More Education

Today started off rather slow. I had two interviews canceled on me in the morning, so I ended up just watching the Diamondbacks play the Indians. I'm actually glad I took some time to just sit back and watch a game; I think it's been easy to get caught up in my research and forget the beauty that is the game of baseball. Despite the fact that the players are now professionals, and that they've already participated in more than ninety games this year, they still show a genuine passion for the sport. They constantly chatter during innings, cheer each other on from the dug out, and compete feverishly to win. While the concept of winning may seem straight forward, the reality is that the players should seemingly be concerned only about themselves; in the bigger picture, the team's performance doesn't matter as much as their own in their quest to make it to the States. Yet, you can tell that they're serious about winning the league. The players all know their exact place in the standings, and are desperate to improve it as the playoffs near. While baseball is a way out for youth in the Dominican Republic, it's also a passion Just watching the game, I could tell how much they enjoyed every aspect of the game. It's refreshing, having seen baseball grow into such a commercial enterprise full of complaining millionaires in the US.

In the afternoon, I traveled to the Kansas City Royals' academy to observe their educational program. The Royals also take classes as part of an all-encompassing curriculum from Colegio Instituto, but, while the Mets travel to Santo Domingo three times a week, the teachers actually come to the Royals. It has its positives and negatives. Avoiding transportation, the Roayls are able to save a large chunk of time that can go into rest for the players, or further training. Yet, as I observed the classes, it became obvious that the Royals players were not as focused as the Mets. Players filtered in and out of classrooms, lounged in couches, and constantly talked amongst each other.

Part of this is undoubtedly due to the fact that the school environment impacts the Mets; they're inside real classrooms in a nice private school. The Royals, on the other hand, are in their "homes", and feel more comfortable ignoring authority figures. Additionally, Valeree, the administrator at Colegio Instituto, was not present at the Royals Academy. With the Mets, she serves as a type of roving leader, making sure that the players are in line, and taking away hats and cell phones from distracted players. Regardless, the fact that the teachers are able to travel to the academy to give a few hours of all-encompassing classes is impressive, and should be looked at by other teams.

I continued to be impressed with the content of the curriculum. In a "critical thining" class, students were presented with a passage on a player who just received a $100,000 bonus to sign with a team. The players were then asked to identify the potential problems this could pose for the new signee, and present him with advice as he moved forward. This is something sorely missing from other teams; players have no idea what to do with all the money they're receiving. The Royals' education is proactively making the players think about these pertinent and important issues. While it's too early to analyze the results of the program, it seems like lessons such as these can only be positive.

I was able to ride with the teachers to the academy, and they talked to me about the program. While they expressed frustration that players would not always pay attention during class, they still said that the program was rewarding, and absolutely necessary for the players. They told me how quickly players can progress, and noted how gratified they felt when a player from their program made it to the US.

One other tidbit; a local little league team arrived at the Royals' facility at the same time I did. The coach told me that the Royals let the team use the academy fields four times a week. The team, from Guerra, frequently plays against other teams on the professional fields. Since the team was from Guerra, I asked the coach if they could ever use the Dodgers' fields. He responded negatively, saying that the Dodgers were not helpful at all. The coach told me that the team really appreciates being able to use the facilities; the fields throughout their town are in awful shape, and the team gets a kick out of getting to play on a "Major League" field. Indeed, I talked to the kids, and all were huge fans of the Royals. They also told me that they all wanted to play in the States when they got older (they were between 12 and 16).

It's actually a pretty simple, but effective, idea. Rather than building fields that towns may or may not use and keep up, teams can let local leagues use their own fields. While the Royals are pretty isolated from any Dominican town, allowing youth to use their fields definitely provides a valuable service to the community. I played a little with the kids, as well. I got a line drive single to left field (I'm now 3-3 in the DR), and made a put out at second base. I'm thinking about making a comeback.