Cuba Morales played for La Habana in the
Cuban National Series. He also played the
Cuban national baseball team in an
exhibition series against the
Baltimore Orioles of
Major League Baseball, hitting a three-run
home run in the game held in Baltimore. Morales attempted to defect from Cuba in June 2000 with the help of agent Gus Dominguez. Caught at sea by the
United States Coast Guard along with 30 other Cubans seeking
asylum in the United States, he was returned to Cuba under the "
wet feet, dry feet policy". Morales successfully defected from Cuba later in 2000 and established his residency in
Peru. After he
batted .231/.287/.281 with one
home run in 48 games for the
Norwich Navigators of the
Class AA Eastern League, the Yankees placed him on
waivers. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Norwich. The Yankees attempted to void his contract when it discovered that he had underreported his age by three years. The Yankees released Morales on July 31, and he played in 10 games for the
Sonoma County Crushers of the
Western Baseball League for the remainder of the 2001 season. Morales signed with the
Boston Red Sox for the 2002 season, ==Personal==