Los Mets de Nueva York

Today, I went back to the Mets facility. It was quite a different scene from Tuesday, when the whole country was out to see the official inauguration. I arrived at around 9:30, and the players were taking their last swings and pitches of practice before heading off to play the Florida Marlins.

I met with Juan Henderson, a former Angels Minor League player and the Administrator of the Academy. Despite a very busy schedule, he was very accommodating and spent a few hours talking to me and showing me around the new academy. The Mets' academy is probably the second nicest in the country, next only to the Padres (which Juan admitted). It has three fields, one of which has astro turf (the only one of its kind in the country). Juan kept referring to the place as a resort, visibly proud of the complex. Amongst the highlights: an entertainment room with 2 big screen TV's (the players are mandated to watch the Mets play every night), a "guest" house with a pool (the roving minor league instructors generally stay there, although the team has barbeques there as well), and a huge, ornate clubhouse. Juan walked me around the facilities as excited as a little kid showing off his newest toy.

The Mets have extensive community projects throughout the Dominican community. Their proudest project is a partnership with Esperanza International, an organization that focuses on community building and microgrant financing. Juan himself did not know much about the program beyond a superficial understanding, but I'm getting a two-day tour with Esperanza next week which should give me a much better perspective. Interestingly, Juan said that all cues for the interaction with Esperanza come from New York; he has no interaction with them. As I interpreted this and other conversations, there is an interesting dynamic; the Mets organization has done a lot for the larger Dominican community, but the academy itself does not really have a formal relationship with the community. Thus, the Mets have huge name recognition (a lot of this has to do with the fact that the team has a few of the best Dominican players), but the academy doesn't do much in its immediate surroundings.

This was evident when I walked to a poor farm community right next to the academy which presented a stark contrast to the opulent academy. Although most people I talked to there had a high opinion of the Mets, and said their arrival had sparked some benefits (they always had electricity, for example), the team had not done much for them. They complained that their dirt roads flooded during rains, and it was hard to sell their food. Also, none of them ever attended games, although it would have been a two minute walk to the games. This was a big contrast to the Padres' nearby town. Again, the Mets seem to focus on the bigger community picture, and don't seem as concerned about the smaller communities nearby.

One incredibly innovative program that they have undertaken is educational; they require all academy players to attend a school in Santo Domingo three times per week for three hours (this increases to four times per week during the Fall). The kids receive instruction on not just English, but biology, math, and other secondary skills. They graduated four kids last year, and two already this year. Juan noted that the goal of this program was double-fold: to ensure the Mets were creating not just baseball players, but well-rounded active citizens, and to ensure that players who did not make it to the States could fall back on something. Indeed, Juan told me of a call he received from a former player who had been released, but could use his education to get a substantial hotel management job. The Mets are one of the first teams to institute this, and it may hopefully expand in coming years.

It was evident that the Mets are putting a lot into their facility, and Latin American program. Both their community and educational programs are amongst the best in the country.

I also visited the Blue Jays complex, but the Director, who had previously said he would meet with me, said his boss would not let him. I visited the Yankees as well; the Administrator briefly told me that the team conducted activities with an orphanage and helped during times of crises (hurricanes, etc) but then said he couldn't talk to me more. He did admit the Yankees had no formal community relationships and basically just got money whenever they needed it for a cause. That's not surprising.

Tomorrow, it's back to Baseball City for the Reds, and possibly the Orioles.