I'm not following you
I think your understanding is that there is a conspiracy against Dominicans to have them support the minor league system. Is that right? You don't need to convince me, but I don't get your point, or where you see that being even a remote possibility.
What are "multi-deal scholarships"? If a player from the DR doesn't have basic spanish, let alone english, why would any university offer them a scholarship? Further, if the prospects were worthy of academic entry, why wouldn't US universities let them in? Point being, they'd obviously love to have them.
Many kids with formal US accredited education can't cut in college, how can you expect a student from a public school in the DR to cut it? Doesn't seem like a fit to me.
Do Albert Pujols or Moises Alou count towards this DR/American contingent you refer to? I'm confused at what you're getting at.
Nearly all ML players make peanuts in their first 4 years until they reach arbitration. Further, Domincans are a much bigger risk; if they get into any trouble, they get deported. That's a huge financial risk.
Sosa and Tejada were nothing special in the greater realm of things when signed. They were diamonds in the rough - and there seems to be dozens upon dozens of the same every year and a very small minority ever make it to the big leagues. That goes for ANY player from any country.
I can't remember his name, but there was a kid signed by the Sox in the summer of 03. He came with all the normal fan-fare of a can't-miss prospect and they signed him to a big deal (over a million I believe) he hasn't had a sniff of the big leagues and I'm not even sure if he's still playing.
I've said this before, and it bears repeating. Giving a kid who comes from the DR - or anywhere - where he and his family haven't had a pot to pee in their whole life will be forever changed by a big signing. Money changes people, especially those who, with one sign of a contract, are making more than his entire neighborhood has cleared in generations. The odds of that making them a better and stronger person is highly unlikely. Therefore, the spiral downward is rather predictable - based on history. The same isn't always true for someone who's grown up comfortably and has a multitude of other opportunities.
The American kids who get drafted high are "bonus babies" and they get huge money to sign because they have a very well defined track record. They have a family history, they're more stable. Every time a ML team signs a kid to an academy they realize that the chances of getting this individual to the majors might be a million-to-one. Very little history to go on, little to no knowledge of what baggage is coming with them - HUGE risk.
The dominican kids who come to the states are put in a tough position, they have a harder hill to climb; less educated, language barriers, social barriers, racism, more than likely no family nearby, little to no support systems, etc.
Putting the blame of the DR school system on the ML is absolutely ridiculous. It's no one's responsibility but the DR's to fix their school system. It's the class system that runs the public schools into the ground. Why would the upper class of the DR (mainly the politicos) want to elevate their slave labor? We have the same system in the US, but it's more covert.
I think every player starts at the bottom of the food chain, even the bonus babies have to cut their teeth in the minors. It's an American sport, how can you expect the Dominicans to be running every facet of the game? They're still a minority in the Majors, although that gap has certainly shrunk, you can't expect the recent influx in the past 20 years to flip the game on it's head.
I'll give you this, MLB is most definitely an "old boys network" and as I tried very hard to get involved, and kissed much arse and dropped all the names I could to get in, I still didn't have a history for them to assess me on. I was a kid with bright eyes and big ideas who had a dream to work for the Red Sox. After 3 years of calling, writing and begging (even moving to the DR to beat the bushes) I only got a sniff of the Academy system and knew I'd have to start at the very bottom too, I stil had to prove my worth and network every angle. I was doing it for all the right reason as well - I wanted to help Latinos transition to the culture by way of language attainment and social integration. They basically told me they're not going as far as I wanted to go with it until the player landed in the states.
It's not rocket science; why put the resources into the whole, when the very best they can expect is a 1-2% return (of talent) on their investment. They said to wait until they (the prospects) get to the states before they begin the intensive training I was wanting to do. It makes perfect sense to me. Like it's been said, this is a business, and they're not in the business of rebuilding a country's education system, it's all about talent (i.e. wins and championships). I agree with them.
And again, there is NO draft for foreign players. It doesn't work that way.
Why would any Dominican pour money into an academy? I'm not following you there. Omar Minaya has certainly put his team's resources into the academies, but again, he's not a savior, he's an MLB GM, his job is talent acquisition.
If the minor league system is a "front" as you say, I say that's baloney. It doesn't add up in any way, shape or form.
They want certifiable talent, nothing more, nothing less.