Press-Enterprise: Instability in Venezuela could threaten flow of baseball talent to U.S.

Diamond Leung has a new blog that recently contained a link to a number of good stories in the Press-Enterprise about Latin American players.  This one was especially relevant given the increasing number of Venezuelans joining the ranks of major leaguers, and how the deteriorating relations between the U.S. and Venezuela is making life difficult for everyone.

The future of the Venezuelan market is of great importance to major league franchises because the country is such a cheap yet fertile source of talent. A record 51 Venezuelans began this season in the major leagues, yet almost half the U.S. clubs that once had training academies in the country have abandoned them in recent years, driven away by rampant crime and political instability.

The overall situation has become serious enough that Major League Baseball sent high-ranking representatives to Venezuela in March to meet with members of that country’s baseball federation.

Venezuelan officials at the meeting emphatically denied any intent to keep players off U.S. teams, pledging instead to work with Major League Baseball to protect players from exploitation.

“You can’t be too confident, but all I can do is rely on what I was told,” said Lou Melendez, Major League Baseball’s vice president of international operations. “They told me Hugo Chavez recognizes the importance of Major League Baseball being in the country and that he doesn’t want to interfere. They said they have no intention of stopping us from signing players.”