By Richard Justice. The Washington Post. Thursday, May 18, 2000; Page D06

ANAHEIM, Calif., May 17 –– The Baltimore Orioles apparently have no interest in signing Cuban defectors even though the tiny island nation has been a rich source of big league talent in recent years. Syd Thrift, the team's vice president of baseball operations, called the idea "not a policy--just a concept."

The idea of staying away from Cuban talent stems from the team's two exhibition games with a Cuban all-star team last year. Thrift said the trip was to foster goodwill between the United States and Cuba, and that the Orioles didn't want to do anything to encourage Cubans to defect.

Thrift's comments were first reported in the Washington Times.

"After the goodwill created between the two countries by the visit, we--Mr. [Peter] Angelos in particular--feel it best to not do anything that could be interpreted as being disrespectful or . . . encouraging players to defect," Thrift told the newspaper.

Angelos, the Orioles' owner, didn't return calls today seeking comment on the matter. Thrift seemed to backtrack a bit on his statement tonight, saying too much was being made of his statements.

"That trip was supposed to be non-political, wasn't it?" he asked.

© 2000 The Washington Post Company

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