| Mystery surrounds missing Cuban pitcher |
|
Aroldis Chapman, a player with a 100 mph fastball, was seen walking through the lobby of his hotel and climbing into a waiting car within an hour of the team's arrival Wednesday for a four-nation tournament, said spokesman Loet van Schelbeet. Chapman, 21, failed to show up Thursday for Cuba's first game in Rotterdam, said van Schelbeet. The head of the Cuban delegation, Luis Carton, said he also had no idea where Chapman was. ``We are waiting for information. We do not know anything,'' Carton told The Associated Press. ``No one knows anything about what happened, if he is sick, died or left.'' It was not known if Chapman was defecting and planning to join the U.S. Major Leagues. disappearance appeared to be well planned. He carried no luggage when he left the hotel, which was a few minutes away from the Rotterdam stadium. He would be the most prominent Cuban baseball defector since Jose Contreras left during a tournament in Mexico in 2002. Spokesmen for the Dutch Foreign Ministry and Department of Immigration said they had no knowledge of the case. A Spanish Foreign Ministry official also said he never heard of Chapman. U.S. officials in The Hague said they could not comment on individual cases because of U.S. privacy laws. They said, however, that arrangements exist for Cubans seeking asylum to enter the United States. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Homestead to wrap up its 2009 season. Check out the odds for this week's action. 
The European Tour wraps up its season with the first ever Dubai World Championship, starting Thursday. Check out the odds for this event. 
UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 takes Saturday from the Mandalay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Matchups: 
The 12th week of the 2009 College Football season features some key games in the Pac-10, Big XII, and the Big Ten. Check out all of this week's odds.