S. soil landing at the Miami International Airport, after almost a month of limbo.

After multiple threats to be deported from the Bahama's and sent back to Cuba the group of 6 were granted visas for Nicaragua allowing them to be granted polictical asylum from Cuba.

Cristobal Cuevas a highly touted player from Cuba arrived in Miami on Tuesday, to a crowd of fans. The 5 other people, friends of Cristobal and the Tug-Boat driver, who helped them escape, arrived safly as well.

Cuevas is expected to be a top pick in the upcoming first year player draft in Janaury. He told us he is ready to get on with his new life in America, and he his glad to be here.

The GBF will be holding sanctioned workouts for all first-year eligible players over the next two months, and many scouts of the GBF are anxious to see how good Cristobal really is.

[illeracula]

MIAMI, Oct 7 (AP) - Cristobal Cuevas, a Cuban, who was granted political asylum less than a week held a press conference in "Little Havanna" Miami today. Cristobal left Cuba to chase his dream of freedom and baseball. Below is an abriged transcript of that press conference (through a translator):

"First off, I would like to think the governments of Nicaragua and the United States for helping me to my freedom. Its been a long month, and I am glad to be in Miami. I know my choice to live my friend and family behind will be a good one in the long term. Growing up in Cuba you don't hear much of the history of the Baseball game. Writing and receiving letters to my great-uncle, Omar, made me appreciate the game and want to show-case my talent world-wide. When he passed away 2 years ago, I made a promise to myself and to him that I would leave Cuba and show the world how good us Cuban's really are.

In 1 month I will be traveling to Arizona to attend GBF workout camps for first year players. I am waiting patiently to play ball again. Over the next month I will be working out and learning the new culture."

[Big Six]

This looks really good, illeracula. I like your mixture of voices: the newspaper articles; the scouting report; the quotation from Cuevas himself. I'll be following your dynasty closely and rooting for Cristobal to make it in the GBL.

Good luck with your dynasty!

[illeracula]

Originally Posted by Big Six

This looks really good, illeracula. I like your mixture of voices: the newspaper articles; the scouting report; the quotation from Cuevas himself. I'll be following your dynasty closely and rooting for Cristobal to make it in the GBL.

Good luck with your dynasty!

Thanks Big Six. Hopefully I can keep it up and keep it interesting.

[illeracula]

Transcript of the Official Newsletter sent to all 32 GBF Teams...

Dear Teams-

Through the Agent of Cristobal Cuevas, we have been informed, Cristobal will only be attending one tryout camp. And due to the interest surrounding Cristobal, we wanted to pass this information along. Here is the information regarding the camp he will be attending:

Dates: 11/15 - 11/17
Location: Tijuana, Mexico

Along with Mr. Cuevas there will be around 175 other hopefuls at this camp. This will be the largest camp of the season. We look forward to seeing you there.

Kind Regards,

Edward O'Canty
VP of GBF Players Union

[TwinsFan86]

Looks great. I'll definitely be reading.

[illeracula]

Originally Posted by TwinsFan86

Looks great. I'll definitely be reading.

Thanks TwinsFan, hopefully I can keep it up and keep it interesting...

[illeracula]

MIAMI, Nov 17 (WP) - In the first of 3 tryout camps for this years first player draft, many prospective players came to show-off thier talents...or complete lack there of. One of the great things about these tryout camps it allows anyone with a dream of playing baseball for a living a chance to live that dream.

Of the, more than expected, 211 hopefuls none were more impressive than the Cuban defect Cristobal "the Gimp" Cuevas. Cuevas a 22 year-old outfield who left Cuba on a tug-boat less than 3 months ago, put on a show in everything he did, from hitting, to running, to fielding.

Not much was known about Cuevas, except that he was one of the top-stars in Cuba, before being banned from baseball in 1999. His showing at this camp could be enough to propel him to the #1 pick. We talked to a handful of scouts and their reactions were all the same. A scout from the Alaska Gold Diggers said it the best, "WOW".

The Global Baseball Federation plans to hold 2 more workouts before thier January draft, one in Europe and on in Asia, but this was the only camp Cuevas will be attending. So if you missed it, you will just have to wait till spring training.

[illeracula]

December 15, 2000

Craig Sowards, Head Scout
123 Grumsfield Way
Chestertown, MD 21620

Milford Jethawks
c/o Anthony Wayne, GM
Milford, DE 19963

Anthony,

I have been doing some traveling and scouting for the upcoming draft. I have gone to the tryout camps in Mexico and Europe and have seen many players we should keep our eyes on. I know our main priority in this draft should be pitching, but Cristobal Cuevas is a HUGE prospect. Write it down - he will be a star in the future. He is a young-man who as a shot at greatness.

He could already hit major league pitching. He has above hand-eye coordination, and makes frequent contact. Although he is more of a contact hitter, now, he has to potential to be a basher. He is a free-swinger who will chase bad pitches, and struggles to go deep into the count. He will need to improve his plate awareness to get the most out of his abilities. Cristobal does a decent job protecting the plate, when late in the count, but he seems to be able to make contact when you need him to.

He really flies down the bathpaths, but he isn't that great at reading the ptcher moves. If he can learn how do that he will be a stolen base threat. He has incredibly soft hands. He will make the easy plays, the hard plays and everything in between! A real force in the field.

Cristobal Cuevas - Profile
Height: 6-4
Weight: 180 (room to grow)
Throws: L
Bats: L

Listed below our my current ratings:
Rating - Overall/vLHP/vRHP
Contact - 51/44/54
Gap - 56/53/57
Power - 61/59/62
Eye - 40/35/42
Avoid K - 45/40/7

I have his overall talent ratings a very impressive 7-7-8-7-6.

Running abilities:
Speed - 5 (out of 5)
Stealing - 2
Instincts - 3

Fielding review:
In the outfield I see him as a Rightfielder, but can play left almost just as good. His range in RF is a 5 in LF I would put it as a 4. His arm is above-average/average 3.

As far as who is going to available in the January draft I think he is the only truly "can't miss" prospect, who is ready to step in a help us out.

Please call me to discuss further. My offical reports are on their way.

King Regards,

Craig Sowards
Head Scout

[illeracula]

Welcome to Fastball with your host Gil Hicks...

On the eve of the annual first-player draft is upon us and there has been a lot of specualtion and talk about Cristobal Cuevas, a Cuban defector who is ready to prove himself to the world. We had a chance to sit down and talk to Cristobal about his feelings about being away from Cuba and his family and his anxiousness about playing baseball again...

(through a translator)

GH: Welcome to the show Cristobal.
CC: Thank you. Its nice to be here.

GH: Have you ejoyed your time in the US?
CC: Yes and No. Its nice to be able to have all this freedom, but its been hard for me to give up my family and many friends back home.
GH: How hard was it for you to leave when you knew of those possibilities?
CC: I think for any Cuban who wants to play baseball worldwide it weighs on them. Its hard to leave behind your family, your friends and your country.

GH: Has living in America been a big adjustment?
CC: I am living with an uncle in Miami, which is known for its Cuban population, so he has been helping me get settled in.
GH: What is your most favorite/least favorite things?
CC: Right now I have no least favorites, most favorites has to be fast-food and movie theatre's.

GH: The draft is tomorrow and speculation has you being drafted in the top-5. The top-5 teams had the worse records last year, which means its a possibility they won't be that good again this season. Will this bother you?
CC: No it won't. I just want to play. In Cuba I wasn't able to play, it was hard. I just want to play.
GH: But your track record shows that you have only played on winners and top-contenders.
CC: Yes I have played for winners all my life, and that is why I am coming here to prove that I can be a winner anywhere. So maybe the team that drafts me, becomes winner because of me.

GH: Last question. You get to pick, what team do you play for?
CC: Thats a trick question...hmm...well if I could play anywhere it would be for Miami. And why I say this is the big Cuban population could make my transistion easier. But honestly I just want to play.

GH: Thanks for you time today Cristobal. We all look forward to you and your career here with the GBF.
CC: Thank you Gil...Mucho gracias.

[illeracula]

January 10th...With the first pick of the 2001 First Year Player draft the Milford JetHawks select Outfielder Cristobal Cuevas...

January 11th - The Milford Chronical
The JetHawks who finished 2000 with a 53 and 109 record, hsave selected Crisotbal Cuevas with the first pick in the 2001 First Year Player draft. The Jethawks who are loaded with young talent, but are in desperate need of someone who can play up to that talent have added the Cuban defect Cristobal Cuevas to the roster. Cuevas who plays outfield will be competing with Robert Parrish, Santo Batista, Leo Alvarez and Bill Schnieder for some playing time.

The JetHawks in dire need of Releif pitching selected Cuevas, according to GM Anthony Wayne, because the pitching talent was very low in this draft and they thought Cuevas could step in and help out. No pitchers were drafted in the first 20 picks.

"We are very happy to have Cristobal with us here in Milford. He will fit in very nicely with our team here. When we saw him at the camp in TJ (Tijuana, Mexico) we new he was something special." Wayne said.

Cristobal Cuevas was just as happy to be selected by the Jethawks as they are to have him "I am so happy. I can't wait till the first day of spring training. I want to put my glove and spikes on and have fun.", Cuevas said, "I am glad to be a part of team. We will be winning games in Milford very soon!"

With the acquisition of Cuevas the Jethawks now have 6 outfielders ready or just about ready to make it. Maybe thats good news for them, so they can use one or more of these guys as trade bait and bring in pitching. What they really need. After losing 109 games last year, the Jethawks are looking to turn things around. We are tired of "rebuilding" and we want to win!

Here are the rest of the Jethawks picks:
Round 2: Morton Duffey, Pitcher
Round 3: Ronald Yearicks, Pitcher
Round 4: Eddie Fairbanks, Outfielder
Round 5: Christopher Ingle, Pitcher
Round 6: Michael Davis, Infielder
Round 7: Pat Labrie, Pitcher
Round 8: Francisco Navarro, Pitcher
Round 9: Billy Dillon, Pitcher
Round 10: Brian Grubb, Pitcher

[illeracula]

Pick #: Team, Player, Stars - Contact/Gap/Power/Eye/Avoid K's - Signing Bonus

Pick #1: Milford, OF Cristobal Cuevas 5.0 - 7/7/8/7/6 - 1,300,000
Pick #2: Tokyo, 1B Rene Owens 5.0 - 6/7/8/7/6 - 1,632,000
Pick #3: Madrid, OF Ricky Gillispe 5.0 - 5/7/8/8/6 - 1,802,500
Pick #4: Los Angeles, 3B Johnny Kruns 5.0 - 6/8/8/6/5 - 1,680,000
Pick #5: San Leonardo, C Shane Harris 4.0 - 5/6/6/8/5 - 1,184,000
Pick #6: Hamburg, 2B Anthony Big 5.0 - 7/6/6/8/6 - 2,880,000
Pick #7: Pueblo, OF Mateo Bemudez 5.0 - 5/8/8/8/6 - 1,161,000
Pick #8: Cancun, OF Kenneth Bellman 5.0 - 7/5/8/5/8 - 3,060,000
Pick #9: St. Anthony, OF George Tighe 3.5 - 5/6/7/6/6 - 1,196,000
Pick #10: Dublin, 3B Herman Andover 5.0 - 7/6/8/8/7 - 1,115,000

[illeracula]

Hello everyone. As you know, I am Anthony Wayne the GM/Manager of the Milford JetHawks. We invited you all here today to celebrate the opening day of Spring Training and to introduce you to some new faces. We here in JetHawk camp are looking forward to this season, when we finally have a team intact ready to go.

First I want to welcome back the only three players who were on our opening day roster last season. The three guys will be playing a big role in the 2001 season. All three of them have been named co-captain's, lets us welcome Johnnie Shiption (RF/CF), Kent Cohen (C) and Jason Ball (SS/3b/2b/OF).

Last year we used over 15 starting pitchers from opening day till the end of the season, hopefully this year with our free-agent signings the starting rotation will be much more stable. Lets welcome our two newest starters, Scott Saradina and Bernie Partida...

Also during this offseason we added James Atlas to our bullpen. He is the first step in solidifying our bullpen. James comes to us from Boston for David Burns.

And the one you have been waiting for, our newest edition and hopefully a stay in RF for a long time to come. Cristobal Cuevas, our number one draft pick. We now there has been a lot of hype and speculation, surrounding Cuevas, and about his ability to play at this level. Ecspecially after missing all of last year. But we have seen him play and we are ready for him to show ya'll what he has.

Our first game is 43 days away, and hopefully, our players, like me are anxious to get back on the field and improve on our 53 wins a year ago. There has been a lot of turnaround and lot more rumors are flying around, but I know this team is better than last year and we now have that experience under our belt.

I would like to open this forum up for any questions. Please post any question for Cristobal Cuevas (the #1 pick), Anthony Wayne (the GM/Manager) or any of the other players here in attendance.

Thank you for coming.

[Jason]

(Side note: Very interesting so far. I'll be looking forward to seeing where it goes.)

"Yes, Peter Gammons, Baseball Tonight. Christobal, your talents have been displayed and your track record is impressive but baseball at this level is unlike anything you've seen to this point. Do you think it's fair of your new employers or the fans to think you're going to be an All Star right away?"

[illeracula]

Originally Posted by Dale And Eli's Dad

(Side note: Very interesting so far. I'll be looking forward to seeing where it goes.)

Thanks...I am looking forward to seeing where this goes as well.

Originally Posted by Peter Gammons, Baseball Tonight

"Yes, Peter Gammons, Baseball Tonight. Christobal, your talents have been displayed and your track record is impressive but baseball at this level is unlike anything you've seen to this point. Do you think it's fair of your new employers or the fans to think you're going to be an All Star right away?"

Anthony Wayne: "Thanks for you question Peter. Cristobal would you like to answer?"

Cristobal Cuevas (through translator):
"Yes...Mr. Gammons, I played baseball in Cuba prior to coming here. The people in Cuba love the game of baseball, and every game we have pressure on us to win. I was lucky enough to play in a couple of international games, and Fidel (Castro) wouldn't accept anything but a win."...pause..."So when I come to Milford and everyone expects me to be an All Star I accept that. But as a player I don't like goals like that, back home we are tought to win and lose as a team, so as a team I want to win. Thats my top priority."

Anthony Wayne: "Peter, We are going to take it easy with Cristobal. We want him to learn the game and get comfortable playing here, so being an All Star this year, might be a stretch...but next year that's a different story...(chuckles)."