- Thread starter A.P.Colorado
- Start date
The Dominican Republic's Epic Quest for Baseball Glory
The Dr is a great country for baseball talent... giving MLB teams in the USA great players.. But the DR sould try to develope other pro sports, as the decline of all baseball in the USA has been constance over several decades... and the money paid for the TV contracts is getting smaller, and that is the key to MLB............
I will agree with you in that I would like to see more government funding/support for fútbol/soccer programs within the nation.
This is the TRUE global sport. ⚽
The RD government is severely lacking in attempting to match private funds provided for this endeavour.
A side note- I have a friend on the north coast who runs a batting cage that's free for the kids. He's long term plan is to use at as a pathway to education. Eventually it will include English classes and plan b career planning should baseball not be a viable career. Baseball, or any sport, can be a powerful ally in community building.
Down here in Boca Chica we have 6 baseball academies that I know of. I'm a Cardinal fan so I follow them. In their academy here, high school classes are a requirement. All must graduate. The GM came down for the grad ceremonies a year or so ago. I hope that all of them do that.
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world... that could be a natural for the DR ..all it needs is a field and some goals... would not recommend american football to any young man to play..I played that sport into my university years, and still pay the price everyday with my back and neck......
One day I asked my caddy how, when, why did he take up golf since he is sooo involved in lil league baseball.
Simple answer" "when I was 14 I knew then that I was not good enough for bb so I switched to golf." With all that's going on now in the DR I think I'm his ONLY source of income.
I asked him this past thurs about all these kids that were going to his bb practice everyday..aren't they suppose to be studying at home (they are ages 7-11). None of them understand one word of what's going on with the learning by TV. Most of them don't have a TV. Baseball is in the history books as the only lifeline they have. These kids live with-in a few short miles of real life bb stars. To me, it's sad as a N.A, to see the hopes and dreams (which has the same odds as a lottery) being the #1 ambition of these young kids. They are not getting an education and they, for all intents and purposes, will not be a bb star.
Simple answer" "when I was 14 I knew then that I was not good enough for bb so I switched to golf." With all that's going on now in the DR I think I'm his ONLY source of income.
I asked him this past thurs about all these kids that were going to his bb practice everyday..aren't they suppose to be studying at home (they are ages 7-11). None of them understand one word of what's going on with the learning by TV. Most of them don't have a TV. Baseball is in the history books as the only lifeline they have. These kids live with-in a few short miles of real life bb stars. To me, it's sad as a N.A, to see the hopes and dreams (which has the same odds as a lottery) being the #1 ambition of these young kids. They are not getting an education and they, for all intents and purposes, will not be a bb star.