By TIM JOHNSON
             Herald Staff Writer

             HAVANA -- Cuban baseball teams have much to boast of -- including Olympic
             honors. But something needles at fans here.

             ``'People wonder if one of our teams could beat a major league team,'' television
             sports commentator Jesus Suarez said.

             If all goes well, that question may get answered.

             A few rows away from Suarez at the Latinoamericano Stadium in Havana on
             Sunday afternoon sat Peter Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles, and a
             delegation of Major League Baseball officials. They are in Havana negotiating
             rights for the Orioles to play a Cuban national team, once in Cuba and once in the
             United States. The historic exhibition series -- if it happens -- would mark the first
             time a Major League team has played in Cuba since 1947.

             Negotiations are delicate. Angelos declined to speak to a reporter. His son, Louis,
             touched on only the broadest of generalities.

             ``The stadium holds a lot of people. It's nice,'' he said.

             Spectators, many of whom were aware of the Angelos delegation, voiced
             excitement at the prospect of seeing a Major League team play in Cuba.

             ``This stadium would fill up. There wouldn't be an empty seat,'' said Emilio
             Pumarino Hernandez, a factory worker.

             ``It would be phenomenal,'' said Carlos Fonte, a fellow fan.

             Average Cubans seem to think the series can be arranged -- despite numerous
             obstacles. Their only fear: that the Orioles might send out-of-shape or washed-up
             players and prevent a real contest.

             ``We want the best players to come: Cal Ripken, Albert Belle and the others,''
             said Suarez, who works as a commentator for Cubavision. ``Fans worry that the
             [U.S.] players won't give it their all, that they'll treat it like a training match.''

             Enrique Lopez, a retired brewery worker, echoed those concerns.

             ``They better send their best players and not do like the Japanese, and send just
             the older players,'' Lopez said.

             Past matches with amateur U.S. teams -- mainly university-level players -- have
             left Cubans hungry for better competition.

             ``It's not the same to play with kids from Pepperdine or UCLA than it is to play
             with [Orioles pitcher Mike] Mussina,'' said another television commentator, who
             would only give his first name, Reynaldo.

             Foreigners in the stadium for Sunday's match between Cuban national league rivals
             Industriales and Villa Clara seemed impressed with the level of Cuba's play.

             ``They've got some darn good players. I've seen some better ball here than I saw
             in the World Series,'' said Cecil Fowler, a Canadian fan from Enderby, British
             Columbia.

             A variety of difficult issues must be resolved before an exhibition series can be
             arranged. Foremost is the longstanding U.S. ban on trade with Cuba. An
             exhibition series first proposed in 1996 was dropped at State Department request.

             ``The State Department did not want to have anything that might add something to
             [President Fidel] Castro's stature,'' said Bill Murray, executive director of
             operations for Major League Baseball.

             On Jan. 5, as part of a loosening of trade restrictions, and cultural and academic
             exchanges with Cuba, President Clinton opened the door to the Orioles to pursue
             arrangements for the series. Such a series is far from a sure thing, said Murray,
             who spoke to The Herald before the Angelos delegation arrived in Cuba.

             ``What the government did was [it] gave the Orioles a license to go down and talk
             to Cuban officials about the possibility of a game,'' he said, noting that officials
             from either country, Major League Baseball or the Players Association could nix
             the proposed series.

             Also worrying officials is the matter of security. Would Orioles players be safe in
             Havana? How about Cuban players who might want to seek asylum -- and huge
             salaries -- in the United States? On two previous occasions, a player from the
             Cuban national team sought asylum while on tour in the United States.

             The trade ban complicates the issue of the take at the gate. The Orioles have
             offered earnings to Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services. Cuban National
             Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon offered to send earnings from the game here
             to victims of Hurricane Mitch in Central America.

             In any case, Cuba's earnings wouldn't be much. Tickets at the 50,000-seat
             stadium go for the equivalent of a nickel, a dime and 15 cents.

             Cuba's baseball commissioner, Carlitos Rodriguez, declined to speak about the
             talks, saying both sides agreed to remain quiet until an agreement is reached.

             Other matters would have to be hashed out, too, such as game rules. Cuban
             players use lively aluminum bats. U.S. players use wooden ones.

             ``Here, the pitcher doesn't bat. This rule was set up so that the pitchers don't get
             too tired,'' said Dionel Batista, a line marker in the stadium.

             Tony Grubisic, a police officer from Chicago on an academic study tour of Cuba,
             surveyed the stadium field and noted: ``Three hundred twenty-five feet down the
             line? That seems shorter than average.''

             Rather than a seventh-inning stretch, Cuban fans take a break after the fifth inning,
             when young women in miniskirts rush on to the field and offer shots of thick Cuban
             coffee to the umpires.

             No beer is sold at Cuban stadiums. Fans who want to drink bring their own small
             bottles of rum. Many smoke cigars. The Wave is unheard of. Instead, fans bring
             whistles and drums. When foul balls drop into the stands, spectators give them
             back.

             ``You know why? Because people know that if they take the balls there won't be
             enough to keep playing,'' said Jorge Luis de Leon, a surgeon.

             No billboards are allowed. Instead, fans read signs like this: ``Strong mind, strong
             body.''

             While the differences are hashed out, Cuban fans say they await what they hope
             will be a real challenge for their players.

             ``There are a lot of people who say we are the Olympic and world champions.
             But this will be the first test,'' said Reynaldo, the television commentator.

             Herald staff writer Carol Rosenberg contributed to this report.
 

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