Taipei - After losing in the final game of the Baseball World Cup Sunday evening, Cuban players returned to their hotel and some set about doing business. Dozens of Taiwan youth were waiting at the door of the Santos Hotel. The Cubans took the elevator to their rooms, but some emerged later to discreetly discuss business.
Pedro Luis Lazo wanted to sell his number 99 jersey. A man followed Lazo to a dark corner and began to bargain in a hushed voice, writing numbers on a piece of paper.
Before onlookers knew what was happening, the deal was done. The thirty-ish Taiwan man pushed a stack of cash into Lazo's hand and received from Lazo a baseball player's white shirt.
Lazo returned to his hotel room but came out later holding a paper bag.
To avoid attention, he led a young man down the pavement to a convenience store and stood outside the store to discuss the deal.
When the young man left, a woman approached Lazo, also to buy baseball clothing.
The man who had bought Lazo's shirt said he had acquired two shirts - one from Lazo and one from another Cuban player. He paid 6,000 Taiwan dollars for Lazo's shirt but only had to pay 5,000 Taiwan dollars for the other player's shirt and a cap.
When a fan said that Lazo charged too much, the man said it was not expensive at all.
"Lazo is Cuba's best pitcher. Even the US Major League wants him, but Cuba does not allow him to play for the US, so his shirt with his autograph is worth a lot of money," he said.
Another fan nodded in agreement: "If you buy it on the internet, you have to pay much more."
Several other Cuban players also sold baseball paraphernalia outside the Santos Hotel, away from the crowd of fans at the hotel entrance.
In the past, after playing in international games in Taiwan, some Cuban players sold baseball paraphernalia in the hotel lobby and took Taiwan fans to their rooms to strike deals.
Press reports said that Cuban players sold baseball paraphernalia to get cash to buy electronic products or other gifts to take back to Cuba.
