By Richard Justice
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 30, 1999; Page D1

HAVANA, March 29 – Baseball put an appropriate finishing touch on a historic weekend when dozens of team executives jammed into a ramshackle airport this morning to board a charter flight back to the United States. There, a night after rubbing elbows with Fidel Castro, they found themselves squeezing into line alongside Bonnie Raitt, Mick Fleetwood, Woody Harrelson and a host of other musicians and celebrities who had attended a week-long jazz festival.

"You know," Montreal Expos General Manager Jim Beattie said with a smile, "in baseball you meet a lot of famous people – like Fidel and Bonnie Raitt."

Beattie and other executives had come here not knowing what to expect. Most had seen the Cuban national team play at least once, but few ever had been allowed into a world that had been off-limits to major league teams for four decades.

By the time they departed this morning, after watching the Baltimore Orioles defeat a group of Cuban all-stars, 3-2, in 11 innings on Sunday, they said they were thrilled to have made the trip. Several executives also had watched Game 2 of the Cuban World Series on Saturday, and the two games reinforced a lot of what major league baseball's leaders already had known about Cuban baseball.

"I think we saw what we expected to see," Atlanta Braves President Stan Kasten said. "They've got pitchers who are ready to play in our league."

Beattie said: "It was definitely worth it. We came with a certain mystique about baseball in Cuba, and now we've gotten to see it firsthand. I'm not sure of all the political ramifications, but from a baseball standpoint, it was very helpful. Next time, we'll understand what it's all about. We won't have the same fear or awe."

It was a game played on several levels. For the Orioles, it was a spring training game played on a world stage. For the Cubans, it was a chance to test their game against some of the world's best known players. As Cuban third baseman Omar Linares said: "I've waited all my life for this moment."

For team executives and scouts, it was a chance to see one of the last untapped areas rich with baseball talent. From Linares, who is widely known as the best player in the world not playing in the major leagues, to pitchers such as Jose Contreras, who pitched eight shutout innings, the Cubans showed those scouts that they are as good as any players anywhere.

Castro joked at a reception Sunday night that when the two teams play again May 3 in Baltimore, the outcome might be different because, "We're going to have our whole team."

Several of the top Cuban players – especially shortstop German Mesa and second baseman Antonio Pacheco – were unavailable because they are participating in the country's World Series.

"Sure, they've got guys that could pitch in the big leagues, especially when you consider how thin pitching is these days," said Fred Ferreira, vice president and head of international development for the Montreal Expos. "When the day comes that we can sign Cuban players, there's going to have to be a special lottery or a draft. It's got to be fair to prevent a bidding war."

After the game, Orioles Manager Ray Miller was asked if the Cuban team was good enough to play in the American big leagues.

"I'm not sure I see enough power," Miller said. "Certainly, I saw enough pitching to play in the major leagues."

But the Orioles showed only a bit more power, that coming on a two-run home run by catcher Charles Johnson. The Orioles had only five other hits: three singles, a double by Brady Anderson and a bad-hope double by Will Clark that set up the winning run in the 11th.

"I heard it said the Cubans didn't have a lot of power," Beattie said. "But if you watched the Orioles yesterday, you wouldn't say they had a lot of power, either. It's just a different approach."

As National League President Leonard Coleman said: "[The Cubans] pitching and speed and defense are outstanding. Really, it's like good old National League baseball."

Commissioner Bud Selig, admittedly exhausted after two long days of travel and receptions, found fans who shared his passion for the game. And Selig said he had to pinch himself several times as he spent hours in the company of Castro.

Selig chose his words carefully, realizing that hundreds of Cuban exiles and critics of the Castro regime believed Major League Baseball made a mistake by extending an olive branch to an oppressive government.

"Given the sensitivity of everything, I thought it went well," Selig said. "Obviously, I worried a lot about all the ramifications. I thought our staff and the Orioles and [team owner] Peter Angelos really did well. If you view this as part of a sports cultural exchange, I think it went remarkably well."

He said the hours with Castro "was a remarkable experience. All we did was talk baseball. He asked a lot of questions about baseball – about the game and the economics. That's a subject I love."

Will there be more Cuban trips for major league teams?

"That's the call of our government and State Department and the Cuban government," Selig said. "The thing you're constantly impressed with is the significance of baseball. The Cuban people were really happy we were there. I walked outside the ballpark before the game, and it reminded me of walking outside a ballpark here."