Posted on 05/05/2015 11:37:34 AM PDT by C19fan
Tucked away among the tilled plots and scrubby pastures of this rural town, the Seattle Mariners’ baseball academy is mostly abandoned. The weight room has been cleared of machines. The numbered locker-room stalls are bare.
One afternoon last week, a grounds crew pulled out bases from the main field while workers packed away a few stray trophies, bats and uniforms. But the teenage prospects who shared bunks here just three weeks ago are gone, shipped off to a newer school in the Dominican Republic.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
I have always felt we have enough home grown American boys that play just as good or better and this whole experiment was driven by the diversity crowd. You will have the occasional find but overall it needs to be an American recruiting effort and let the other countries have their own leagues. I don’t see teams putting these free academies anywhere around here to assist our boys in making their dream, why do it for non citizens?
And I don’t need a lecture on free market blah blah our boys are more talented.
Venezuela has a habit of holding MLB player’s family members hostage.
They couldn’t provide TP for locker rooms?
I think this is sad, given the number of Venezuelan superstars. Where would the Seattle Mariners be without Felix Hernandez? Are you saying that we have such high quality US players that we can do without the Dominicans, Cubans, Venezuelans, and Japanese? They play because they are good, not because of any diversity initiative. MLB teams were searching the world for talent before anyone ever heard the term “diversity”.
I’m guessing the Orioles are staying. Peter Angelos has long expressed his love for Communist regimes.
Maybe the recruiters just got tired of wiping their bums with leaves.
I knew a U.S. baseball player who was signed to a major league team and they sent him to an affiliate in Venezuela.
I believe I was clear. King Felix, Cabrera, and a few others are the exception. Yes I am saying that. We have enough talent here in a nation over 300 million to fill 450 roster spots. I see boys every day that make Rougned Odor and Jean Seguro look like girls. I have played baseball at a high level and watched it my whole life and know talent when I see it.
I equate this with the whole H1B visa crapola. It is all about money. They get them on the front end for less money than they have to pay an American prospect (like Altuve’s $15,000 signing versus Trout’s multi-million). After a couple seasons if they do not make it they go get another one for a song. If they make it they of course get the big bucks. It is all about saving them a few bucks.
High schools predominantly play this role in the US. Of course, they generally require the increasingly difficult requirement that players maintain a C average.
As opposed to non American who cannot read and write either in English or whatever?
For the most part high school baseball does nothing for a prospects career except get them reps. It is the cottage industry around showcase ball that gets them exposed. I see high school coaches everyday who play a lower talented player because of who his parents are than his skill level. Politics is rampant in public school ball and some of your better players actually fall out due to lack of playing time or lack luster coaches. Also coaches today do not spend as much time championing more than 1 or 2 boys on each team and again half the time it is who the parents are that pushes that effort.
I know around here football is king and to cut costs they hire football coaches who coach baseball in the spring. There are some school around that have excellent programs and do work hard to get their kids recognized so I am not condemning all of them. Given the choice of wading through public school politics, only getting to practice/play a maximum number if hours a week/season because of nanny state rules (such as coaches not allowed to coach players off season) and such versus going to a fully paid academy where you play baseball 10+ hours a day, get fed and clothed, and get out of the slums where is the advantage being given?
And the Venezuela Times only prints once every two weeks.
The grounds crew will be employed forever, you just cannot fire them without government approval
Not officially but there are plenty of ball players who had family members kidnapped only to end up paying millions to the government of Venezuela to eventually have their families rescued.
Urgeth Urbina ended up in prison in Venezuela after paying the wrong people to rescue his mother. Seems that Hugo Chavez didn’t like getting cut out of the deal.
Thx ...
Still got 300 jobs to fill and that’s not taking in the additional 300 needed to cover the entire 40 man roster for each of the 30 teams. Recruit worldwide away!!!!
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