Put Me In Coach...

Let’s talk about why we’re here in the Dominican Republic… It might be a little more than the non-baseball fans are interested in, but for context it will help…

Our trip consists of visits to MLB and private training academies which feed the Dominican Summer League… The players in this league are between 16 and 20 years old… Most have been playing baseball in the streets since they were toddlers… Discovered by both scouts from the academies and independent trainers/agents (called “buscones” in the slang term), these players are being groomed for MLB… There is no draft in the DR… Players are signed to contracts at the age of 16 or older… Baseball is their ticket out of the barrios and rural poverty that is so pervasive here... Signing bonuses range from USD$3000 and up, and I do mean up... Some of these kids sign for over USD$1mm...

In addition to poverty – and perhaps a contributor to it – is the lack of value that is placed on formal education here… Most children go to school 3-4 hours a day which includes the time it takes to travel there and home… Illiteracy is rampant and from the information we’re receiving it seems that there is no correlation between education and better economic opportunities… The government is of little to no help as less than 4% of the budget is allocated for education and of that the average amount spent per year in reality is less than 2%...

The academies in the best cases fill the role of trainers, educators, mentors and guardians… Some do their jobs better than others… Once the players enter the academies, the play on the field and the work done in the classroom become their jobs… All the academies have some education component… At the minimum, there are English classes to teach basic language skills both on and off the field…

Our role is to assess MLB and other private academies in the DR… What is the impact on the baseball players in the DR? What is their impact in the communities where they are located – primarily in Boca Chica? Are they being good corporate citizens, good international citizens? Can they be doing more? Should they be?

There are a lot of questions… Let’s see if we can develop some informed answers…