Aroldis Chapman, Flamethrower, Defects from Cuban Team

One of the most promising baseball players on the Cuban National team, Aroldis Chapman, has reportedly defected from the Cuban National team during a tournament in Holland.

This according to a story on the Cuban site, Cubaencuentro.com.

The 21-year-old Chapman has reportedly hit 102 mph on the gun and pitched in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, where he struck out 8 in 6 1/3 innings but had a 5.68 ERA.

He was 11-4 with a 4.03 ERA last season, striking out 130 in 118 1/3 innings.

Looks like Cubaencuentro.com actually talked to the kid and here's what he had to say:

"I'm very happy. Until now everything has come out well. It was a plan I had, a decision I took. I wanted to test myself at this level."

He wouldn't say exactly what city he was in, for security reasons. How James Bond of him.

"I left normally, through the door of the hotel, and got in a car. It was easy." He now plans to "sign with a team and play in the Major Leagues."

Looks like Scott Boras has a busy night ahead of himself. And the Yankees. And the Red Sox. And maybe the White Sox too with Alexei and Contreras on the team...

The Three Cuban Musketeers

CubaEncuentro, a site dedicated to Cuban news, has a nice article giving a little background on three current Major League shortstops that came from Cuba: Yuniesky Betancourt (Mariners), Yunel Escobar (Braves), and Alexei Ramirez (White Sox).

For those of you that can't read it because it's in Spanish, here are the highlights:

• Neither one of these guys could get a starting job at short while playing in Cuba. There were veteran players with "name power" that would not be moved to give these guys a shot. Betacourt played 2B, Escobar played 3B, SS, and rode the pine. And Alexei played all outfield positions and even served as a kind of utility player in the infield. All of them are current ML starters at the SS position.
• They all made around $432 a month down there.
• Changing teams down there isn't as simple as you'd think, so they couldn't just switch teams to go to one that allowed them to start at SS. You could have three, great shortstops and you would have to play some of them out of position. Hmmm...sounds like the Dodgers outfield situation.
  

The crazy thing is how much these guys make now and how good they are at their position: Ramirez now makes around $100,000 per month, Escobar is at around $35,000 per month, and Betacourt makes around $192,000 per month.

And they get to start at the position they love/excel at.

So all politics and family issues aside, it's no wonder coming to the US is such an appetizing decision. It's amazing that more players don't try to come over more often.