Introduction
It seems incredible that just 6 weeks ago we were all strangers and this country seemed about as foreign as Mars. Now, as I sit here wearing pants in 95-‐degree weather with a finished plate of chicharrón on the table beside me, I’m feeling quite Dominican. I came to this program with one expectation. I wanted an answer to my question of how a small island in the Caribbean like the Dominican Republic can produce such phenomenal baseball talent at such an exorbitant rate. Without a doubt, I got an answer to my question. What I wasn’t expecting was the countless other things that came as a result of my experience here. I gained life skills as we learned to travel independently, language skills out of necessity, baseball knowledge from class studies and excursions, and critical thinking skills from a combination of all categories above. What I find truly fascinating is the fact that these takeaways were only made possible through the full experience of a study abroad trip. It was the combination of readings, lectures, in class discussions, out of class informal conversations, excursions, and personal exploration that allowed me to completely redefine the way I plan to approach my future learning endeavors. Prior to arriving in the Dominican Republic our program’s central question was “To what extent has Major League Baseball colonized Dominican baseball?” To preface, my background knowledge of the Dominican Republic was limited to my knowledge of Major League Baseball. Which is to say that I knew the Dominican Republic produced more baseball players per capita than any country in the world and that’s about it. I knew essentially nothing about the history, culture, or economy of the Dominican Republic. In our quest to find answers to this central question, I made discoveries regarding all of these subjects and I expanded my knowledge in a manner that far exceeds the specified baseball lens that I expected to study. To provide an answer to the program’s central question, I believe that Major League Baseball has colonized Dominican baseball to an extent that Dominican baseball has essentially become an extension of MLB’s developmental programs. I came to this conclusion through a combination of our readings, site visits/movie screenings and most importantly my internship with Major League Baseball.
The readings that really solidified my position were the Charlie Drysdale article entitled “Baseball Academies in the Dominican Republic: From Sweatshops to Big Business”, the Allen Klein report titled “Baseball as Underdevelopment: The Political Economy of Sport in the Dominican Republic” and Bill Brubaker’s article titled “Hey Kid, Wanna Be a Star?” These were just a few of many assigned readings throughout our 6-‐week course. However, these articles were instrumental in helping me formulate my understanding of Major League Baseball’s influence within
the Dominican Republic, which in turn helped me develop my conclusion regarding the extent to which MLB has colonized the Dominican Republics version of baseball.
There were two specific site visits and two movie screenings that were crucial in solidified my position. The first site visit was our trip to Rudy Ramirez’ little league academy, although I believe that I took more from the brief look at the independent trainer or Buscone and his prospects. The second site visit came weeks later when we traveled to Santiago to visit Estadio Cibao and the Aguilas Dominican Winter League team where we got the opportunity to converse with multiple former and presidents of the Aguilas club. In addition to the site visits, the movie screenings were vital in providing fodder for my argument because they outlined the Dominican pipeline to the Major Leagues. The documentaries “Rumbo a Las Grandes Ligas” and “Pelotero” are great examples of Major League Baseball’s influence within the Dominican Republic and specifically the Dominican understanding of organized baseball.
The biggest contributor to my conclusion was my experience as an intern for Major League Baseball. I had the unique opportunity to visit more than 10 Major League Dominican Academies to teach cultural workshops and evaluate educational practices within individual teams. These visits were extremely valuable because I got a chance to compare and contrast different organizations investment and reliance upon Dominican talent. My involvement in the academy classrooms was extremely important in terms providing insight into Major League investment and reliance upon Dominican talent. However, I believe the most influential factor in deriving my conclusions regarding Major League colonization of the Dominican Republic was my interaction with newly signed Dominican prospects. I was able to talk with young Dominican players who are fresh in the system and beginning their journey through the Dominican pipeline. Gaining their perspective and understanding the way they perceive Major League Baseball was unique to my experience and it has been vital in shaping my opinions.
Now that I have provided an introduction to my Baseball in Context final portfolio I will briefly outline my plans for the remainder of the project. I plan to organize this portfolio by dividing future posts into specified categories and placing them chronologically. Initially, I will provide a chronological order of my weekly essays, which each covered a prompt that focused on the readings and central topic of the specified week. Following my essays I will introduce reflective accounts of multiple site visits accompanied by a few pieces to help tie my experiences to my conclusions. Following the site visit posts I will offer a brief synopsis of my responsibilities and experiences throughout my internship with Major League Baseball and their influence on my opinions. I will conclude with a short writing to wrap up my grand takeaways and express the influence this program has had on my beliefs, abilities, and objectives for the future.
Weekly Essays
Themes: Week 1: Introduction to Course Questions and U.S. – Dominican Baseball Relations Week 2: Player Recruitment and Development: The Dominican Pipeline Week 3: Consequences of the Pipeline / Baseball as Underdevelopment Week 4: Dominican Ownership and Latin American Models for Player Development Week 5: Baseball, Business and Culture: Opportunity, Pride, and Fraud Reflectory Piece: The weekly essays for the Sports Ethic’s class constituted the majority of written work throughout the course. They were extremely beneficial in promoting comprehension within the class because they required an extreme level of critical analysis. They gave us the opportunity to connect the conceptual themes we explored in class to our real life experiences in the country. The essays allowed me to check my comprehension of complicated readings and concepts through weekly feedback from the professor and they gave me the chance to formulate personal opinions that I was then able to compare with the opinions and beliefs of a certified expert in the field of Dominican baseball. These assignments were vital to my understanding of the complex intricacies of baseball within the Dominican Republic and they contributed significantly to my final conclusions regarding this programs central question of “to what extent has Major League Baseball colonized Dominican baseball?”
Week 1
After completion of our first week in the Dominican Republic, my views and beliefs regarding baseball in this country have only been reiterated. When I arrived I held skeptical beliefs about Major League Baseball’s influence within the Dominican Republic and after a week of readings, discussions, and site visits I still maintain my belief that while the MLB portrays itself as a caring and compassionate institution, it clearly has a mission that it prioritizes over moral and ethical standards. Prior to arriving in the Dominican Republic I spent some time attempting to understand how such a small island produces such a disproportionate amount of professional baseball players. It appears to be a breeding ground for talent. This question was one that I hoped to find answers to during our trip and I definitely did. The biggest difference between baseball in the Dominican Republic and baseball elsewhere is the way in which Dominicans perceive the game. It isn’t simply a recreational activity like it is in the United States. Dominicans understand that baseball is the sole path out of poverty. During our trip to Consuelo I began to understand the way Dominican youth see baseball. While they do enjoy the game and play for fun, deep down they know it has a deeper meaning and their hard work is mandatory. In a poor, developing country, baseball provides the only avenue for social mobility, which is incredibly important because the ability to rise through the ranks of a social hierarchy provides hope in a land where hope isn’t always warranted. Another interesting takeaway from Consuelo is the idea that the successful production of professional baseball players immediately alters the family dynamic, which then resonates into the community and eventually modifies a society’s views surrounding their place within their country and the success of their government. In addition to the Dominican’s perception of baseball as their “golden ticket”, the game also holds strong roots within the country and everyone appears to feel some kind of deeper relation to the game that is not present in other countries. After analyzing a few of the readings and discussions I have quickly begun to notice the way Dominicans feel about their baseball and the way they relate to it as a national pastime and a source of pride. It is tough to travel more than a few blocks in Santo Domingo without coming across a baseball field. The sport has taken on a new meaning for Dominicans and is ingrained in them as a lifetime passion. One of the things that caught me off guard is the way that Dominicans don’t grow out of their love for baseball. In America we sometimes dismiss sport as child’s play when we grow older. Americans value our education to help us gain social mobility while Dominicans value baseball. It is extremely common to find a grown man whose love for baseball resembles that of a young child seeing the game for the first time.
My views regarding baseball and MLB practices in this country are quickly growing more and more cynical. From my understanding, Dominicans view baseball as a way of life and being, which is different from the objectives of Major League Baseball. The MLB is financially driven due to America’s strong capitalistic beliefs and while I don’t necessarily believe this is a bad thing, I do notice some signs of exploitation and unnecessary measures being taken by teams in effort to find and produce Major League talent. The MLB provides an incredibly important service to Dominicans because it provides hope for a more prosperous life. I believe that the Dominican Republic is better off with the MLB’s presence, but I would also argue that MLB needs to seriously re-‐evaluate their moral and ethical obligation to society.
Week 2 The conclusion of our second week in the Dominican Republic has provided
many new perspectives to some of my personal quandaries regarding baseball and the culture that surrounds it. This week I made a concerted effort to look at baseball and it’s life impact from the perspective of a young prospect. I remember the days when I spent weeks practicing for a tryout and the nerves I felt beforehand and I decided to attempt to place myself in the shoes of the Dominican youth in hopes that I could get a better understanding for how these young prospects view the game of baseball and their role within it. In compliance with this weeks core questions, I also focused on a viewing the game through a more historical lens and making comparisons between baseball and its influence in the early 20th century versus its practices and influence in present day society.
Prior to this week, my historical background surrounding baseball focused solely on Major League Baseball in the United States. I have no experience studying neither the Negro leagues nor the Caribbean leagues and the readings from this week were my introduction into baseball on a grand international scale. I found the reading in “Raceball” regarding the Latino challenge fascinating because it depicted an era when competitive “professional” (In quotations because I’ve noticed a trend of argument regarding what was and wasn’t considered professional) baseball wasn’t confined solely to the MLB. The book discussed a time when top-‐notch athletes played throughout different leagues according to the season. One of my major takeaways from the reading was the way in which a vast portion of players fluctuated from the Negro Leagues to the Caribbean Leagues throughout the year while Major League Baseball held a relative amount of stability in regard to protecting its talent. I’ve concluded that a good percentage of this was related to race relations and economic benefits but it did make me question the power complex between the three leagues.
It is clear that the MLB maintained a level of exclusivity and allure thanks to its financial influence and a prevalent practice of racial discrimination, which appeared to place MLB at the top of the global baseball hierarchy. The Caribbean leagues, including the Dominican Summer League and Cuban League, held influence and power in their general popularity but it is noted that many Latinos perceived the MLB as the ultimate goal for players who had the luxury and ability to bypass the color line. (Cuba distinguished itself as the gold standard of professional baseball for those who were barred from the MLB by racial discrimination). The readings led me to believe that the Negro Leagues and Caribbean Leagues suffered from their competition for talent and therefore dragged themselves down, which allowed MLB to establish itself as baseball’s premier league.
Although the competition between leagues is fascinating, I was most intrigued while analyzing the evolution of Caribbean baseball from pre World War II to present day. Baseball, especially in the Dominican Republic, has evolved in accordance with racial tolerance in the United States. Throughout a vast majority of the 20th century Dominicans viewed baseball as an activity and source of national pride rather than a business (Epitomized by the “amateur” status of their leagues). As the United States and specifically Major League Baseball began developing more tolerant views regarding race relations, the business of baseball in the Dominican Republic saw a rapid transformation. The Dominican Republic quickly evolved into what I consider an exporter of raw talent and the idea of national pride and fun was replaced by the desire for financial gain and social mobility (specifically the ability to rise out of extreme poverty). This desire feels justifiable after reading Drysdale’s article and visiting the multi-‐million dollar MLB academies that resemble “paradise” in comparison to the impoverished pueblos that a lot of these kids grow up in. The young talent in the Dominican Republic no longer grows up dreaming of playing for their country because they understand that MLB is now the best place for their aspirations. I think this belief was instilled in me during our site visits to the Rudy Ramirez and Ney’s Academies. I made a point to ask a few of the kids what their plans and dreams for baseball were and each one immediately rattled of “¡Los Grandes Ligues!”. In the United States it is typical to hear a young boy claim his dream is to play in the big leagues, but more often than not it is understood that dreams are dreams and we quickly grow up to understand how small our odds are of actually becoming major league ballplayers. In addition to the boy’s responses regarding their dreams, I also took notice of their training regiments and their path to professional baseball and I compared it to those in the United States. The passion and love for the game is clearly defined both here and in the States. However, thanks to firsthand experience I believe there is more desire and a feeling of necessity to succeed for the Dominican youth, which appears to enhance their motivation in a way that a majority of American kids can’t quite replicate. Dominican youth and their route through baseball clearly views the MLB as the ultimate goal and therefore emphasize each part of the process as another stepping stone towards signing a professional contract whereas American baseball culture places emphasis primarily on having fun and pushes back the pursuit of a professional contract until one expresses and displays their talent and commitment.
Week 3 (Revised) Major League Baseball’s presence in the Dominican Republic has most definitely had its fair share of ups and downs. The MLB has consistently flirted with a moral and ethical boundary between exploitation and cultivation. MLB’s presence in the Dominican Republic is quite clearly a business venture, which understandably makes profit the primary concern. However, I believe that MLB and all “big business” have an obligation to uphold a certain set of standards in order to prevent exploitation. I am trying my hardest not to fall prey to Klein’s idea of progressive ethnocentrism but it is hard not to occasionally be sucked in. I believe that under these circumstances my criticisms are warranted. However, it’s important to be aware of our natural ability to skew our perceptions to match our predispositions. I need to remember that I can’t view practices here through my typical American perspective because this is not the United States and what works for us isn’t always feasible in other countries. In spite of this, the one aspect that I find truly fascinating is the fact that until recently, this questionable behavior on behalf of MLB teams went almost completely unchecked. As our journey continues it’s becoming clearer that as MLB’s investment and reliance on Dominican talent grows, so will the importance of oversight and monitoring. This system of oversight has become an agent to protect both the prospects and the organizations and hopefully it will continue to evolve until this American “colonization” of Dominican baseball begins to provide significant benefits to both parties in a more fair and justifiable manner.
The establishment of the MLB Commissioner’s Office in Santo Domingo provides supervision throughout these academies and has made significant progress in creating a reformed system. In addition to the Commissioner’s office, individual teams have begun implementing educational programs with defined objectives in order to track player’s educational progress and MLB has commissioned a “trial” program which they hope will allow them to structure a defined program for all academies. Major League Baseball’s response to this problem has resulted in question’s regarding who reserves responsibility for solving these issues. Personally I have a hard time placing educational responsibility solely at the hands of Major League Baseball because I feel like a nation’s government has an obligation to encourage and reward education and the Dominican government has failed significantly in this aspect. I understand that MLB has promulgated a culture that encourages young men to abandon their schooling for the pursuit of a career in the big leagues (Evident in “Hey Kid, Wanna Be a Star?”) and for that reason I think MLB needs to maintain some sense of responsibility. As a result, I understand that it’s ridiculous to put the burden of reforming an entire nation’s education system on the back of a single corporation. However, it seems fair to
request that MLB provide assistance in the reformation effort, especially in regard to the education of their players. Personally, I think the relationship between MLB and Dominican talent is similar to the relationship between U.S. corporations and their employees. Many companies in the U.S. provide incentives or benefits for their employees that often include healthcare and subsidies for furthered education. In my opinion, MLB teams have a responsibility to these young boys to provide them with the tools and education they gave up in order to develop their baseball potential. In order to see real progress I believe collaboration between the Dominican government and MLB will be necessary. They are both currently significant contributors to the problem and their cooperation will be the quickest route to finding a solution. For the past 5 weeks I have struggled to find a solution that doesn’t immediately create another problem and I am still struggling. From what I understand, the best possible solution at this moment would be for the Major League Baseball to raise it’s signing age to 18 while the Dominican government simultaneously provides funds to renovate and rejuvenate its public education system. This would be the first step towards stopping this problem at its roots.
From what I understand, MLB has partaken in years of exploitative practices designed to drive down the price of developing major league talent. I’m beginning to notice a new trend of Major League Baseball acting as a governing force for all parties involved in this Dominican pipeline. MLB provides oversight and influence within academy educational programs and they also investigate prospects to determine their legitimacy (specifically age). I think MLB is finally putting forth sincere effort towards evening the playing field and creating manageable work conditions. I am optimistic about the future of academy education systems because of the progress they’ve made throughout the last decade. However, I do have reservation’s regarding the content of the classes. I understand that MLB teams are focused solely on producing talent and therefore they tailor their classes towards survival and baseball related knowledge. However, this provides little to no help to the thousands of prospects who will not succeed in their baseball careers. At the very least I would like to see MLB extend their educational programs to encompass life skills in addition to survival and baseball knowledge so that these young prospects have some type of “fallback” plan when their big league dreams don’t pan out.
While it appears that MLB education program’s are finally moving in the right direction I would personally love to see MLB provide support for the new style of prospect education in this country. Our visit to Charles Farrell’s DRSEA program provided a refreshing twist on the current educational system. I think it’s one of the best ideas I have heard in regard to this issue. Providing young prospects with the ability to further their education and lives while simultaneously having the ability to prosper in their baseball careers is genius. By giving these prospects the
opportunity to extend their life knowledge and skills through attendance at a university while concurrently saving their “cheap” labor by allowing them to remain eligible to sign in the Dominican Republic appears to be an incredibly simple yet effective solution. It was nice to finally gain a sense of real optimism regarding the direction of prospect education in this country. Until that visit I held extremely conflicting thoughts regarding how effective MLB oversight can be and how I would plan to fix to the system. That experience really sold me on the idea that programs like DRSEA will be the new “frontier” in terms of education and I would love to see MLB get behind that with both moral and financial support.
As for the question of whether or not MLB is colonizing Dominican baseball AND the Dominican Republic as a country in total, I would argue that baseball and the pursuit of professional success has become increasingly intertwined in the last two or three decades. I believe it is hypocritical to request that MLB assert itself solely in affairs of Dominican Baseball because I think interfering in baseball will then have a direct effect on the culture and the country as a whole. As I stated earlier, baseball is so heavily engrained in the Dominican way of life and the Major League “dream” is so prevalent throughout the country that it will require an extreme level of collaboration between the Dominican government and MLB in order to make the changes that people really want to see.
Week 4
This past week’s discussions and lectures have really helped broaden my perspective surrounding the game of baseball’s role within the Dominican Republic. During our first few weeks of the program I became enamored with the idea that baseball in the DR is an avenue out of poverty and I’ll be honest I started to become relatively closed-‐minded. I developed a bias and it was quite hard to shake that bias. When you watch these kids dedicate a majority of their childhoods towards chasing a dream that has very little probability of coming true it begins to pull on your heart strings a bit. It doesn’t help that the most publicized stories of baseball success in this country involve members of the poorest class overcoming adversity to succeed and “escape poverty”. It’s a narrative that sells and Major League Baseball does its best to advertise its involvement in social-‐mobility. The first 3 weeks of the program included many site visits that encouraged my previous view of baseball’s role in this country (Rudy & Ney’s Academy, Consuelo, MLB Academies). All of these visits reiterated the level of poverty in this country and when surrounded by such desperation it becomes hard not to immediately classify baseball as the quickest route out. It took me until the end of Week 3 when we discussed how cliché this depiction really is and why (according to April) we should refrain from writing it within our essays. Once we openly discussed this idea I began to acknowledge other approaches towards the question of “What is baseball’s role?”. To answer the question, I think baseball has multiple roles within the Dominican Republic. These roles are far-‐reaching. They alter the family dynamic, community dynamic, and country dynamic. Within the family dynamic baseball provides a sense of pride. The families may become reliant on their sons to eventually provide economic benefit, but beyond that I think there are clear displays of genuine pride in having success within the game. In both “Pelotero” and “Rumbo a las Grandes Ligas” it was clear that the families bonded over the game of baseball for reasons beyond financial aid. After lightly analyzing baseball’s effect within communities I think one can also point towards pride. However, I would argue that baseball within communities holds a larger and less visible purpose of providing unity and excitement. The game does a fantastic job of bringing communities together and providing them with something to look forward to which directly leads into baseball’s role within the Dominican Republic as a country. Politically, baseball is a godsend. As April has mentioned multiple times, baseball success in this country keeps citizens focus away from the fundamental problems that plague this government (Lack of education, poverty, outdated infrastructure). Stepping away
from the internal political role, baseball gives Dominicans the ability to feel significant in a global manner. One of the more interesting things for me has been the reinvigoration of attempts to “nationalize” baseball within the Dominican Republic. I really enjoyed the visit to LIDOM because I think the Winter League is an interesting concept. However, I can’t help but feel like Winter League baseball is “second rate” because the majority of the Dominican talent has been outsourced to MLB. I understand that it is far fetched to think that Dominican leagues could ever compete with MLB, but I was fascinated by the idea that they are planning to begin their own summer league, which would essentially act as competition for MLB. The desire to nationalize the game of baseball in the Dominican Republic is one of the first examples I have witnessed of the DR fighting back against MLB colonization. It’s nice to know that there are people within the DR who are no longer complacent with being simply an exporter of talent. I would be extremely interested in studying LIDOM’s plans for this future summer league that we briefly discussed during our visit. In my personal opinion, I remain skeptical about these Latin American countries abilities to regain their National Pastimes. As pessimistic as I may sound, I firmly believe that Major League Baseball’s ability to provide financial incentives will allow them to reign supreme in terms of global influence. However, I am beginning to notice slow but prevalent movements towards regaining a sense of national identity in regard to baseball. The development (mostly re-‐development) and enhancement of national leagues and the Caribbean Series is the first step on the road to counteracting MLB’s overwhelming prevalence. As one final thought, I would love to see the Dominican government take the first step towards regaining stability by taking a stance regarding the culture and expectations established by MLB’s presence on this island. I realize it is drastic but I would be ecstatic if the Dominican government would take the initiative to reform their education systems. I think this is the first stop on the road to combatting MLB’s influence and it will also have a direct effect on poverty levels.
Week 5
Although this past week was relatively shorter in comparison to other weeks, I think it included topics that are most suitable to my interests. The “prompt” for this week is one that I have been fascinated by since day one. The economic factors of professional baseball are amazing. There are so many intricacies that one must explore before he can claim any sense of knowledge regarding the topic and I think that aspect is incredibly fascinating. This week’s prompt, which specifically references the “business of baseball” is one that I have been interested in since we began our studies. I wish this topic had come about on a weekend that wasn’t cut short by our trips, but I was excited to explore it either way. Our journeys throughout the Dominican Republic have highlighted many inequities within professional baseball and its impact here. One can clearly see that Major League Baseball is running a business here and its primary goal is to enhance its bottom line. The ability to sign and develop talent for a fraction of the price it would cost within the United States is incredible and an understandable motivation for MLB’s investment within this country. The idea of globalization has taken an entirely new form throughout our generation. Enterprise has expanded at an unconscionable rate and the employer versus worker dynamic has developed an entirely new relationship that contains even more exploitation than the era of industrialization. Personally, I would argue that the connection between Major League Baseball and Dominican ballplayers is incredibly similar to the relationship between Nike and its Asian sweatshop workers. Global enterprise is willing to do whatever it takes to diminish labor costs and enhance profit. In my opinion, the only difference is the fact that Nike prefers its workers to be “muzzled” and unknown whereas MLB relies on increasing the fame of its version of “sweatshop” workers. My personal experiences with this phenomenon have derived from my internship with MLB. I have witnessed firsthand the ability of MLB to persuade its workers that they are “special” and that they aren’t being exploited. MLB has painted a narrative in the Dominican Republic that says that MLB is essentially a “savior” and that the road it has paved towards wealth is the easiest and best-‐traveled road. I would argue that this is incredibly similar to the way Nike and other multi-‐national represent themselves. By convincing impoverished and relatively desperate workers that you are “helping” rather than exploiting you create a seemingly endless supply of workers. People are willing to put forth the effort when they are forced to witness a cycle that tells them the quickest and truest route to success lies within a specified sector which is most typically run by American “globalized” companies.
In my opinion, “Globalization” exploits cultural and social aspects in an effort to capitalize on economic aspects. I think Major League Baseball in the Dominican Republic has structured social expectations and cultural norms (the narrarative that baseball is the quickest (and only) way out of poverty) that enhance MLB’s ability to exploit economic factors. I would argue that MLB paints a picture that they are providing financial help to many impoverished families but this picture is altered to enhance MLB’s influence. I think it is quite clear that in terms of economic benefit, MLB is “winning”. Although MLB may match a young Dominican boy’s lifetime earnings by a multiple of 50 within one day, that boy condemns himself to live a life that is reliant upon the game of baseball where he has (and most likely never will have) a backup plan.
This analysis is incredibly critical, but I think the financial complications involved in Major League Baseball and Dominican Baseball provide enough detail to describe a very large portion of the entire problem within the relationship. Major League Baseball is not inherently bad for the Dominican Republic. It does have influences that expand further than monetary gain, specifically the idea of pride and nationalistic views. However, I think the time has come to re-‐evaluate the relationship and make it more mutually beneficial for both parties. I would love to see goodhearted hometown teams like the Aguilas and the Dominican Winter League as a whole gain traction in a manner that gives them some type of leverage against the MLB and its capitalist exploitation. I realize that the DWL will most likely never be able to rival MLB in terms of financial bargaining and popularity. However, it would be awesome to see more influence placed upon nationalism and hometown sentiment in order to counteract MLB’s allure. Understandably, Major League Baseball will not be a fan of this proposal but I would argue that the Dominican Republic and its seemingly “endless” supply of talent holds more bargaining power and leverage than they seem to realize.
Site Visits
Schedule: 1. San Pedro de Macoris / Consuelo – June 21, 2014 2. Rudy Ramirez Little League – June 23, 2014 3. Ney’s Academy & New York Met’s Academy – June 25, 2014 4. Archivo Naciónal – June 27, 2014 5. RBI Regional Championship – June 29, 2014 6. Daniel Portorreal’s Little League – July 2, 2014 7. Charles Farrel & DRSEA – July 4, 2014 8. Estadio Quisqueya & LiDom – July 9, 2014 9. Caño Hondo – July 12-‐13, 2014 Reflectory Piece: Site visit reflections were actually a requirement of my second course within the CIEE Baseball in Context program which was titled “Cultural Studies of Caribbean Sport”. However, the site visits were extremely applicable to both courses. The site visit posts were a vital part of the Sports Ethics course because they gave me the opportunity to make tangible connections with concepts discussed in the classroom. It was fascinating to read articles discussing very specificied topics that pertain to baseball in the Dominican Republic and then having the opportunity to apply that conceptual knowledge in a real life setting. These visits helped to clarify common U.S. conceptions regarding Major League Baseball and its percieved role as “the only avenue out poverty” and it put the extreme level of poverty into understandable context. These site visits helped me gain a multi-‐faceted understanding of baseball as it pertains to Dominican culture which ultimately fueled my conclusions regarding the extent to which Major League Baseball has in fact colonized Dominican baseball.
Consuelo June 21, 2014
During our visit to the small “pueblo” (town) known as Consuelo, which is
located near the larger city of San Pedro de Macoris, I felt that specific moment of clarity where I began to truly understand what I thought I had already known. In the Dominican Republic, baseball really is more than a game. Our van pulled into the baseball facility, which is supported by Major League Baseball manager Manny Acta, and I immediately noticed the condition of the fields, which were subpar by American standards but from what I have seen of the D.R. so far during my first week, these fields were a blessing for this pueblo. We took a tour of the town, explored the church, saw properties owned by the major leaguers, and visited the old sugar mill with our guide, a man who I could tell held high esteem within Consuelo. Although he may not have struck “gold”, with his sports career, he still commanded and deserved respect within the community. After our tour, we listened to a lecture from one of the prominent sports writers who called Consuelo home. He told us about baseball in Consuelo, but he specifically discussed baseball’s role in terms of government. He reiterated the fact that baseball is a tool; used by the government to maintain expectations and control within the Dominican Republic. After our lecture, we ate lunch and then played with some of the kids involved in the league, which was my favorite part of the trip. The kid’s love for baseball is evident in everything that they do. Although they may see baseball as their only avenue out of poverty, I got the sense that they didn’t feel an overwhelming amount of pressure to perform. Perhaps this was only because they are still so young (9 or 10), or perhaps it is just the way things are here. I’ll need more time to fully understand.
Rudy Ramirez Little League Academy June 23, 2014
Our trip to the Rudy Ramirez academy was easily one of the biggest
highlights of my trip so far. Although we didn’t actually see Rudy’s little league, we did get to see what I understand to be some of the premier players in the area who spend every single day training for their chance to sign professional contracts. It was exactly what I have been waiting for. I have been waiting for an opportunity to make comparisons between my experience as a highly active and competitive baseball player while I was in high school and this was it. I spent a lot of time during my sophomore and junior summers traveling throughout the Midwest playing games and trying out for teams. This site visit really gave me a point of comparison and it was one of the first times that I become fully conscious of the fact that these kids play baseball as a job whereas I played baseball as a hobby. Even more exciting was the fact that I made a new friend while we scrimmaged versus the players. One of the older players let me borrow his glove and we began talking. From what I understand he was not good enough to sign but he still considers baseball to be a huge part of his life. Hopefully he can grow up to give back to his community through volunteering because, like Rudy Ramirez said, everything helps but it will never be enough. On a side note, Argenis Mendez is now my newest Facebook friend.
Ney’s Little League & New York Met’s Academy June 25, 2014
I truly enjoyed the combination of our visits to Ney’s Academy and the Met’s Academy. I also think the timing of each visit held more value than we gave it credit for. Visiting Ney’s Academy and seeing the level of poverty that exists within this country and then having those images fresh in our minds while walking through the multi-‐million dollar Met’s facility gave us a true depiction of the contrast between the majority of this country and it’s lack of resources and Major League Baseball with its baseball “resorts” and limitless pocketbook. After taking a step back in an effort to actually analyze the educational efforts of both academies I was extremely impressed. Ney’s Academy appeared to make a sincere effort to encourage players that schooling is important by offering morning and evening sessions and collaborating with parent’s to set up a workable schedule. The Met’s organization appears to have stepped up their game. Their educational facilities were top-‐notch and when our guide claimed they only have 8 to 10 players in each class I was astounded. My skepticism surrounding Major League practices in this country remain. However, I am beginning to feel like I am beginning my studies in the middle of a serious reform movement.
Archivo Naciónal June 27, 2014
If I am being honest, our visit to the Archivo Naciónal easily takes the cake as
my least favorite activity of the trip so far. Not to say that it didn’t have interesting moments but it simply didn’t mesh with my personal interests. I tend to analyze problems through a fiscal and economic lens, which has been extremely beneficial throughout our studies during this journey. However, the trip to the archive provided more of a historical lens, which simply doesn’t draw my attention as well. One thing I noticed throughout the trip was the complicated political history of the Dominican Republic. Our tour through the “exhibit ” illustrated multiple dictatorships, revolutions and other historically significant incidents that I never knew existed. If I’m being completely honest, I know little to nothing about the history of the Dominican Republic. My biggest takeaway from the entire trip came in the last 10 minutes as we listened to one of April’s many friends who worked as an employee of the archive in the “study room”. He adamantly declared that baseball and the Dominican Republic are “synonymous” and he appeared to take great pride in saying that. For me, this was yet another example of the way Dominican’s view baseball and their role within the game.
RBI Regional Championship June 29, 2014
Today, I watched some kid’s make it as high as they ever will within baseball.
A regional championship game played in a major league style stadium. To me it vaguely resembled a high school athlete’s last game and the moment they realize they may never play the game competitively again. I know the Dominican team will definitely continue to play, but I’m still quite confused on what caliber athlete’s make up the Dominican RBI team. If the age group is 16-‐18 it is obviously a second tier of players because the most talented athlete’s in that age group have already signed contracts with MLB teams. The RBI tournament’s atmosphere resembled that of the Little League World Series. The crowd was young and extremely involved in the game and snacks and treats were provided by MLB. In terms of the actual game, I was surprised to see the extent of which their defense outweighed their offense. The players had fantastic gloves, but their hitting was undoubtedly below par. I would be interested in following some of these players futures in order to see what lies ahead for them.
Daniel Portorreal Little League July 2, 2014
Our trip to Daniel Portorreal’s little league academy was easily one of my
favorite experiences that I have had in this country so far. Daniel is incredibly humble and he conveys his story so well. Personally I am amazed that he holds such optimistic views about his life and his journey so far. It’s refreshing to meet someone who truly believes that god has a purpose for them and strives everyday to meet their full potential. The kids in Portorreal’s league are blessed to have such a good role model. In addition to hearing Daniel speak, I thoroughly enjoyed playing Vitilla. The kid’s (myself included) were having so much fun playing such a simple game and it really gave me a firsthand experience with how much “baseball” means to people in this country. I also think Vitilla is symbolic of the poverty in this country. It’s hard to believe that many children play Vitilla simply because they cannot afford to play baseball. It really puts the poverty into perspective. I plan on bringing Vitilla back to the states and playing with my friends because it’s such a simple game but it’s still so fun.
Charles Farrel & DRSEA July 4, 2014
Our trip to the academy in San Pedro and the school was an incredibly enlightening experience for me. Upon arrival at the academy I immediately noticed the difference in funding. As expected, the American funded academy had a level of quality that I have not previously seen in this country (not including MLB academies). Another thing that caught my attention at the academy is the idea that although perhaps only 2% of ballplayers actually make the big leagues, the experience and knowledge that young player’s gain on their path through the minor leagues ultimately provides them with a future career path because once they wash out of playing baseball they end up coaching baseball. Due to baseball’s popularity in the Dominican Republic there is clearly a market for experienced and knowledgeable coaches. Hearing the “principal” at Mr. Farrel’s school was fascinating. It is refreshing to see someone who genuinely cares about the well being of others with no side agenda. Mr. Farrel and the lady who spoke with us are legitimately trying to solve the fundamental educational problem in this country, which is the fact that education doesn’t hold much tangible value. In the states a high school diploma holds real value but the same cannot be said here. I think what they are trying to do with the English accredited schooling will become a game-‐changer in terms of future education programs.
Estadio Quisqeya & LIDOM July 9, 2014
Our visit to LIDOM and Estadio Quisqueya was different than what I
expected. I didn’t quite know what we were planning on doing, but I thoroughly enjoyed what we did. The brief overview of the stadium and it’s seating “levels” helped me somewhat conceptualize what a typical game would be like. I am extremely interested in the Dominican Winter League and I spent most of our time during the “tour” envisioning the atmosphere that would exist during an Escogido versus Licey game. While I enjoyed hearing about the actual stadium, I was fascinated by the story told to us by the head of public relations. When he mentioned LIDOM’s plans to implement a Dominican league that would be similar to the former Cibao league that attempted to actually nationalize baseball here in the Dominican Republic I was intrigued. It was the first time I had heard of such a plan and I am very interested in following its progress.
Caño Hondo July 12-‐13, 2014
Although I don’t really think our trip to Caño Hondo was necessarily meant to
be “educational”, I definitely think it was. This trip was the moment when I truly realized how easy it is to learn things specifically through travel. It was the moment of clarity that I hadn’t yet experienced and had only been told about. For nearly 5 full weeks we have been searching high and low for specific examples of people escaping poverty through avenues not related to baseball. Mikael is the perfect example. A boy that most likely came from extreme poverty used his passion and education to start a profitable career. It was amazing to see. Another large takeaway, although it was more of a comical note rather than a serious one, was when Mikael elaborated deeply on “fotoblanceo” or in other words the damage done through the flash photography. It couldn’t have come at a better time after our discussion of Sammy Sosa and his “skin disease”.
Movie Screening’s
Movies Watched: 1. “Rumbo a Las Grandes Ligas” 2. “Pelotero” 3. “Roberto Clemente” 4. “Sugar”
Reflectory Piece: Similar to the site visit posts, the movie screening reflection’s were actually a requirement of the “Cultural Studies of Caribbean Sport” class. However, they were another crucial contributor in helping define and enhance my conclusions. The movies provided a fascinating depiction of the Dominican pipeline to Major League stardom and they acknowledged the inherently flawed societal expectations that are placed upon young Dominican boys in today’s world. It was these portrayal’s of Dominican society that helped me comprehend the degree to which Major League Baseball plays a role in the lives of a large portion of Dominican families. Major League Baseball has implemented itself into everyday Dominican life which has allowed it to furthur enhance its colonization of Dominican baseball.
“Rumbo a Las Grandes Ligas”
The movie “Rumba a Las Grandes Ligas” caught my attention quickly because it was essentially a summary of everything we have been studying and examining up to this point. I find it fascinating that an entire 60-‐minute documentary was made discussing the things we have basically covered in a little over a week and it made me really excited because I know we’re going to be able to look so much deeper into the culture and business of baseball during our 6-‐weeks here in the Dominican. The movie, which took an overarching case study approach and supplemented additional details throughout, followed one prospect (Cabrera) and showed the gist of what his journey through life consisted of during his early teenage years. It appears that this method was chosen in an effort to portray the pressure that some of these kids must feel and to help the audience sympathize with the player’s situations. Cabrera discusses the fact that he knows baseball is his only opportunity to help his mother in her financial situation and if he does not succeed he will most likely never have another chance to help. In addition to Cabrera’s story the filmmakers added additional side note stories in effort to encompass the grand picture. Another large aspect of the film involved the depiction of current Major Leaguers who have returned to their hometown and feel a sense of charitable responsibility towards the youth in the República Dominicana. The film focused on Vladimir Guerrero and David Ortiz however we have experienced multiple other big leaguers that have returned with the intention of doing good by their community. In comparison to our study of culture and the way in which culture is studied, I think “Rumba a Las Grandes Ligas” took an approach that emphasized the economic value of success in baseball. It placed focus on a child’s ability to support and help his family by signing to play professionally and it also focused on the Major League player’s who have succeeded financially and are then able to provide support within their communities (Albeit not always financial support). I truly enjoyed the documentary and it made me excited to watch more films depicting the baseball scene here in the Dominican.
“Pelotero”
The movie “Pelotero” was an incredibly interesting, informative, and biased piece of work. At first, I struggled to identify the true intention of the directors. On it’s surface level it seems hard to condemn “Pelotero” as an anti-MLB film because the film and it’s directors never “directly” accused Major League Baseball of any wrongdoing. Upon deeper analysis I began to realize that while the directors never openly expressed anti-MLB sentiment, the movie was full of insinuated remarks and a majority of the content was laced with depictions of the MLB that are designed to leave a sour taste in the viewer’s mouth. Personally, I believe that “Pelotero” indirectly attempts to condemn MLB and their practices throughout the Dominican Republic and Latin America without providing proper understanding of the many positive aspects that MLB has introduced into their operation. Moving past the purpose and into the content, I was amazed with the level of controversy that was present throughout the film. It made me wonder how they found their two case studies because quite honestly, both studies worked perfectly for the purpose of this documentary. I was confused because they clearly couldn’t have known the full outcomes until after they spent months and weeks filming these prospects lives. In the case of Saño, I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with MLB. It truly appeared that there was a sense of collusion in an effort to drive down his “worth” which caused me to deeply question the MLB’s sense of ethical and moral obligation to treat these prospects with the respect they deserve. In the case of Batista, I initially felt a sense of compassion. This feeling was short-lived when I realized that it truly doesn’t make sense for a boy to state his age as 9 for nearly 700 days as his trainer explained. I understand that prospects are often taken advantage of, but I share sympathy for his buscone who clearly lost a significant portion of his investment on that player. Although this movies bias focused against Major League Baseball. I personally felt like it painted a prettier picture of the buscone-player relationship than I imagined prior to watching the film. The buscones in this documentary appeared to be genuinely concerned about the player’s well being rather than solely concerned about their profit margin. Although I did cringe a bit when Batista’s buscone whom he referred to as a “father figure” publically denounced Batista and his family after the incident that occurred.
“Roberto Clemente”
I was extremely interested in the Roberto Clemente documentary because my dad has always been a big Clemente fan. If I’m being honest, I have never actually payed any attention to him or his story but I did have a strong desire to learn more so I can actually hold conversations with my dad about Clemente without just nodding my head and dodging the questions. I know I have heard of the Roberto Clemente Award and in that sense I knew he had been a great ambassador for the game of baseball, I just didn’t know how big he actually was. I missed the first 20 minutes or so of the movie but I don’t think I missed much. What I took away from the movie was the way Roberto Clemente never dulled or toned down his ancestry. Even in his early year’s when he struggled to make friends because he was different he kept his pride in Puerto Rico and his ancestry and he let the outside forces fuel him rather than hinder him. I thought it was interesting when the movie talked about how Clemente was positive he would win the N.L. MVP and he came in 8th. I thought it was awesome how he immediately turned his anger into motivation and strived to become even better. Clemente’s playing story is so perfect it almost seems cliché. What caught my eye, and what I hope future players will do, was the way Clemente used his status as a ballplayer to kick-‐start and influence his political and humanitarian career. He didn’t see baseball as his path to retirement but rather his path to something bigger. It’s a concept that everyone preaches but few follow through on and I think Roberto Clemente is a fascinating story that should definitely be publicized even more!
“Sugar”
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie “Sugar”. I had previously heard great things about it and I have been meaning to watch it for quite some time now. I enjoyed it’s fictional approach because I think it gave the directors and film makers some leeway in how they wanted to portray certain aspects throughout the movie. After making comparisons between the previous documentaries we have watched and this fictional depiction I feel like “Sugar” attempted to dilute the intensity of the Dominican pipeline system that Major League Baseball has implemented. The movie attempted to lighten the mood while depicting the struggle’s of Latino players in their attempt to assimilate into U.S. culture (specifically with language) and while it was comedic at certain points (french toast), it is a very serious problem for a lot of young Latino players and this movie’s depiction clashed with the way the other documentaries showed the problem. Another thing I noticed throughout “Sugar” was the ongoing comparison between Miguel Santos and Brad Johnson. It was interesting because the symbolic nature of this relationship flew under the radar throughout the majority of the movie, but once it was mentioned to me I began to notice its prevalence. The comparison between a Latino player whose journey through MLB’s pipeline included very little education and meager pay versus the U.S. journey through the pipeline that included prestigious schooling and million dollar contracts (It should be noted that Brad Johnson’s journey isn’t the most accurate depiction of the U.S. pipeline. However, in comparison to the Dominican journey it’s really not too big of an exaggeration).
MLB Internship
Academies Visited: 1. Tampa Bay Rays 2. New York Mets 3. St. Louis Cardinals 4. Toronto Blue Jays 5. Milwaukee Brewers 6. Kansas City Royals 7. Houston Astros 8. New York Yankees 9. Colorado Rockies 10. Washington Nationals 11. Pittsburgh Pirates 12. San Francisco Giants 13. Miami Marlins 14. Cleveland Indians Reflectory Piece: The work placement component of this study abroad program was easily the most influential in shaping my grand takeaways. My internship with Major League Baseball gave me valuable access and insight into MLB’s influence within the Dominican Republic. My involvement within the Dominican academies education programs provided firsthand knowledge of the extent to which Dominican youth are essentially bred for Major League Baseball’s use. The uninhibited access to freshly signed Dominican prospects gave me the unique opportunity to gain a better understanding of how Major League Baseball and its far-‐casting shadow are percieved by the Dominican youth. The realization that Dominican prospects welcome Major League Baseball and its influence in their lives solidified my position regarding MLB’s colonization of this country in terms of baseball. Major League Baseball has exploited and enhanced a narrative in the Dominican Republic to paint itself in good light and said narrative has been overwhelmingly accepted and embraced by a significant portion of Dominican society.
Conclusion As my time here in the Dominican Republic begins to wind down, I consider myself incredibly blessed to have had such an invigorating and life-‐altering experience. I had the opportunity to expand my horizons on multiple levels. As a travelor, this trip gave me the ability to step outside my comfort zone and live as an independent adult without being restricted to the typical “bubble” that often accompanies college life. As a student, I was given the chance to explore one of my true passions that may or may not fit in with my future degree and career. The ability to study a topic based solely on passion without worrying about alterior motives is one of the most liberating experiences in academia and it really kindles one’s desire to continue with education. This program’s central question of “to what extent has Major League Baseball colonized Dominican baseball” has been the overarching quandary in the back of my mind for nearly 6 weeks. As my learning experience culminates, I am finally ready to provide my answer. For the purpose of this conclusion, I have chosen to define the term “colonize” as the level to which Dominican baseball and its efforts are simultaneously benefitting Major League Baseball and its motives for involvement within the Dominican Republic. The combination of my experiences throughout this country has led me to believe that Major League Baseball has in fact “colonized” Dominican baseball. MLB’s shadow can be found lurking near every form of baseball in this country. Local little leagues are reliant on ex-‐major leaguers for financial support, buscone academies initiate the MLB feeder system when boys are still going through puberty, Dominican academies foster hope for hundreds of prospects while bolstering a mere 2% success rate, and the only form of Dominican baseball that remains in the Dominican Winter League is slowly converting into a puppet figure for Major League development. I truly believe that Major League Baseball’s influence can be found in every corner of this island and it will remain there until the Dominican Republic falters in its production of Major League talent.