The Original Dominican Baseball Academy

Today, I visited Campo las Palmas, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Dominican baseball facility, and one of the original academies in the country. Officially inauguared in 1987, the academy is the longest standing in the country, and helped to set the tone for the modern facilities constructed by teams throughout the country. The Dodgers have a rich Dominican history, and players like Pedro Martinez, his brother Ramon, Raul Mondesi, and Pedro Astacio have all passed through the palm-tree lined fields of Campo las Palmas. Over the years, the Dodgers have become synonymous with Dominican baseball.

Campo las Palmas retains a vintage feel, distinctive from the other academies I have visited. It is located on 250 sprawling acres, carefully landscaped and filled with palm trees, fish infested lagoons, and, of course, four baseball fields. The Dodgers even used to own a farm land, but they just sold off the last of their cattle. Whereas some of the other academies feel like mini-Americas, Campo las Palmas is the essence of the Dominican Republic. There is, however, a fine line between Shea Stadium vintage (getting teared down this year because of its decrepit state) and Fenway Park vintage, which is classic despite its old age. Campo las Palmas carefully treads that line. The Dodgers have been forced to invest upwards of $100,000 in the facility in the last year, to ensure it can stay up to pace with the modern academy. It's only received air conditioning in the offices, along with new desks and chairs. The players' bathrooms are also getting a refurbishing. Yet, in stark contrast to other academies, all 40 of the players sleep in the same millitary-barracks like room. The cafeteria looks about ready to fall apart, and the locker room looks like it hasn't been touched in years. In any case, the Dodgers are doing their best to retain the classic feel while ensuring the academy remains functional.

Unfortunately, the Director of the Academy was out sick, but I did have the opportunity to spend some time with the Assistant of Baseball operations, a recent graduate of Cornell. Despite having only spent a short time with the team, he had a good read on the academy. Education-wise, the Dodgers have largely remained on par with other teams. Players take English classes every other day, but the course is not very time or work intensive. The team is, however, looking into creating a permanent curriculum that monitor player progress. Additionally, the team hopes to put more of an emphasis on cultural assimiliation, teaching players about life in the US. To this end, Ramon Martinez and Pedro Astacio came through the camp a few weeks ago to talk about their exeriences.

Campo las Palmas is about three kilometers from Guerra, a fairly large town. Because they have been in the area for so long, they do have a decent relationship with the town. The stands are supposedly filled for games on Fridays and Saturdays, and everybody in Guerra is a Dodgers fan. The Dodgers have also attempted to, rather than sporadically providing aid, set up a relationship with a local school, Vivo Futuro. In 2005, former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda funded 3 buses for the school, and the Dodgers have continued to provide money, following a 2006 visit by their owner. I saw a letter recently sent to the academy, providing another $10,000 in aid for the school. It seems that this effort to establish a relationship can prove to be effective in making a difference and establishing relationships.

I traveled into Guerra with a farmer who used to work with the team to maintain their fields; he was appreciative of their help and said the Dodgers had a good image in Guerra. I was also able to visit Vivo Futuro. The school looked very nice, but unfortunately, no administrators were available to talk to me about the relationship with the Dodgers. I decided to take a trip to the Mayor's office to see what he thought about the team. While he was not in, I talked to his Executive Assistant. She told me that she appreciated the efforts the Dodgers had made to improve Vivo Futuro, but did not think they had done much for the larger community of Guerra. She called Campo las Palmas a largely exclusive establishment, and implied that the authorities rarely traveled into Guerra. She emphasized there was a lot more that the team could do in the town, and their arms were open for a collaboration.

I do think that the Dodgers have taken a positive step in establishing a relationship with a school that appears to span several years. And a team cannot be expected to take on too much in a town. It seems, however, that after 21 years in Guerra, they might be able to make some more substantial efforts in the town itself. The roads are falling apart, poverty is rampant, and the local little league fields are not in good shape. Hopefully, the Dodgers will move beyond Vivo Futuro and begin to work in the larger Guerra community.

In the afternoon, I was also able to travel to Baseball City to observe the Cincinnati Reds' English classes. They provided a sharp contrast to the Mets' educational program. About half the team lounged in couches in their entertainment facilities, looking about ready to fall asleep. The teacher wrote several unrelated English phrases and words on the board (everything from "cold" to "kiss" to "cup"), directly translated the words, and then asked the players to repeat him as he articulated the phrases. Then, he would ask two players to speak at the front of the room. However, these players received little feedback, and talked too quietly to be heard by the rest of the class. Whereas Valarie would take away cell phones when the Mets players took them out during school, the Reds busily texted away, even answering calls during the class. It is unfortunate that Major League Baseball has not set standards or provided curriculums for English classes; it seems that most of the teams simply do the bare minimum for their players.

Tomorrow, it's back to Baseball City to talk to the Diamondbacks and the Cubs.