After a meeting with Pablo Ulloa, director of the Office of the Ombudsman, the representative of Major League Baseball commissioner Junior Noboa and representatives of the ministries of Public Health and the National Council for Childhood, Sports Minister Kelvin Cruz announced unregulated baseball academies will have 45 days to register or face suspension.
The action was taken after the death of a 14-year old Ismael Ureña at the Yordi Cabrera training academy made headlines. Investigators confirmed the child had received a horse injection to improve his playing. Two of the deceased’s brothers survived the same procedure.
The move announced by the Ministry of Sports that seeks to standardize the process of signing young baseball prospects, comes after the meeting with various government agencies and baseball industry stakeholders. Baseball recruits are regarded as “products” that need to be prepared for their presenting to the scouts that will recruit them for the formal MLB academies.
“We want to inform all representatives of these informal, special, or independent academies that starting today, through the Baseball Commissioner and his team, we are initiating the regularization of each of these academies,” Cruz stated.
The minister emphasized that any academy failing to register within the 45-day deadline will be prohibited from having their prospects scouted by Major League Baseball (MLB) teams.
“We will send a letter to Major League Baseball on behalf of the Ministry of Sports requesting that no scout can evaluate any child who is part of an independent academy until they begin their regularization process,” Cruz added.
In addition to regularization, the government is also addressing concerns about child protection and doping in youth baseball. The National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) and the Ministry of Public Health will collaborate on a new doping prevention protocol.
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Diario Libre
27 November 2024