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Rays Not Deterred By Risks, Politics

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By MARC LANCASTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2007

Updated: 12/15/2007 11:12 pm

Photo Gallery: Rays' Venezuelan Complex

VALENCIA, Venezuela - It's impossible to separate baseball and politics in Venezuela.

Fears of the creeping socialism of President Hugo Chavez's regime and the threat of increased government control over baseball have played a significant part in some major-league teams pulling out of daily operations in Venezuela in recent years.

The evolution of the Venezuelan government is a constant concern for its people. Because of the vast oil reserves that have allowed Chavez to hold sway on an international stage, Venezuelans can fill their car with gas for the equivalent of $1. But they also struggle to find basic staples for their kitchens because the country has to import much of its food, and supply hasn't kept pace with demand.

Though a referendum that would have expanded Chavez's power was voted down two weeks ago, Venezuelans still wonder what might come next - and baseball officials in the U.S. have the same question.

Major-league organizations have begun to bail out of Venezuela in recent years, with the Indians, Red Sox, Padres and Orioles shuttering their academies and the Marlins pulling out of the Venezuelan Summer League this year. The VSL fielded only nine teams in 2007, including a pair of teams shared by two organizations - one a Rays/Reds operation.

Politics aren't entirely to blame for the exodus; some teams simply prefer to base all of their Latin American operations under one roof, and most have been in the Dominican Republic longer.

The Rays considered all of that, but felt comfortable jumping into Venezuela largely because they had the right people on hand.

Their director of international operations, Carlos Alfonso, and special assistant Andres Reiner have decades of experience in Venezuela. The man they hired to run their operations, Ronnie Blanco, has been immersed in Venezuelan baseball since he was a child.

"We're very aware of the risks in Venezuela," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said, "but between Andres, Carlos, Ronnie and our entire staff, we've determined that the upside far outweighs the downside."

That's because the players are there, and that isn't going to change. Venezuela's population is nearly three times that of the Dominican, which traditionally has supplied the most Latin American talent to major-league teams.

Major League Baseball isn't in the business of telling its teams what to do, knowing that some - such as the long-established Astros - aren't likely to leave and others are more comfortable working out of the Dominican. But MLB isn't going to turn its back on Venezuela anytime soon.

"The simple fact is the following: Over the past five years, the number of players that have been signed out of Venezuela has doubled, and our clubs' investment in terms of signing bonuses has doubled," said Lou Melendez, MLB's vice president for international operations. "There's a significant amount of talent there. Their youth leagues and older leagues are very well-organized, and the players there have more education than the players in the Dominican Republic, so there are a lot of positives about Venezuela that to some degree offset the negatives."

The primary big-picture concern for the Rays and other teams is the possibility of Chavez moving to nationalize baseball as Fidel Castro did in Cuba. The political situation remains volatile, but many believe the game's importance in the country will win out.

"Forget all the rest - this is baseball," Reiner said. "And it is the only reason why Chavez will not touch baseball. ... The poorest people are those who are fans, and they love the professional baseball here. But besides that, they really are excited about the players in the States. They are very proud of them, and Chavez knows that."

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