By Richard Justice
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 26, 1999; Page D4

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 25 – The Baltimore Orioles have said the same things over and over in recent weeks whenever they were asked about Sunday's game against the Cuban national team in Havana. They called it just another exhibition game. They said it couldn't be allowed to interfere with their normal preparation for the regular season. All in all, they said, it would be just another day at the office.

Then their general manager, Frank Wren, addressed them Wednesday afternoon. He reminded them it wasn't just another exhibition game. He reminded them that the world would be watching, that there would be a World Series-size media contingent, 50,000 fans in the stadium and that, indeed, they would be judged on how they performed on such a stage.

"This is a major worldwide event, the first of its kind in so long," Wren said. "There's a certain pride factor there. It's going to be all over the news agencies. We didn't tell them to go out and win. But we told them it was important."

Orioles left fielder B.J. Surhoff probably understands better than most. A member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, Surhoff points to a stack of mail, pamphlets and books he has received since the game was announced two weeks ago. From letters urging him not to go to books offering insight into Cuban culture, Surhoff has received more information than he can digest.

"I'm not sure anyone understands the magnitude of this," he said. "We're all so wrapped up in our own world, especially right now when we're trying to get ready for the season. I think it's a situation that'll get our adrenaline going. It's important to win. Nobody wants to lose, especially in an international competition."

While the Orioles know very little about the Cuban team, they also wonder how much the Cubans know about them. Before scouting trips to Cuban were banned in 1991, major league scouts spoke of a culture frozen in time and of sports fans who still believed Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle were the best American players. No major league team has played in Cuban since shortly after Castro gained power in 1959.

Asked if the Cuban fans would recognize Orioles ironman Cal Ripken, who probably won't make the trip because of his father's death, Surhoff shrugged. Castro has allowed glimpses of the outside world into Cuba since he began building a tourism industry several years ago, but is it only a glimpse?

"Would they know Cal?" Surhoff asked. "Probably not like we'd think they would. Some with Internet access may be aware of him. It certainly won't be like Tokyo, where he's well known. We had ESPN in the [Cuban] hotel where I stayed when we went down in January, but that was a tourist hotel. That's an interesting question."

Likewise, the Orioles know almost nothing of the 27-man team chosen to play against them. But they've been warned that several of the players have major league ability and that they would be making a serious mistake to underestimate their ability. There will be enough talent on the field that every major league team was invited to send a representative to prevent the Orioles from gaining an unfair advantage in the signing of future defectors.

"I feel I have to be there," Dodgers General Manager Kevin Malone said. "I think you have to be there just from a competitive standpoint. There are some great Cuban players."

The Cuban team was selected primarily from the eight teams that have been eliminated from the first round of the Cuban baseball tournament. Among the selections is third baseman Omar Linares, widely regarded as Cuba's best player. And there's pitcher Jose Ibar, the first pitcher to win 20 games in a Cuban league season.

The Orioles will fly to Havana directly from Saturday afternoon's exhibition game against the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Wary of demonstrators angry that the Orioles are playing ball with a team representing the Castro regime, the Orioles have declined to name the airport from which they're departing.

Because the game was arranged in just two weeks, details were still being worked out. The Orioles tentatively will attend a reception Saturday night and another after Sunday's game. While Manager Ray Miller said he hopes to have his best lineup on the field both Saturday and Sunday, some of his players may fly to Havana for a news conference Saturday afternoon.

It was reported by Cuba's government-controlled media today that tickets to the game would be distributed to selected individuals. In other words, only those invited to the party can attend.

"There will be no sale of tickets at the stadium," Reinaldo Calviac, director of the International Press Center, said at a news conference in Havana. "When there are massive events like this it is not possible that the entire public goes. Everything must be by invitation."

Latinoamericano stadium, which was built in 1946, will also host around 600 journalists, including about 320 reporters from the United States.

Around 100 Baltimore area students – including 15 inner-city boys from a Baltimore Jesuit middle school, who arrived in Havana today – were furnished a chartered plane by Orioles owner Peter Angelos.

It was unclear how the Cuban government would distribute invitations, but authorities indicated they'd probably go to government schools and sports clubs.

"It's going to be a great spectacle for baseball," Miller said. "We've been told the game will be shown all over the world. I think a lot of people will be seeing major league baseball for the first time. I'm proud to be part of the team representing major league baseball."

Orioles Notes: Second baseman Delino DeShields was told that his left thumb is healing normally and that he may be able to begin drills next week. He had X-rays today during the Orioles' only off day of the exhibition season.