'There is no hope' in Cuba, Tiant says

'There is no hope' in Cuba, Tiant says
By Jerry Briggs - Express-News
Originally published on July 4, 1995.
Web Posted: 07/22/2009 1:35 CDT

Missions pitching coach Luis Tiant has a message for Americans on the
Fourth of July.

"People take the United States for granted," said Tiant, the former
major-league star who grew up in Cuba. "Some here don't know what kind
of country you got. Some complain about everything."

Tiant said he sympathizes with the plight of Cuban national Eddie
Oropesa, the former Missions pitcher who defected to the United States
in 1993.

"Everyone (in Cuba) wants to come here, because there's hope," he said.
"In Cuba, there is no hope. There's no opportunity. People know they're
going to be poor. So they leave."

Tiant first left Cuba in 1959 to pitch in Mexico. He traveled back and
forth to Mexico for three seasons, before he ventured to the U.S. in 1961.

At the time he signed, he recalled, there were no restrictions on
players who wanted to play in America. But it wasn't long before the
system changed under Fidel Castro, who took power in 1959 as the leader
of a socialist revolution.

"My dad wrote me a letter and told me not to come back," Tiant said. "It
was because they were saying they weren't going to have any more winter
professional baseball. Also, if you came back, you didn't know if you
were going to be able to get out."

During the time when Tiant was pitching in the big leagues and his
parents were living in Cuba, he said the government opened letters he
sent to his family.

"(If) they don't like what you say, they open it," Tiant said. "They
read it and cross through your words."

Tiant finished 229-172 in 19 major-league seasons.

In 1968, he started using the exaggerated windup, where he turned his
back on the batters before whirling with a high leg-kick and delivering
to the plate.

Tiant, an only child, was raised by a father who pitched for 20 years in
the Negro League. He returned home after his career and worked at a
service station.

Tiant said the economic system in Cuba under Castro has had a
devastating impact on his homeland.

"You know it's bad when people get into boats and try to cross (the
straits of Florida) waters with sharks, into Florida," he said.

'There is no hope' in Cuba, Tiant says (22 July 2009)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/special_reports/51413322.html