Photo taken from Google Images

After reading the recent article on SB Nation by Wendy Thurm entitled, “Will Expanded Replay Lead to More Women Umpires?” I just had to ask my friend, professional umpire Ms. Perry Lee Barber what her take on this article was and this was her “classic” response to it!

First, the title. Hilarious! “Will Expanded Replay Lead to More Women Umpires?“ More? How about ANY? Other than this minor quibble with the title – which implies that there are women umps already in pro ball, which as we both know is currently (and has been for the last four years, going on five) not the case. I found the article to be excellently researched and presented, particularly by someone who isn’t an umpire herself and hasn’t experienced firsthand the double whammy we women encounter of having to earn respect from both our peers/partners as well as from spectators and athletic administrators used to viewing umpires in general as enemy aliens rather than allies. I find Ms. Thurm’s insights into Tim McClelland‘s take on the possibilities of women becoming successful pro umpires quite amazing, since she interprets them as being negative when most people who read them will think they’re a positive endorsement of women as umpires. They’re not, and Ms. Thurm nails it, and this is why.

I’ve met Tim on quite a few occasions, although I won’t say I “know” him, at least not well; he was on a crew with one of my Wendelstedt instructors, John Hirschbeck, for awhile many years ago, so that’s how I met him and socialized with him a few times on a limited basis. He seems to be a nice fellow, very gracious, intelligent, almost old-school “gentlemanly,” if you get my drift, someone with whom anyone would enjoy having a beer and a conversation. But what’s interesting about his reply to Beth, the woman who wants to become a pro umpire but is concerned she will “encounter opposition to [her] entry” is the entrenched sexism implicit in his words, a sexism he is apparently unaware of in himself, at least as I infer from his cheery “go to school, try your best, and get put in the minor leagues” exhortations (As if it were ever that simple, even for the guys). His very next comment speaks volumes more than the previous one: “…It’s a long road to haul — I wouldn’t wish it on a female because not only do they have the complaints and problems you go through as an umpire, but then they have to deal with working in a male-dominated sport.”

Wow. That one made my head spin (and I’m not even getting into the incorrect idiom he uses: it’s a long row to hoe, not haul, although I concede that perhaps it’s a typo or other mistake on the part of the writer or editor rather than incorrect usage on his part. The image of a woman hauling a row [of crops] while a man merely hoes it certainly seems apt, at least from my perspective, as we often have to do way more of the “heavy lifting” out there just to keep up and prove our competence to our male counterparts). Anyway, McClelland has just encouraged a young woman to go for it, implying that “it can be done,” and then in the very next sentence he undermines his own ginned-up optimism by immediately laying out one of the world’s oldest and most tired canards concerning women and our capabilities: that we are not strong enough either mentally or physically to withstand the rigors of “working in a male-dominated sport.” That we are too weak, too frail, too… well, unmanly. We’re just not up to the task, only a man could possibly handle the physical and psychological weight of an umpiring career.

Give me a break. It’s these small, constant, everyday, subliminal digs at our capabilities, the implied attitude that we are still, in this day and age, not worthy, not equal, not up to the task of shouldering the burdens of “complaints and problems you go through as an umpire,” that are a much greater impediment to our progress in baseball than the loud, overt, obviously sexist and disrespectful attitudes that are much more easily identified and dispelled than the thousand tiny slings and arrows similar to McClelland’s comment that we must suffer and deflect every day. It’s infinitely harder to fight something that’s nearly invisible than something you can point a finger at and say positively, “Aha! That’s sexist or racist, and it’s not acceptable.” How does one point a finger at inertia? At not doing something? When it comes to our progress in the pro baseball arena, it’s these implicit, under-the-radar attacks on our physical and emotional capabilities that are much more difficult to identify and weed out than the loudmouth idiocy you hear coming from someone who has an obvious problem with women in higher positions of authority than his. It’s the same principle pro baseball and its current administrators use to camouflage their total inertia and ambivalence about allowing women to penetrate their sacrosanct inner sancti. “We don’t discriminate!” they crow, pointing to the six women who have worked as pro umpires since 1972, the year courageous Bernice Gera finally won her protracted discrimination lawsuit against minor league baseball and bestowed upon the rest of us the right to umpire professional baseball. Six women umpires in the last thirty-nine years: that’s one every six or seven years, as many as baseball, apparently, is capable of handling. As if that’s a statistic to be proud of. And goddess forbid there should be two of us out there at the same time (there were, once, briefly, when Ria Cortesio and Shanna Kook worked simultaneously, although never on the same crew, during 2003 and 2004, but the powers-that-be put a stop to that hellish little experiment by firing Shanna after only two seasons). The men – and it is mostly men – currently in positions to actually DO something about the pathetic absence of women umpires from the pro baseball arena, but who choose to do nothing (because to them, there’s nothing wrong with the way things are, they’re perfectly satisfied with the status quo), love to say how baseball now embraces women’s participation, that women go to umpire school all the time, that the opportunities are there for us! It’s all smoke and mirrors, just as McClelland’s comment about “not wishing [a pro umpiring career] on a female because blah blah blah…” is near-perfect camouflage for his real feelings about women as partners. He says we should “go for it,” but in the very next sentence he makes it clear that he really doesn’t regard us as capable or worthy of working alongside him or any other “real” umpire. Do you think he has ever said to a young man asking for advice about an umpiring career, “Well, I wouldn’t wish it on you because it’s so hard and there’s no way you’ll ever be up to the task”? That’s basically what his pearls of wisdom here are transmitting, what he’s telling “Beth,” the woman who asked the question about going to umpire school and having to face “opposition to her entry” simply because she’s female. And I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that McClelland would object to the high heavens if anyone accused him of being sexist or having an attitude towards women that’s anything less than respectful and welcoming; he probably has no idea how revelatory of his true feelings his comment is, and in all likelihood sees himself as some kind of champion for even suggesting we should try.

The inconsistency between what he says and how he obviously feels about women umpires is vast, and I love it that Wendy Thurm gets this about his remarks and rebukes them, not angrily or rudely, but with a graceful clarity. I think the thrust of her article points to the fact that replay will open more opportunities for umpires in general and that since the pool of umpiring candidates will necessarily be expanded to meet this growing need, women may have more of a chance to join the ranks of professional umpires. And just to be clear, the way I read it is that she is not implying that the women who may wind up being hired would be relegated to the video booth as opposed to given actual on-field jobs; I don’t believe that is her implication, although it probably is McClelland’s or anybody else’s in a position to actually hire women to fulfill these new technology-mandated roles. Their attitude, if past is prologue, is more than likely, well, women may not be “up to it” on the field where it counts, but maybe in the booth where it won’t matter that we’re so weak and incapable, we’ll somehow manage to do okay and not screw it up too badly for the real umpires.

Very, very interesting article on multiple levels, Peter, and thank you for asking me about it.

Perry

umpireplb@aol.com

Image of Reyes taken from Google Images

It makes some sort of ironic sense that the biggest splash of baseball’s offseason signing season so far is made by the Fish. The newly crowned Miami Marlins made a big move in reshaping the image of their franchise by stepping up to the plate and landing shortstop Jose Reyes on Sunday night. The Marlins have been no stranger to the headlines this offseason, as they are in the process of reshaping everything from the structure to the look of their club this offseason.

The deal they struck with the National League’s 2011 batting champion was a major statement in a variety of ways. It showed that the annually frugal Marlins are serious about erasing their image as a cost hindered, bottom feeder in a big money NL East. It also shows that no contemporary in place will get in the way of their efforts to rebuild this team, as Reyes bumps their land standing franchise player, Hanley Ramirez, to third base. Finally, it’s the type of power move that shows that the idea of them being full of talk, but not high on action, in their all-inclusive pursuit of nearly every premier name on the market, is indeed legit.

However, there is a second level to this method that has to be observed as well. While Miami’s management has been aggressive in restricting the team and point it in a clear direction to become a competitor, the road to the quick fix could lead for some long-term woes as well, especially in the case of Reyes. For as dynamic as he was this past summer (.337 average, 16 triples, 39 steals), the dark side of the moon that’s followed him for years was still there. He missed time with yet another leg injury, the same issues that have kept him from reaching the 135 game mark since 2008. That’s over a month lost in the best case scenario each year. Not exactly the type of benchmark that you want leading a franchise revival. For a player who’s biggest gift is speed, repeated leg injuries, with also becoming a factor during the course of this deal, there’s a lot of people that say that revisionist history may be set in Miami before October greatness is reached.

This episode has played out many times before. The Chicago Cubs and the boulder that is Alfonso Soriano is a booming example. In the midst of trying to buy their way into a big run into October, the Cubs threw around all sorts of money in a major “win now” scenario, and capped it off with a $136 million pact over eight years with Soriano. But he sunk like a stone, yet still tops the Cubs payroll years after his time as an impact player ended.

There are a ton more cases like this (Adam Dunn, Jayson Werth and Vernon Wells) that show that dropping big checks for big names isn’t always the smart path to becoming relevant. Reyes’ upside is clear; he’s easily one of the top three shortstops in the game…now. But a six year investment goes a lot further than the now and for a team that is looking to become a perennial contender, living in the now could come back to haunt them much later if some strategy isn’t shown in their push to see their name in bright lights on the Major’s marquee.

Bud Selig photo taken from Google Images

Major League Baseball is showing up the NBA and NFL in terms of negotiating new deals peacefully and out of the public eye.  The MLB took its lumps in negotiating back in ‘94 but they obviously learned their lesson from it. The NFL off-season and pre-season was altered due to failed negotiations. The NBA owners and players are so far apart on an agreement that many players have called their agents and a moving company. They are taking their belongings and talents overseas to play in various leagues as more regular season games have gotten cancelled.

The current collective bargaining agreement in MLB doesn’t end until December but a new agreement is already in place and is set to be signed this week at the time of this writing. There haven’t been any comments from athletes talking about owners or owners talking to the media about athletes. There were no instances of players lashing out at the league through Twitter only to have a league made account strike back, take notes NBA.

After missing the World Series in the 94-95 season, commissioner Bud Selig and everyone else involved in the MLB labor negotiations was determined never to let that happen again. And can you blame them? MLB has revenue of about $7.5 billion, would you do anything to mess that up? The lines of communication have been open between the owners and the players and the owners have been on the same page with each other as well. In the NBA there are some owners who have disagreements with other owners in addition to the disagreements with the players. The constant bickering puts the negotiations on hold and delays any progress from taking place.

Baseball’s advanced communications between the owners and players is best displayed in their ability to agree on different concessions and implementing new rules for the game and contracts. Both sides agreed to compromise and give in some to the demands of the other side to reach an agreement.

• The owners are getting blood testing for HGH (human growth hormone) implemented, as reported by the New York Times.
•  The wild card playoffs are being expanded which will bring in millions of dollars.
• The players are getting a change in the free agent compensation rules that will allow for more bidding on players and increasing their chance to get that big contract.

One major factor in the NFL’s lockout of 2011 was revenue sharing. The small market owners were unhappy with the gap between them and the big market owners and the money that the players were making. Coming to an agreement to keep each party satisfied was a difficult and time consuming task. MLB was able to avoid that issue because the sides agreed not to look into a revenue-sharing system like the one the NFL has. MLB pays players the smallest percentage of revenue of all the major sports. Teams with lower pay rolls can still earn huge profits because they get checks from bigger market teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

I don’t necessarily agree with MLB’s revenue sharing plan because certain teams have no incentive to put together a winning team because they will continue to get paid. The best teams with the most money will continue to throw bigger amounts of money at the best players from these smaller market teams and take them away. The fans miss out on a winning team and are in fear of their best players leaving for greener pastures (more like more green in their wallets and bank accounts). The Milwaukee Brewers may lose their best player this off-season even though they don’t fit the example I just described because they are a small market team that does win.

Regardless of that minor beef I have with the revenue sharing, there is no denying MLB has set the standard terms of successful negotiations.

NPB SP Yu Darvish image taken from Google Images

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 an MLB team by way of free agency, after 9 years of being under club control, compared to MLB’s 6 years. Since NPB players are likely past their primes by the time they reach free agency, the most attractive way for NPB players to face the challenges of MLB competition is via the posting process – NPB teams sell an MLB team exclusive negotiating rights to a player in a silent auction, and if the player and MLB team reach agreement, the player is sold.

American media has made noise about Darvish being posted in offseasons before, but never as loud as it is now. This naturally leads fans to make comparisons, and for illogical reasons (read: racism) Japanese players are most often compared to other Japanese players. This happens among players of other races as well, but since there are far less Major Leaguers of Japanese descent, the sample sizes are tiny and comparisons are highly inaccurate. This is why the comparisons you read of Darvish to the last hyped Japanese pitcher to be posted, Daisuke Matsuzaka, are terrible. Their numbers in the NPB, as well as their skill sets, are vastly different. I will not entertain such a baseline, and neither should you.

I have an interesting comparison for Yu Darvish that most people may not have yet considered (And by interesting, I mean not-Matsuzaka. That adjective you’re looking for there is ass-hatted). Aside from the home run rate, their rate numbers are nearly identical.

Yu Darvish’s last 3 years, compared to Player A in same league:

SO/9: (D)9.7 | (A)9.4

BB/9: (D)1.8 | (A)1.2

HR/9: (D)0.3 | (A)0.6

~

Who might Player A be? It’s Texas Rangers RHP Colby Lewis during his two-year stint with the Hiroshima Carp from 2008 to 2009. Colby Lewis is, admittedly on my part, not a perfect comparison. Darvish has sustained impeccably low ERAs throughout his entire NPB career, which leads one to believe he, unlike others, shows some kind of talent outside of what DIPS numbers can detect. He is likely causing NPB batters to “mis-hit” the ball often or pitches better with men on base. Darvish also throws more innings per year than Lewis did.

Despite these imperfections in my comparison, Lewis is the best base to adjust your expectations of Darvish from. Lewis has given the Rangers 6.9 fWAR over 2 seasons. Considering he pitches in a bandbox and FIP doesn’t adjust for HR/FB rate, I’d comfortable calling Lewis a 4 WAR pitcher, which is to say he’s a solid #2 starter.

Darvish in the MLB isn’t likely significantly better than Colby Lewis. Unless he’s racking up groundballs that I’m unaware of, I think it’s likely his home run rate will stabilize at the level of most MLB flyball pitchers. Will Darvish be able to keep getting batters to mishit the ball in the MLB? My guess is no, considering the kind of non-knuckleball pitcher who does that is a very rare breed, especially among RHPs.

I think Darvish is a 4.5 WAR pitcher in the bigs, assuming he makes all the on-field and off-field adjustments (which is not a safe assumption, by the way). That’s pretty darn good, but not mesmerizing, nor worth the hype and high dollar price tag.

If teams are looking to add another #1/2 starter, CJ Wilson is available for what is likely a lower price and more proven track record.

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 identity fraud among young prospects, my mother’s occasional memory lapse has become increasingly understandable, particularly in a country where record keeping is often lax.

Major League Baseball recently revealed that of the 500 prospects a year it investigates; more than a third are rejected because of inconsistencies about who they are or when they were born. I am convinced more and more that a substantial amount of the identity questions are not because of deliberate attempts to mislead, but part of a cultural anomaly. But it is virtually impossible to separate the intentional from the unintentional, further exacerbating the dilemma.  Baseball has taken to labeling such cases as “inconclusive,” but still locks questionable prospects out of the game.

In a recent case, Juan Carlos Paniagua, who had signed a $1.1 million contract with the New York Yankees, had his contract voided by MLB –  and the right-handed pitcher with a 95 mph fastball was suspended for a year – after his identification paperwork was deemed faulty.  This came after he was suspended for a year in 2010 for providing false identification to the Arizona Diamondbacks under the name of Juan Collado.

According to The Miami Herald, Paniagua’s problems began when his grandmother registered his birth, declaring herself as his mother. A new birth certificate was issued under his correct name, listing his real mother, but then baseball investigators said his school registry appeared altered and he was ruled ineligible, his coach Dario Moreno Martes said, explaining, “He has never had a different date of birth.  If he is not Juan Carlos Paniagua, then tell me who he is?”

Who he is – and dozens of others like him – is an ongoing problem. “We try to be as comprehensive as possible,” Major League Baseball Senior Vice President Dan Mullin told the Herald. “We try to be as fair as possible and try to help the player prove he is who he says he is. But if you can’t prove who you are, you can’t get a visa to come to the United States.”

The proof is often a mystery that resists unraveling, whether there is deliberate intent or not to deceive.  Very often in the Dominican Republic, births are not registered until years after, when memories have become sketchy with regards to exact dates, locations and circumstances.  A relative could take a child to register the birth and not recall the exact date, or be provided incorrect information by the mother and father who may be juggling the birth dates of several children in their heads.  But, it would be a stretch of the imagination to believe that someone would falsify the identification of a 6-year-old in anticipation that 10 or 11 years hence that lie would benefit them in getting their child signed to a professional baseball contract.

Dominican birth certificate

Also, people in the Dominican Republic traditionally carry the last name of both the mother and the father, but in general usage prefer one over the other.  Over years, if one parent is absent, a name that appears on a birth certificate could be dropped from use, but become questionable when an identity search is made.  With that parent unavailable for verification, the matter could end as inconclusive.

I have also seen identification further compromised by the spelling of a name.  In the U.S., I would generally call someone “Jimmy,” but in the Dominican Republic, it might be written “Gemmy.” Or, in many cases, someone has been called a nickname – Chico – all their lives; in school records, hospital records – and that becomes who they are – not Joaquin.  But over the years, people would write “Jimmy” to the point that it would become the accepted spelling – until the question of identity surfaces.  And Chico turns out to really be Joaquin when baseball checks his identity. While there was no deliberate attempt to confuse anyone, red flags go up in a system where there are so many covert efforts to conceal identity.

And, further adding to the problem, according to one development academy owner who had three prospects’ contracts voided by identity questions, there is a cultural lack of understanding about the problem.  “They figure if the birth date is close, or the name is close, what’s the big deal,” he said. “They know it is their son, so they don’t understand why it is a problem.  We really have to get parents – and these kids – to understand that their identities have to be solid, have to be accurate, or we can’t get them signed.”

But there are certainly those who forge their identities to profit in a baseball world where 16-year-olds become instant millionaires while an 18-year-old with the same skills commands far less or could go unsigned.  Since I have been in the Dominican Republic, I have gotten to know Edgar Ferreria, one such casualty of growing old.  At 19, his value was dropping quickly until he was convinced to forge a new identity, that of a 17-year old, in part by paying off a local school to say he attended.  With a new age and identity, he was offered a $75,000 contract with the Anaheim Angels.

Edgar Ferreria (Where Baseball Is Born photo)

When the lie fell apart, Edgar’s contract was voided.  At 23, he now works as a trainer at a development academy, his big league dreams shattered. “I am worthless — an old man who nobody wants to sign,” he says, his sad, empty eyes reflecting his pain.

Baseball has embraced numerous investigative techniques – including fingerprinting of prospects as first advocated in the INFORMER two years ago – and now uncovers more of the fraudulent cases.  And, as the Dominican Republic adapts new measures to register births, the record keeping is becoming more accurate and less subject to tampering.  But it will be years before those with the new accurate records reach 16 – the magic age when MLB teams can sign Dominican players.  In the interim, baseball is saddled with the task of sorting out who is who, whether the prospect planned a deception or not.

The case of the Florida Marlins Leo Núñez – who is actually Juan Carlos Oviedo – is an example of just how pervasive identity fraud is.  Nunez played under his assumed name – and an older age – for 10 years before coming clean, and I am told there are more than two dozen current major and minor league players in the same fix.

Recently, a television feature on Dominican baseball referred to me as a critic of Major League Baseball, an evaluation I have worked hard to avoid because it positions me as an adversary.  I have never considered myself as an opponent of Major League Baseball, merely an advocate for education of the talent baseball mines in the Dominican Republic.

I avoid criticism in favor of observation and, based on those observations and my experience here, offer my opinions on problems in Dominican baseball that have become increasingly documented by others as well.  These include the use of steroids among prospects, abuses at the hands of greedy flesh merchants, and most recently the errant age and identify fraud that undermines the integrity of the game.

The major problem leading to age and identification fraud has been and will continue to be the devaluation of Dominican players as they age.  A 16-year-old with a 90 mph fastball is more valuable than a 19-year-old with the same skills, and with lax record keeping and a culture so rabid for baseball, the temptation to become someone younger, to fit the mold, is often irresistible.

I also try to offer viable solutions to the problems that plague Dominican baseball. I said it before and I will say it again that it seems to me that some of the age fraud could be avoided if these baseball Methuselahs could get a legitimate shot at the stardom all Dominican baseball players crave.   Logic dictates that if a 19-year-old believes he still has a chance to reach his dream, he will be less likely to lie about his age. Sure, you would still be getting what many consider an aging diamond in the rough, but the upside is a more mature, more focused 19-year-old man as opposed to a 16-year-old boy.

I suggested more than a year ago that baseball teams in the Dominican Republic offer a combine similar to what the National Football League uses to evaluate talent prior to its annual draft, but only for those players 19 and over.  Once, twice a year bring these so-called over-the-hill players to a location for workouts to assess their skills; make those workouts open to all teams who can then select promising players directly or via a special draft.

These players can easily be identified by the baseball’s expanded scouting bureau that now covers all of Latin America, and giving those 19 and over one last shot at a baseball career can only help eliminate their need to lie about who they are and when they were born.

Changing Of The Guard

Rafael Perez, the first head of operations at Major League Baseball’s office in the Dominican Republic, is returning to that post, the INFORMER has learned.

Rafael Perez

The return of Perez, who was Director of International Relations for the New York Mets, may signal a new, even tougher attitude towards reform in the Dominican Republic   As a Dominican who came through the system, he has an intimate knowledge of its complexities.   When he originally headed MLB’s office in the Dominican Republic, he fought to curb the influence of buscones, the flesh merchants who peddle prospects to MLB teams and often encouraging age and identity fraud and the use of steroids, problems that have plagued Dominican baseball.

After graduating from high school in the Dominican Republic, he went to Chipola Junior College in Marianna, FL, transferring in 1987 to the University of South Alabama where he finished his college baseball career while obtaining a degree in accounting.  He then played for two seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

After a stint with an international software company, Perez became a consultant with the Toronto Blue Jays, advising players on transitioning to playing baseball in the United States.  In 2000, he took over Major League Baseball’s new office in the Dominican Republic.  While there, he established standards for all MLB academies in the country.  His oversight of Major League Baseball operations in the Dominican Republic ended when he left for the Mets in 2005, despite an offer to remain in Santo Domingo.

With the Mets, Perez was responsible for the team’s operations in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, coordinating the Winter Leagues, and developing an international education program as well as special international projects.

While Perez is returning to old familiar places, the move can be viewed as a natural progression in the reform movement that started almost two years ago.  Sandy Alderson, currently the Mets’ general manager, originally led the reform effort in the Dominican Republic; he was also responsible for establishing MLB’s office in Santo Domingo.

Alderson turned the reins over to Jorge Perez-Diaz, a lawyer from Puerto Rico who reportedly will continue as a legal consultant with Major League Baseball.  Perez’ familiarity with Dominican baseball makes him a great fit a this juncture of the reform movement; I believe he also brings with him a healthy respect for the value of education, having received a college degree, as well as working with several international education organizations.

Education, in my mind, has to be a top priority of Major League Baseball if true reform in Dominican baseball is to be achieved.

Pomp And Circumstance

I recently had the honor and privilege of attending graduation ceremonies for a group of young Dominicans receiving their high school diplomas.  What made the event unusual was that it was held at the Pittsburgh Pirates Dominican Republic baseball academy and the graduates are all Pirates’ prospects.

The Pirates are the only Major League Baseball team in the Dominican Republic that provides a mandatory education program for its prospects, and the ceremonies – the second since the program was instituted – reflect what can be accomplished if MLB teams make a commitment to education.

It was not the first time I visited the Pirates academy, a state-of-the-art complex that includes administrative offices, recreation facilities, a spacious kitchen, and a dormitory. The baseball facilities have a modern weight room, training room, locker room, film room, and more, and immaculately groomed fields.  There are large classrooms that include computers and video setups.  When the facility opened, the Pirates vowed to offer educational programs to all players and not only have they been promise keepers, they have set a standard all Major League Baseball teams need to emulate.

At the graduation, I met face-to-face for the first time with Trevor Gooby, senior director of Florida and Dominican Operations for the Pirates, who told me awhile back that the Pirates embrace a philosophy to develop the whole player.  “This means physically, mentally, educationally and culturally,” he said.

He added, “I truly believe that it is our duty to develop the person.  We can’t be blind to it………Realistically, many of our (prospects) will never make it to the majors. They will go back to their towns and villages.  We want them to be productive members to their community and not a burden on the society.  I truly believe that our educational program will assist them in their post-baseball lives.”

The program is not without a price tag – estimated to be around $75,000 a year – which may be why the Pirates are the only Major League Baseball team with such an education program, but Gooby says the Pirates believe the money is an investment in the future.  The education program is conducted by CENAPEC, a nonprofit education company hired, in part, because the organization understands and incorporates Dominican education requirements into its curriculum.

The recent graduation ceremonies were held in a batting cage converted for the day into center stage. An array of fans circulate the air on a humid day as the graduates, and their fellow students, filed into the building in their baseball uniforms, accompanied to the strains of the Chariots of Fire theme song.

The graduates donned traditional cap and gown as beaming parents and friends gathered behind them to cheer  their success –  not on the baseball diamond – but in the classroom, a place many of them left years ago in pursuit of a dream.

The scene was inspiring as the graduates crossed the stage to receive their degrees, the sense of pride – of accomplishment –  etched in their faces.  They appeared to have a renewed swagger as they exited the stage, clutching their diplomas.  One student, Yunior Antonio Valdez, choked back tears as he expressed his appreciation for the opportunity afforded him and the others, opportunity unavailable to the majority of Dominicans seeking the pot of gold at the end of the baseball rainbow.

Yunior Antonio Valdez

Life is a process of growth and learning, and education is a crucial component in that process.

The promise of education is to empower its recipients with knowledge, with confidence, to raise self expectations and expand the promise of a successful future.

That the Pittsburgh Pirates understand that gives me hope that other teams will follow their lead, and also gives me renewed confidence that the DRSEA mission is a sound one.  I commented to Gooby that next year the team should invite baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to attend.  I think he would be as inspired as I was.

  “Some men know the value of education by having it.  I know its value by not having it.”

– Frederick Douglass, U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, 1890-91.

With US backing, the ABL is thriving, writes David Sygall

 Written by David Sygall

Field of dreams … the Sydney Blue Sox opened the Australian Baseball League season on Friday with a win over the Melbourne Aces. Photo: Anthony Johnson

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 the stereotypical chest-pumping, too cool for school-style attitude often linked with quintessentially American sports. The Australian Baseball League and its small but dedicated band of followers have genuine reasons to feel positive about the game’s future here, as it begins its second season since relaunching.

There is plenty to be said for a game steeped in as much tradition as Test cricket, yet which somehow can effortlessly maintain a sense of relevance and modernity. Whereas cricket and many other sports keep tinkering with their rules, image and style, baseball is the same today as it was when it began in the US north-east 140 years ago. You know what you’re going to get every time you watch a game at the ol’ ball park.
”One thing I love about baseball is that it’s consistent,” says Sydney Blue Sox general manager David Balfour, whose son Grant is earning millions playing for the Oakland Athletics. ”It hasn’t changed since the day it started. I think Twenty20 cricket is basically trying to be like baseball. Cricket is baseball on valium.”

Balfour ran former incarnations of Sydney baseball teams and admits to having lost ”a lot of money”. He says the old league was ”very good, a well-run league”, but this league’s better for one enormous reason – the league is now majority owned by US Major League Baseball.

Centralised ownership means there are no owners going broke, player payment and trading issues, or arguments over how the teams should be structured and marketed. Everyone is pulling in the same direction under a sporting behemoth that definitely knows what it’s doing. Merchandise is from the same template as highly successful MLB stock, as is the game-day running sheet, right down to the seventh-inning stretch. It also means American players have a direct opening to play in Australia, setting up a mutually beneficial exchange of skills with Australia’s brightest talents, several of whom will doubtless add to the already impressive list of Australians to hit the big time in the US.

”The problem in the past was a lack of funds and pretty bad facilities,” Balfour says. ”That’s improved. To have the backing of MLB is a really big plus. It basically means we have just one owner, which makes things easier. In the old days nothing ever moved because everyone was looking after their own interests.”

It’s definitely not a bottomless pit of cash, Balfour adds, as MLB expects the ABL to be self-sufficient eventually. But the backing as the game seeks to permanently establish itself is priceless. Other practical factors add to baseball’s appeal. At the game on Friday night – which the Blue Sox won brilliantly 3-2 over the Melbourne Aces with a winning run at the bottom of the ninth inning – knowledgeable and passionate fans could hear at close proximity the whizz of the ball zooming through the air at 160 km/h. They could see its dip and swerve and feel the thud as it smacked into the catcher’s glove. Whereas cricket’s rule tinkering has nearly killed the art of bowling, the baseball pitcher’s skill remains highly celebrated. Same with the batters, who are as courageous as they are powerful.

”The standard is already there,” says Bob Turner, the former basketball identity who is now a chief advisor to Baseball NSW and the Blue Sox. ”You’ve got 20 kids who played in the Majors last year playing in the league. You’ve got five guys who played in the league last year who went on to play in the Majors this year. The fact that Major League Baseball is such a major driving force behind the ABL gives every young fellow a real chance. It’s now a case of, ‘If I show my skills, I can make it to the big league’. The success of the league will probably be based on crowds and media coverage. But I think people have accepted that it’s here to stay and will become bigger and bigger over the years.”

Image taken from Google Images

Former Red Sox Closer (since 2005 with 219 saves, most by any Boston pitcher) recently signed a 4 year (with a vesting option on a 6th) deal with the Phillies for $50M…

Image borrowed from Zoner Sports via Google Images

With Tony La Russa deciding to call it a career earlier this week, MLB will try to remember what it’s like to exist without him managing one of its teams. It hasn’t had to since 1978. As some reminders just how long ago that was:

-        Cardinals 10-time All-Star Albert Pujols wasn’t even conceived yet.

-        Cardinals Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, who retired in 1996, finished 2^nd in the Rookie of the Year balloting.

-        Cardinals Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog hadn’t yet managed the Cardinals.

-        The Jimmy Carter administration had a 52% approval rating.

-        Jamie Moyer first became eligible for social security.

As long and as full of winning La Russa’s career was, the growing acceptance of Sabermetrics among front office executives in the 21^st century, and later mainstream media, has led to a counter culture in baseball that sees La Russa and his old school ilk in a less favorable light. Aside from his small ball obsession, La Russa was too often accused of letting his ego take precedent over keeping the most talent on the team – and the Cardinals brass would allow it. Even former General Manager Walt Jocketty was fired by the Cardinals during his feud with La Russa, reportedly due to La Russa’s influence. This made room for John Mozeliak to be promoted to GM chair in 2007.

Mozeliak, who began his career in Major League Baseball as a number cruncher straight out of college with the Colorado Rockies, is no stranger to Sabermetrics. He has shown to be a shrewd GM for the Cardinals and has often enough balanced La Russa’s wills to keep his job. But with La Russa now gone, Mozeliak gets to do something most GMs get to do as their first executive action – choose a manager to his liking. One who likely wouldn’t, for example, refuse to play a rising star, power-hitting, center fielder, because, God-forbid, a 24-year-old millionaire is accused of having immaturity issues. Or perhaps one who likely wouldn’t push away his future Hall of Fame third baseman due to a feud that must be inconsequential compared to what’s best for the team.

2012 may be Mozeliak’s 5^th season as captain of the good ship Cardinal, but it will be the first that he gets to choose how much autonomy he wants to share with the Cardinals manager. Ideally, Mozeliak would have the last say for every player transaction on the matter of who wears the Cardinals uniform – just like nearly every GM in baseball. In theory, this will make Mozeliak better at his job.

Or will it? Legendary pitching coach Dave Duncan (who’s face arguably deserves to be on La Russa’s future Hall of Fame plaque) has a tight bond with La Russa, and may not return to the team for the 2012 campaign. Worse, free agent Albert Pujols will now have less incentive to re-sign with the Cardinals, as he has been an outspoken La Russa backer through most of his career as well. And though the Cardinals have won two championships with Mozeliak as either the GM or Assistant GM, nobody is in doubt that neither would have been possible without Pujols in a Cardinals uniform.

Mozeliak may be having his dream come true by not having to manage La Russa’s hurt feelings anymore, but he has some hard work to do this offseason that may be impossible without the help of one of the longest-tenured and most respected baseball men in MLB.