Castro Gone, MLB Happy

With Fidel Castro stepping out of the already-fading picture in Cuba, fingers are crossed for political change, socioeconomic improvements, and American access to the world’s best cigars. But what about baseball?

According to USA Today, the MLB is bit-chomping like Pacman (the game, not the NFL troublemaker) for free access to signing Cuban talent. Guess how many MLB players in the 2007 season are Cuban-born? A whopping 8—all defectors. Omar Minaya, GM of the New York Mets, said he hopes “there will be a day that players will be allowed to play here without defecting.”

There’s no love loss between Fidel and MLB players with Cuban ties. When Mr. Revolutionary Himself first took ill in 2006 and began to hand the reins to putzy brother Raul, Mike Lowell of the Boston Red Sox—whose own family suffered under Fidel—was pretty clear about his feelings:

“There are so many people who have died because of him and there’s been so much wrongdoing and so many human rights violations that I hope he does die. That sounds bad, but it’s the truth.”

Mike, we have a feeling you’re not alone.