All Entries in the "International" Category
DRSEA To Hold Special Tribute To Major League Baseball Executive Lou Melendez
The Dominican Republic Sports & Education Academy will holds it second annual “Making A Difference In The Dominican Republic” on June 29 at 6 p.m. at the 809 Club, 112 Dyckman Street, New York, NY. The event will include a special tribute to Lou Melendez, a senior executive with Major League Baseball, who is retiring [...]
A Special Insight into the difference between Baseball in Japan & the US
I recently had the honor of interviewing Takahiro Sato, a former college baseball player in Japan and has coached baseball and taught mental skills in U.S. as well as in Japan. He thought that Sport psychology was such an intriguing area where athletes can learn how to prepare for competition and how to handle pressure or stress, so he studied it & received [...]
Good Lamb-Hunting
Dancing between victory and heartbreak is a baseball routine Daniel Lamb-Hunt continues to learn. Recently, two days before he was due to fly out to Germany, his aspirations of a smooth travel were marred by an expired passport and a last-minute dash to Sydney making for “a very stressful day and a lesson learned” says [...]
DRSEA: Making a Difference in the Dominican Republic
DRSEA and FIU College of Law Sports & Entertainment Law Society (SELS) Present Special Screening of “El Play” Documentary on Dominican Baseball Florida International University College of Law April 19, 2012 3 pm The Dominican Republic Sports & Education Academy (DRSEA) will present a special screening of “El Play,” a documentary on Dominican baseball on [...]
DRSEA INFORMER: Special Edition
Rafael Pérez, Director of Dominican Operations for Major League Baseball, has developed a reputation over the years for his keen eye and protective nature with regards to young baseball prospects in the Dominican Republic. Pérez revealed another side of himself recently when he sat down to read aloud to a group of Dominican grade schoolers, quickly gaining their rapt [...]
Bandit Kiwi makes his Marck in New Zealand Baseball
Return of the Marck For 22 year old Andrew Marck, it seems his career has come full circle, from a dream he formed age 6 at the Howick-Pakuranga baseball club which was realised on Sunday at the 2012 National Championships. Over three days, seven teams played 18 games in the biggest competition on Baseball New [...]
Wayne Graczyk’s Role in Japanese Baseball for the Past 37 Years…
The newspaper article had seventeen errors. Seventeen. Factual errors, not typos. Wayne Graczyk counted them. And he remembers each one because those errors led to the job he has today. In 1975 Graczyk, who hails from New Jersey, was attending Sophia University in Tokyo. While reading The Japan Times, an English-language newspaper, he noticed glaring [...]
Baseball in Australia, why not?
A love of sport is inherent in our Aussie genes, – if we aren’t playing it, we’re watching it, if we aren’t watching it, we are talking about it. In a country where surfing and snowboarding competitions are run simultaneously, our climate and landscape is naturally engineered to accommodate our obsession. In a population where [...]
DRSEA INFORMER: Volume V, Issue 1
The Venezuelan Connection – The Dominican Republic is second only to the United States in delivering players to Major League Baseball, but coming in third – and gaining – is Venezuela. The dynamics of Venezuelan baseball are shifting, increasing the importance of the Dominican Republic in the development of Latin American players. Last season, [...]
Brisbane Bandits – It’s A Wrap!
This article was co-written by Alexis Brudnicki Baseball is essentially a game of numbers. And after hitting numerous milestones, superseding many expectations and accumulating a list of firsts, the Brisbane Bandits are winners this season despite an early finish. They had 22 home games and 23 on the road for the up to 24-man roster. [...]
An Interview with Brisbane Bandits 2B/Captain Brad Dutton
Leading the Brisbane Bandits and one half of the ‘Bash Brothers’, 29-year-old second baseman Brad Dutton takes five minutes to talk family, the Cubs and playing for Australia… You have been playing baseball from a very young age – what does the game mean to you? I’ve been playing baseball since I was five, it [...]
A Labour of Love – Meet the Team Behind the Bandits
A love of baseball can make you do crazy things. Like the players, the majority of the volunteers have day jobs and work for the Brisbane Bandits up to five times a week. Few have even crossed continents, hailing as a far as Canada, to share their love of the game on their own time [...]
Andrew ‘Soupy’ Campbell, Just What the Bandits Ordered
During the summer, your typical 19-year-old Australian male is doing everything but hard work. Luckily for the Brisbane Bandits, Andrew ‘Soupy’ Campbell isn’t your stock-standard teenager, who has been busy slugging away, laying the foundations for a career in baseball. Just a few months older than catcher Ryan Battaglia and pitcher Josh Warner, Campbell [...]
Not Goofing Around in the ABL: Bandits 1B David Sutherland
Towering over the plate at 6’6, the opposition are duly intimidated. His name causes an eruption from what seems like his own personal cheer squad who attend every one of his games. Puzzled looks are exchanged in the crowd; there is nothing ‘Goofy’ about this player’s presence. Dubbed “one of the quietest players in the [...]
DRSEA INFORMER: A Draft In MLB Future
Volume IV, Issue 9: A Publication For Your Reading Enjoyment Major League Baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, and its potential impact on international baseball, has caused quite a stir in the Dominican Republic as many fear it could spell the beginning of the end for the current development system. Under the terms of the new [...]
The Dual-Threat Duttons of the Australian Baseball League
We’ve celebrated the John’s, the Waugh’s and the Chappell’s, now meet Australia’s new sibling sporting super duo – the Dutton’s. Despite the four year age gap and careers in baseball that have separated them by continents, they are united again, for a second season with the Brisbane Bandits. Guided by their rugby league and baseball [...]
An Interview With Brisbane Bandits (ABL) and Red Sox Prospect Pitcher, Justin Erasmus
Maturity and success aren’t always aligned with years on the diamond; just ask Australian sensation Justin Erasmus. The Boston Red Sox know this, having snapped Erasmus up as a free agent at just 17. This now 21-year-old right handed pitcher is carving his name around the globe in baseball. Currently on the Brisbane Bandits roster, [...]
The Import That Never Showed: Xavier Paul Signed To The Bandits Without His Knowledge
Determination and deception go hand in hand for some, willing to do anything to play in the Australian Baseball League. An intricate web of lies has been exposed, derailing a plan that was executed over the best part of a year. The result shed two MLB players off the 2011/2012 ABL season, leaving fans and [...]
Why You’re Wrong About Yu Darvish
For many years, American baseball fans with an eye towards the Japanese Major Leagues have been rolling out the red carpet for the Nippon-Ham Fighters‘ 6-foot-5 fireballer Yu Darvish. The NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) has a strange relationship with MLB regarding their players crossing the Pacific to play stateside. NPB players can sign with [...]
DRSEA INFORMER: Volume IV, Issue 8
What’s In A Name? I used to chuckle when my mother would sometime look at me quizzically and ask, “When were you born?” My reply was generally, “You were there, weren’t you?” But as I continue to ponder the ongoing dilemma that Major League Baseball faces in the Dominican Republic concerning age and [...]
At Last, Local Baseball in Australia is in A League of Its Own
With US backing, the ABL is thriving, writes David Sygall Written by David Sygall A striking aspect of baseball’s opening night is the level of confidence emanating from the tight community of fans, players and officials associated with a sport that acts nothing like a domestic fringe dweller. And, it’s not just about mimicking [...]
Uganda’s Baseball Dream
Filmmaker Jay Shapiro shares the story of baseball in Uganda, where love of the game transcends cultural barriers. Help support Baseball Reflections and buy me a coffee with PayPal!
Baseball Rocks!! Netherlands National Baseball Team: 2011 World Champion Torres Blues
Photo from Zimbio via Google Images As you can see on this video is baseball a fantastic sport to play. But watching to this sport is also great. Netherlands National Baseball Team is for the first time World Champion! Here you can see that “Baseball Rocks!!”. Enjoy!! Help support Baseball Reflections and buy me a [...]
2011/2012 Brisbane Bandits (of the ABL) Imports
Editor’s Note: The ABL is the Australian Baseball League, a professional league in its second season after a long absence. Kevin Jordan, Head Coach Kevin Jordan (born October 9, 1969 in San Francisco, California) is a retired Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1995 to 2001. He also played a [...]
JapanBall: The 2011 Trip And BBQ Hosted by Marty Kuehnert, Sr Advisor to the Rakuten Golden Eagles
Last month, as they have for the past twenty years, Bob Bavasi and Mayumi Smith guided a group of tourists across Japan to discover the joys of the culture through baseball. Bavasi, the son of Buzzie Bavasi of Brooklyn/LA Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and California Angels fame, and Smith, the director of the Nippon Business [...]
DRSEA INFORMER: The Name Game & Hit Parade
Volume IV, Issue 7: A Publication For Your Reading Enjoyment The strange case of the Florida Marlins Leo Núñez – who is actually Juan Carlos Oviedo – may be just the tip of the iceberg if what some baseball insiders are telling the INFORMER is true, following the revelation that the Dominican Republic pitcher played [...]
Israeli Baseball’s First Game
Here’s a video from the first game of the Israel Professional Baseball League. Help support Baseball Reflections and buy me a coffee with PayPal!
Big Leagues Banking on Dominican Prospects
DRSEA INFORMER Volume IV, Issue 6: A Publication For Your Reading Enjoyment The accelerated signings of Dominican baseball prospects, coupled with a record signing bonus by the Texas Rangers, appears to be an indication that Major League Baseball teams have increasing faith that efforts to curb age and identity fraud in the Dominican Republic are [...]
DRSEA INFORMER: Education Program And Documentary
Volume IV, Issue 5: A Publication For Your Reading Enjoyment DRSEA Education Program Launched – The Arias & Goodman Academy, one of the premiere baseball development programs in the Dominican Republic, has launched a pilot project developed by the Dominican Republic Sports & Education Academy to provide education for its prospects. “Make no mistake [...]
Arias & Goodman Academy Launch Education Program for Prospects
MEDIA RELEASE JUNE 30, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Arias & Goodman – 908-272-6900 DRSEA – 215-888-9608 ARIAS & GOODMAN ACADEMY LAUNCH EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR PROSPECTS SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – The Arias & Goodman Academy, one of the premiere baseball development programs in the Dominican Republic, has launched a pilot project [...]
<--under the