By Preston Williams
                  Washington Post Staff Writer
                  Wednesday, January 20, 1999; Page D10

                  Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos returned from Havana yesterday
                  without a final deal to play an exhibition series with Cuba, though
                  representatives did iron out several details should the games ever take
                  place.

                  The sides apparently are split on how profits from the games should be
                  distributed, the Associated Press reported. Through a joint statement, the
                  U.S. and Cuban representatives did agree on dates, the type of bats and
                  the sites of the games. But that statement cautioned, "There are important
                  areas which are unresolved at this time but which will remain the subject of
                  continuing discussions in the days ahead."

                  If a final agreement is struck, the first game, between the Orioles and a
                  Cuban all-star team, would take place March 28 at Havana's
                  Latinoamericano Stadium. The teams would meet again April 3 at Oriole
                  Park at Camden Yards. The games would be played with wooden bats.
                  The Cubans usually play with aluminum bats.

                  Angelos and Raul Villanueva, president of the Cuban Sports Institute,
                  would not disclose the issues holding up finalizing a deal, but the
                  Associated Press reported that sources close to the talks said the sides
                  could not agree on how they would use the proceeds from the games.

                  "The good thing is that Cuba and the United States are very close,"
                  Angelos told the Associated Press. "If it is necessary for one of us to come
                  back and meet with chairman Villanueva we will be here very quickly."

                  Angelos, who could not be reached last night, and his 11-member
                  delegation arrived in Cuba last Friday and were scheduled to return home
                  yesterday. U.S. representatives attended a game at Latinoamericano
                  Stadium on Sunday and revisited the facility yesterday for further
                  inspection.

                  "We came away very satisfied with the field and look forward to playing
                  the Cubans there," Angelos told the Associated Press.

                  "It is a field very capable of hosting a game like this," said Orioles player
                  B.J. Surhoff, a member of the delegation.

                  No major league team has played in Cuba since the Brooklyn Dodgers
                  held spring training there in 1947. The U.S. State Department in recent
                  years has rejected the request for a series between Cuba and the United
                  States because of the trade embargo between the countries.

                  That embargo even affects play on the field. Major League Baseball and
                  the players' union want the Cuban stadium to pad its outfield fences. But
                  the trade embargo prohibits the United States from supplying that padding.
                  It would cost about $400,000 for Cuba to import the padding from Japan,
                  the Associated Press reported.

                  President Clinton has said that a series between the Orioles and Cuba
                  would improve relations between Americans and Cubans while maintaining
                  the economic embargo. The games would be part of a plan that also would
                  allow more Americans to send money to Cubans, as well as offer direct
                  mail service and expand charter flights, the Associated Press reported.

                  The State Department will not allow proceeds from the games to benefit
                  the communist nation's government. The Americans would like the money
                  to benefit Caritas, the Catholic Relief Services' counterpart in Cuba.
                  Cuban authorities would like the money to benefit survivors of Hurricane
                  Mitch.

                  "I think that our prospects for a successful conclusion dictate that we don't
                  get into the unresolved points," Angelos told the Associated Press.

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