Monday, March 29, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 5
Big-league baseball returns to Cuba
The Associated Press
HAVANA—He walked onto the field like he owned the place, straight and tall with a purpose, this old University of Havana right-hander.
And by the time Fidel Castro had cut across the diamond to meet them Sunday, the Baltimore Orioles could tell this meant far more than any spring training game they had ever played.
"Fi-dell! Fi-dell!" the 50,000 fans chanted at Estadio Latinoamericano at the sight of their president. "Cuba! Cbu-ba!"
Albert Belle, Brady Anderson and the rest of the Orioles gathered around the 73-year-old leader to shake hands, curious to see how he looked up close in his combat fatigues. Manager Ray Miller talked to Castro through an interpreter.
"He told me this was a good baseball town," Miller said after Baltimore beat a Cuban all-star team 3-2 in 11 innings. "He said not to worry, that we were playing in front of the greatest baseball fans in the world."
While Cuban defectors such as Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, Livan Hernandez and Rey Ordonez
had left and found fame in the majors, no one on the Communist island had seen a big league team visit since 1959.
"Nobody came down here looking
tory," Orioles outfielder B.J. Surhoff said. "Everybody came down here looking to play a baseball game."
Still, Surhoff carried the U.S. flag onto the field for the nati onal anthems and later gave his
Castro: Watched Cuban national team lose 3-2.
bat to the Hall of Fame in Cooper-sterren, N.Y.
Tickets were issued on an invitation-only basis — instead of the 10 cents they normally cost — ensuring the stands would be packed with loyal Castro supporters. In fact, many were in their seats three hours before gametime.
but that left out many of Cuba's most passionate "pelota" fans, along with a lot of traditional touches.
Missing for most of the warm, sunny afternoon were the drums, sirens, air horns, singing, dancing and rumba music that enveloped the ballpark from the first pitch during Saturday night's playoff game between the Havana Industriales and Santiago.
No cheerleaders in black spandex jumped on top of the dugouts, no ballgirls served coffee to the umpires during the fifth-inning break. No one smuggled in Havana Club rum, and no beer was sold inside, either.
Charles Johnson's two-run homer off Cuban ace Jose Jose in the second kept things quiet until the home team rallied in the late innings. That's when it got loud, and Castro grinned when Linares' RBI single in the eighth tied it.
"The people who go to the stadium every day cannot go," said 32-year-old Omar Ramirez. "Why? Why?"
A few blocks away, little boys were undaunted. With nothing more than rotted sticks for bats and rolled-up socks for balls, they kept playing Cuba's national sport.
Castro had not been out to the stadium for several years. He will not go with the Cuban team when its plays at Baltimore's Camden Yards on
May3.
He spent about two minutes greeting the Orléans before visiting with the Cubans and watched the game while sitting between major league
commissioner Bud
Selig and
Orioles
owner Peter
Angelos.
When the game ended,
Castro made an "oh."
well" gesture with his hands and later congratulated the Cuban players. The Orioles have a projected payroll of more than $80 million this season; Cuban players earn around $10 per month.
Once an AAA hotspot when the Havana Sugar Kings ruled, the Caribbean island had not seen a big league club since March 21, 1959, after Castro took power. On that day, at the very same ballpark, with guards strolling with machine guns, Sandy Koufax led Los Angeles to a win against Cincinnati 2-1.
Since then, it's been a blackout and blockade for Cuban fans trying to follow major-league ball.
Kauffman Stadium seats bring fans to home plate
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Ready for the crack of the bat?
See the imperfect spin of a hanging curve before hearing it get whacked from the new on-field seat at Kaupati Stadium — you're closer to the plate than the pitcher is.
Season ticket holders will fill 160 Crown Seats behind home plate and between the dugouts as well as Dugout Seats connected to four luxury suites along the sidelines.
The $12 million renovation to Kauffman Stadium is the first major seating project done at the ballpark since it opened as Royals Stadium in 1973.
The renovation project was designed to increase revenue from the stadium for the
The Royals open play April 5 against Boston still in limbo without an official owner. The team has accepted an offer from Miles Prentice, whose ownership group has yet to be accepted by Major League Baseball.
owner-in-waiting who has made it clear he does not come with deep pockets.
"Outside of Montreal, I don't know anyone who needs it more than us," said Mike
Levy, vice president of marketing for a club that let all of its free agents go except one, does not even bother competing for others and desperately wants to trade its best pitcher to unload his salary.
"We can use it," said Levy of the anticipated annual revenue of $1.5 million. "We did studies. We did focus groups. We did telephone surveys. We did feasibility studies. This is what people told us they wanted."
The Crown Seats sold out within three weeks of their offering at $1,800 a seat for the season. The seats include
The Dugout Suites, aimed at corporate clients, have sold less quickly, but Levy expects 85 percent occupancy for the season. The seats outside the suites — designed for 16 to 30 people but can be doubled in size — are at eye level with the field.
access to the Crown Club, located beneath the lower tier of the stadium, which offers upscale dining and a full-service bar.
"You can't explain that view," Levy said as he looked across the field, getting the same look of first that the third baseman would have.
The renovation project included 23,000 new, modern seats in the lower tier of the stadium as well as extensive remodeling of the clubhouses, construction of new indoor batting cages and expanded dugouts.
"It wasn't a question of 'can you do it,'" Levy said. "We've got to do it. Our goal is not just to stay in place. Our goal is to be state of the art."
Venus victorious in Williams' Lipton matchup
The Associated Press
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Talk about close sisters. Venus Williams beat kid sister Serena in the final of the Lipton Championships on Sunday, but she needed three sets to do it. Venus took eight of the final nine points and won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
When Serena's forehand landed wide on match point, there was no show of jubilation from Venus, or even a smile. The sisters walked slowly to the net to exchange high fives, and then Venus, 18, put her arm around Serena, 17, as they walked off the court.
Their father, Richard Williams, watched most of the match from the stands, occasionally holding up signs for the crowd. One read: "Welcome to the Williams show."
Hannah won $265,000 for her second consecutive Lipton title. Serena's 16-match winning streak ended, and she settled for $132,000.
The sisters looked tense throughout the match but wore broad smiles during the trophy ceremony. "It's so great Serena is doing so well." Venus said. "It's so exciting. We're really happy."
Venus dominated the first set, with Serena rarely able to hit a ball beyond her sister's reach. Serena was inconsistent from the baseline throughout the match and had 66 unforced errors, to 41 for Venus.
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