Baseball Culture

In the early 1970s international committees took the initiative to improve the Dominican education system teaching students English and other important subjects. For the next decade the country saw a slight growth in the economy. Next came the “Age of the Academy” and how Major League Baseball in the eyes of many, took over the country. For these young men living this lifestyle the only way to follow the paths of their TV idols is to find every way off the island. This text explains the everyday struggles of Dominican ballplayers, how the MLB has influenced the decline of education in the country, and what solutions there are to fix this baseball culture in the future. In the past half century the influence of the game of baseball has had

Aside from education, there are other faults this baseball culture brings with ties to the business side of it. Signing a ball player is an event that takes place July 2nd once the player is 16 years of age. The years prior of sacrifice, being away from family, and training can all be celebrated on this day if a team is willing to invest in the individual. Every day the player is not signed after that date, the value of the contract and signing bonus goes down. Trainers put all their time and efforts into these players and often come up short of their goal. Now just because these young kids attend the academies and train their whole life does not mean they do not have to perform or spark interest to a team scout. When a player fails to perform at his peak level, his chances of being noticed gets that much slimmer. When a player signs, the adviser on average receives 25-35% of the earnings and when there is no contract offered to the player it is almost looked upon as betrayal. Even though it is a realistic outcome to most, in a lot of cases this relationship is quickly broken because these ‘searchers’ invest their time for the sole purpose for the money in

It is appropriate to point the finger at the MLB because they have made such an impact to the country. Sure, the argument is that without baseball in the Dominican what else can these kids fall back on to be able to succeed? But since this sport culture is not going anywhere anytime soon the organization needs to do something about it. Of all 30 teams in the United States, in terms of wealthiest clubs, why is it that the 18th ranked San Diego Padres (Forbes) are the significant leader of the few teams taking action to improve the Dominican? The Padres change their focus on recruiting to making a positive impact on the community, which in the long run will benefit everybody if you think about it. To the other teams there is no excuse to why they cannot do the same. “The country is under complete American political economic domination” (Klein). This fix could even be introduced by the idols of these kids, the superstars they watch on TV. You often see big time players give back to the community, which is great, don’t get me wrong, but why not start a movement that will not only affect the community but affect the nation? The funds available are almost endless and could be given to improve not only the baseball community but the youth education community that is struggling badly. The recent efforts of bringing both baseball and education together, is what is going to put the Dominican Republic in the right