Rolando Viera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rolando Viera | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: August 1, 1973 Havana, Cuba | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| Stats at Baseball Reference |
Rolando Viera (born August 1, 1973) is a Cuban-born, left-handed baseball pitcher who unsuccessfully sued Major League Baseball to challenge its draft procedures for Cuban players. Viera signed with the Boston Red Sox and played for its minor league affiliates before being released.
Viera first pitched for Industriales in Havana, Cuba, in 1993. He missed the 1994 and 1995 seasons due to hepatitis. In his last two seasons, he achieved an 18-10 record and a 3.12 earned run average. He was suspended for the 2000 season by Cuban officials after his wife, Lorraine, applied for a visa for him to the United States without his knowledge. The two subsequently divorced and Viera remarried. After receiving the visa, Viera came to the U.S. on April 25, 2001 and began working in Tampa, Florida. He had initially left his young son, Rolando Viera, Jr., behind with Lorraine in Cuba, and attempted to bring his second wife to the U.S. After Lorraine secured a U.S. visa in a lottery and travelled to Miami with their son, Viera instead divorced his second wife and remarried Lorraine.
MLB lawsuit
According to MLB rules, Cuban players were subject to the draft unless they signed with an MLB team while residing outside of the U.S., Puerto Rico, or Canada. Wishing to be instead treated as a free agent, Viera, represented by attorney Alan Gura and agent Joe Kehoskie, filed the first lawsuit by a player ever to challenge the baseball draft, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and argued that the MLB draft rules were discriminatory. His request for an injunction was denied by Judge James D. Whittemore on June 4, 2021, who ruled that Viera could not meet the federal injunction standard because inclusion in the draft would not cause him to suffer irreparable harm.