The Cuban immigrant said he would be against anything that could bring profit to Fidel Castro.
``I came to this country to have freedom,'' Hernandez told The Palm Beach Post for a story Wednesday. ``I wouldn't want to go back to play in Cuba and have part of my salary go to Fidel.''
The Clinton administration recently announced a proposal to relax long-standing trade restrictions against Cuba but said any profits from the games should go to humanitarian efforts.
The Baltimore Orioles are planning two exhibition games this spring against the Cuban national team -- one in Baltimore, one in Cuba. The Marlins have no such plans.
``I'd like to see doors open, and I'd like to see a lot of Cuban ballplayers come to the U.S., as long as the money would be for them or if they stayed in this country,'' said Hernandez, whose half-brother Orlando ``El Duque'' Hernandez also defected from Cuba and now pitches for the New York Yankees.
``But they would have to return to Cuba with the money, and then it goes to Fidel,'' Livan continued. ``I know all about that situation. I came here and left my family in Cuba just to escape from that situation.''
The last major-league team to play in Cuba was the Brooklyn Dodgers, who trained in Havana in 1947.
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press