The Miami Marlins inaugurated on Friday, 28 October 2022 a brand new baseball academy, a facility that is double the size of their old academy in the Dominican Republic.
Marlins’ ace pitcher Sandy Alcántara participated in the inauguration last week and when touring the state-of-the-art player development complex, he commented he wished he could turn back time, the MLB reports. Dominican-born Alcántara is a Cy Young Award candidate.
The new facility is a college-style campus and spring training site with baseball and residential facilities to help the international signees holistically develop as ballplayers and people. It features three Major League-size playing fields, an agility field, four covered batting cage tunnels and a set of six pitching mounds, a two-story athletic and administration building, and a separate residential complex. As reported, it was completed on time in 16 months and on budget with a US$15 million investment.
“Seeing that kind of academy, big, so nice and beautiful, it’s something that I didn’t have before when I signed, but I think it’s going to be good for those players to feel more comfortable and get more privacy,” said Alcantara, who first signed with St. Louis in 2013.
Also present for the inauguration were chairman and principal owner of the Miami Marlins Bruce Sherman, Marlins’s chief operating officer Caroline O’Connor, senior director of international operations Adrian Lorenzo and Dominican Marlins players Edward Cabrera, Bryan De La Cruz, Jerar Encarnacion, and top prospect Eury Pérez.
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MLB
31 October 2022