Posted on Sun, Jun. 08, 2008
By SARAH LARIMER
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI --
One of Cuba's top baseball prospects has defected and settled in South
Florida in hopes of playing in the major leagues.
Dayan Viciedo arrived in the United States at the end of May and is now
living with friends and family, his agent, Jaime Torres, said Sunday.
The 18-year-old Viciedo is from the central province of Villa Clara. He
was a third baseman with the Villa Clara team, one of Cuba's major
league teams.
He started playing baseball in the Cuban majors when he was 15 and was
included on the roster for the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
"There's a lot of hard work ahead of him to accomplish what he needs to
accomplish," Torres said.
Word of his defection spread quickly in Cuban baseball circles Sunday as
the island's national team played an offseason exhibition with Puerto
Rico. El Nuevo Herald was the first to report the defection.
"This was a very personal decision he made," Villa Clara coach Victor
Mesa, who attended Sunday's game at Havana's Latin American Stadium,
told The Associated Press. "It appears he had a change of heart and
wanted to try his luck there."
Viciedo is the latest high-profile athlete to leave Cuba for the United
States. In March, seven Cuban soccer players defected at the Olympic
qualifying tournament in Tampa. Cuba called the act "dishonorable" and a
"low blow." In May, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Yurisel Laborde left
Cuba's women's national judo team during a competition in Miami.
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