By Mark Maske
                  Washington Post Staff Writer
                  Wednesday, January 6, 1999; Page D02

                  While Baltimore Orioles officials began to work yesterday toward
                  completing plans to play home-and-home exhibition games this spring
                  against the Cuban national team, Major League Baseball's leaders were
                  taking a wait-and-see approach on the issue of whether they will give their
                  required approval to the proposal.

                  The Orioles have received permission from U.S. government agencies to
                  negotiate the terms under which the games, one in Cuba and one at Oriole
                  Park at Camden Yards, would be played. The approval of the Orioles'
                  request is part of the Clinton administration's latest relaxation of U.S. trade
                  sanctions against Cuba in an attempt to encourage activities by Cuban
                  charities while circumventing the government of Cuban President Fidel
                  Castro.

                  But under baseball's rules, any such exhibition games would have to be
                  approved by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball
                  Players Association, and some of the sport's leaders said yesterday that
                  such approval is not a given.

                  One top baseball official said he thinks there is a good chance that the
                  games will happen, but also cautioned that Orioles majority owner Peter
                  Angelos already is having second thoughts about the matter and added:
                  "This could be very controversial. We have to think about this very hard
                  before we go ahead with it."

                  Commissioner Bud Selig and Players Association chief Donald Fehr were
                  noncommittal.

                  "This is a matter that has come up from time to time before," Fehr said
                  from the union's offices in New York. "With these new developments, we'll
                  obviously take a hard look at it."

                  Selig said from his office in Milwaukee that he will listen to the
                  recommendation of the sport's committee on international play before
                  making a ruling.

                  "Peter Angelos has kept me apprised of all developments," Selig said. "I
                  certainly understand all the ramifications. I'll be anxious to get the
                  recommendation of the committee, and we'll act accordingly from there."

                  Baseball's leaders apparently have concerns about safety, about the
                  willingness of major league players to play in Cuba and about a possible
                  backlash by Cuban-Americans if the games are played. Former Orioles
                  first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who was born in Cuba but grew up in
                  Miami, said yesterday that he would not play an exhibition game in Cuba.
                  Palmeiro signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent this winter.

                  Administration officials have made it clear that the games will be played
                  only if the proceeds do not go to Castro's government. Angelos and others
                  at his Baltimore law office were on the telephones for most of the day
                  yesterday discussing their plans. A group of Orioles officials may travel to
                  Cuba by next week.

                  In a written statement released by the Orioles, Angelos said: "The Orioles
                  are extremely pleased that our government has approved the request for a
                  license to play a baseball game in Cuba with the Cuban national team, with
                  a follow-up game envisioned at Camden Yards. The granting of the license
                  is the first positive step in a process which the Orioles initiated more than
                  two years ago. The Orioles will continue to work with Commissioner Selig
                  in the forthcoming negotiations.

                  "Baseball is a wonderful medium in bringing people together. This has been
                  demonstrated time and again in a variety of contexts. In that spirit, the
                  Orioles welcome the opportunity to play a part in the efforts to improve
                  relations between the two peoples."

                           © Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company