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Baseball: A Way of Life in the D.R. (Part 2)
Posted by: | CommentsThis is Part 2 of a two-part series written by Upper Deck intern Ryan King. Part 1 appeared yesterday (July 19) on the Upper Deck Blog. All photos are courtesy of Ryan King.
While in Najayo, we visited a community center that the Padres are involved with. While there we helped clean up the yard, played ball, danced, finger-painted, and basically just hung out with the kids. We gave the kids a bunch of gifts that we brought with us including Upper Deck trading cards. Before we left we asked the program director what it is that they wanted. Responses ranged from a new roof, to painting the bathroom a certain color, to rules that banded fighting between the kids. Our class will work with the Padres to see what we can do for that community center in the future.
Simple activities like dancing, finger painting and just hanging out were big hits with the kids.
This experience gave us a different perspective as we actually got to spend time playing with the kids and seeing how they lived just a few minutes away from the Padres paradise. Because we only had one van that day to transport our class, some of the local boys showed us how to get back to the facility through the woods. Without them there would have been no way that we made it back to the facility without getting lost. As our way of saying thanks, we gave them each some extra gifts for their help.
Finding new friends throughout his nine-day journey was easy for the author.
The following day we visited the Cigar Family, which is a school that used to be in a neighborhood worse than what we saw in Najayo. We visited the Cigar Family to see a model of what can happen when local businesses, community, MLB, and others come together to create a modern school that teaches students to be trilingual and offers them the opportunity to sign, dance, paint, play basketball and baseball, and do karate. We had first graders sing to us; older students talk to us in French; heard some students’ entrepreneurship ideas; and even had students perform karate moves and dance routines for us. The school placed 27 of its first 28 students graduating class in college. We also learned that the school tries to incorporate the students’ parents as much as possible as to not create a social divide that is inevitable when children become more educated then their parents. The next goal is for the community to find a way to retain its educated students rather than letting them move to the city to find work. Other schools such as the Cigar Family are in the works. After leaving the school we visited a couple local entrepreneurs to see how they were making a living and helping the community at the same time.
The next day the class visited different organizations such as USAID, American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic, and the Dominican Development Alliance to hear what each of them do and how Major League Baseball makes an impact. We then heard from two former MLB interns who are now working on projects in the Dominican mostly in the investigation department. After these meetings the class divided in two and went to Pedro Martinez’s wife’s community center to learn about a microfinance program for single mothers. I went along to meet Pedro’s wife and learn what goes on at her center. Her center has benefited from funds from the Dominican Development Alliance. The center has already outgrown its space as more families hear about it and want their kids to join the community center. Summer camp was currently taking place where computer classes, cooking classes, cosmetology classes, and games take place. Due to rain most of the baseball games had been postponed, so we ended up playing basketball and a game of volleyball with the students instead. Mrs. Martinez was very interested in what we were doing and wished more college students from the states would come down and volunteer at her center and others.
Just like baseball, education is also vital to finding a better way of life in the D.R.
A day later, we visited the main branch of Banco BHD, the official bank of MLB in the Dominican Republic, to understand the partnership between the bank and baseball. This new branch had a decent-sized baseball museum inside of it, which was pretty cool. It had a baseball card of every Dominican player that made the league. We heard horror stories of teams signing players and then the player’s money disappearing either from a family member’s involvement, an independent trainer, or just bad investments. Major League Baseball wanted to stop this and have one process where all signing bonuses were directly deposited into the bank and some kind of financial training was given rather than giving these kids a bag of cash which is what used to take place. Currently all players must come to the bank with a parent or guardian and learn about good financial management. They stress to the player that it is their money and they can do whatever they want with it, but that they should try and save as much as possible. Currently 28 of the 30 major league teams use the bank for their Dominican operations. Teams and players are given special rates, as this is a joint venture between the bank and MLB. Our visit to the bank even made it into the local newspaper.
Teaching the players how to handle their finances is of utmost importance in the D.R.
After leaving the bank we visited a model independent training facility called “La Academia.” This facility was like a mini major league facility. The players lived in a dorm and played baseball. The facility currently has three of the top five prospects for the next signing period. Not only are the players competing on quality fields, but they also are being fed and trained the right way. And they are taking basic English lesson to prepare them for the next level. The facility does not offer full schooling yet but it’s in the plans to make it a baseball school where they learn in the classroom as well as out on the field.
The players pay nothing to live at the facility, but like any independent trainer the facility takes 25% percent of the players signing bonus. The percentage of signing bonuses collected each year helps keep the operation running. After leaving the independent training facility our class again split up and visited the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates training facilities. I went to the new Pirates facility where four things stood out to me: 1.) The branding of the Pittsburgh Pirates ‘P’ all over the complex; 2.) the pictures and memorabilia of Pirates greats, especially Roberto Clemente; 3.) the importance of education the Pirates place on their players; and 4.) the community service requirements the team mandates from its players. After leaving the facility we visited the local school where the Pirates do most of their community service. The Pirates built a wall around the school for safety and have donated computers and other items as well.
Dominican players who make it to the major leagues are revered in their homeland.
On our final full day in the Dominican we headed back to the MLB offices to debrief with Sandy Alderson and other baseball officials about what we had seen and what the next steps should be to overcome the issues facing MLB in the country. Some of the topics we discussed included how to regulate the clubs; how to certify the independent trainers; what happens to the players who don’t make it; how to adjust the cultural mindset that baseball is the only way to make it; and how do you improve the education of the players. As a class we threw out some ideas on ways to improve these issues. Alderson then told us what he was looking for, which is a pre- (before players are signed to work with independent trainers), current (players in the academies), post- (players who didn’t make it), and non-player (education of boys and girls) plan that is sustainable for years to come. The goal for our class is to go back to the U.S. and come up with a comprehensive outline that we can present to MLB in the near future.
After a great meeting we were free to check out the city for the rest of our day. We had a farewell dinner that was attended by members of MLB and other leaders we had met during the trip. Following dinner, our entire class went out for a classmate’s birthday before heading back to San Diego the next morning. The trip totaled nine action-packed days in the Dominican Republic.
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Baseball: A Way of Life in the D.R.
Posted by: | CommentsThis is Part 1 of a two-part series written by Upper Deck intern Ryan King. Part 2 will appear tomorrow on the Upper Deck Blog. All photos are courtesy of Ryan King.
On June 17, the Sports MBA program from San Diego State University departed for the Dominican Republic as part of its International Human Resource class. The goal of the class was to learn about recruiting, developing and retaining international talent through baseball in the Dominican. The trip was also to help Major League Baseball and specifically the San Diego Padres brain trust in developing sustainable social economic community outreach programs. In order for our class to be able to make recommendations to the Padres and Major League Baseball, we were exposed to many different elements that affect baseball and the citizens of the country.
The author, bottom right, and his classmates arrived in the D.R. on a mission.
After taking a tour of the Santo Domingo historic downtown area we got down to business with a meeting at the Major League Baseball office in the Dominican. We had the opportunity to hear from all the departments in the office and learn about what they do on a daily basis. We were lucky enough to hear from Sandy Alderson, the former vice president of baseball operations and executive with the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics who was appointed by Commissioner Bud Selig to clean up baseball in the Dominican as a consultant to MLB. We learned that baseball in the Dominican represents a $100 million yearly business and that the four biggest challenges the office faces are substance abuse, identity fraud, education, and numerous independent trainers.
Because the Dominican Republic is such a poor island many families see baseball as the only way for their sons to make it. Due to this belief, independent trainers work with young ballplayers to try and get them ready for the day they are eligible to be signed at 16 and a half. Because there is such a premium placed on age some of the trainers give their players performing enhancing drugs (PEDs) to give them an advantage on the field. Sometimes the players have no idea that this is even taking place while other times the player is well aware of what they are doing. Likewise, older players are trying to lower their age in order to be looked at as a better prospect and receive more money when they sign. Since 16 is such an important age to these players, many of them drop out of school to pursue their dream. The educational system is not very good in the D.R. and these boys are dropping out anywhere from the 5th to 8th grades.
Field conditions for youngsters playing baseball in the Dominican are less-than-desirable.
After hearing about all the issues that face the Dominican Republic and Major League Baseball we went to a barrio and watched as little league teams played baseball on a field that never would be used in the U.S. The field was overgrown, uneven, unkempt, and second base was a piece of cardboard. The children all had different color uniforms and some of their equipment and shoes were falling apart. In the outfield was a pickup game of baseball using a rag softball and a few teenagers hitting a plastic cap with a broomstick. There was one shoeless 16-year-old who was fielding grounders and had a cannon for an arm. He was developed to the point where some of my classmates wondered if he was on PEDs as he had veins coming out of his muscles. My classmates and I joined the pickup game in the outfield. The children seemed to get a kick out of us playing with them. I did not have any luck at the plate as I struck out twice. I talked to one of the older boys named Felipe who was 17 and spoke little English and he told me he played at the park every day. After watching these kids play for almost two hours, you could tell how much more baseball meant to them and the pride they took in playing it. We learned that 10 major league players including Willy Mo Pena grew up playing on this exact same field and that none of them had done anything to fix it after reaching the big leagues.
The next day we traveled to the Padres training facility in Najayo to watch a summer league game between the Padres and the Orioles. The difference between the field in the barrio and this one was night and day. The kids I met the day before all dreamed of being signed and one day playing on this field that had the same dimensions as Petco Park. The players in this summer league battle were between 17 and 20 years old and had been signed to contracts ranging from $10,000 to more than $1 million. The Padres prevailed 7-4 this day following a home run by one of their rising stars in the system. We learned that only four or five of the players on these Dominican summer league teams usually makes it to the states to play in the minor leagues with the chance to make the majors. After the game we took a tour of the best baseball facility in the Dominican. The Padres spent $9 million to build their beautiful state-of-the-art complex. The players have access to top-notch fields, batting cages, locker rooms, dorm rooms, medical and weight rooms, and classrooms. The players live at the facility 10 months out of the year but only receive payment on top of their signing bonuses during the three-month season. Along with practicing baseball, the players take English classes and cultural immersion courses to prepare them for the United States.
To graduate to summer league games is yet another step toward possible big league dreams for up-and-coming players in the Dominican Republic.
One night, I was talking to the catcher from the game we watched and asked him questions about his recruitment and baseball development. He was an 18-year-old from Venezuela who was enjoying his second season with the team. I asked him where he learned to speak such good English and he told me he played in a tournament in Vero Beach, Florida, when he met former major league catcher Michael Difelice who asked him if he wanted to improve his catching skills. If so, he would allow him to live with him and that’s where he learned English and improved his skills defensively. He said he stopped going to school after the 9th grade to concentrate on baseball. He said that he did not work with an independent trainer, but rather it was his father who helped him get signed. He had four offers, but decided to take less money to sign with the Padres because of the Padres Dominican facility. He told me that they play six games a week and that he rotates with two other catchers. He also mentioned that he was not having that great of a season with the bat, but declined to share what his batting average was. The last thing that we talked about was the competition between the different teams. He mentioned that some of the organizations play to win, while others focus on training and developing their players. He stated that the Padres focus on training and development.
To be continued…
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