Baseball is life in the Dominican Republic, it is the dream
of every boy and his family, it is the favorite pastime, and men and boys of
all ages play and practice weekly, if not daily. But “the dream” of playing in
the MLB in the United States is a far journey that only a handful of players
will actually achieve. Yet, a culture of poverty and a few amazing success
stories foster a widespread belief that a baseball contract is the escape from
poverty, for a player but also his family and friends. There are undoubtedly
positives and negatives to the culture and system of baseball in the DR but
Dominicans seem to have little fear of the fairly obvious downfalls of starting
children as young as 10 in serious baseball programs in dreams that they will
make it to the Major Leagues.
The American baseball training program “I Love Baseball”
(ilovebaseball.org) reports that in 2006 the MLB was investing $84 Million in potential
Dominican players and training programs and all 30 MLB teams currently have
academies in the DR. “20 current MLB players
were featured on the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic roster.
Their combined 2013 salaries amount to $104,590,000,” (Jessop, www.forbes.com,
2013). While these 20 players are the “dream,” they had to endure a lifetime of
intense training only to be signed at a fraction of American players’ contracts.
In addition to the 20 major league players, 25% of minor league players are
Dominican, (Jessop, 2013). For many Dominican players, playing for a MBL
sponsored Dominican or US based minor league represents a middle or upper-class
life in the DR.
Young boys with interest in
baseball enter training programs with private coaches and managers who have
contracts for a portion of the future signing with a professional academy. The
legal percentage a coach or manager can take is 30% although there are many coaches
and managers who take advantage of players with contracts for higher
percentages and/or charge players for training programs. Boys enter these
programs as young as 10. Boys cannot legally be signed into a MBL academy until
the age of 16, but may pass to more professional or higher level training
programs. The best type of coaches sign players but do not charge a practice
fee and often purchase supplies and equipment for young players out of pocket.
Like the players’ parents, coaches are betting on these young athletes to “pay
off” and get signed. In many cases when children enter training programs, their
coaches become their main caregiver. “I
Love Baseball” estimates that only 2-5% of players in training programs will
get signed into an academy. If they are signed, they will join a MBL farm
league academy. Contracts are typically $5,000 - $25,000US (of which trainers
take 30%) but many academies also pay players bonuses for signing, in addition,
players receive stipends while in the academy of $600 - $1,000 a month
(ilovebaseball.org). For the few teens who make it to a farm league academy,
the contract, bonuses, and monthly stipend can change their lives. In addition to
MBL farm leagues, other organizations and groups have “academies” that may feed
into US AAA or farm leagues, although the chances are even slimmer of
continuing to a more advanced team. Once signed into an academy, a young player
still has 7 levels to complete: DSL, Rookie League, High Rookie League, Low
Class A, High Class A, Double A, and Triple A before a US MLB team
(ilovebaseball.org).
Baseball is every young boys’
dream, and the dream of many parents too, but could the baseball system be
another form of child abuse and child labor? While the youngest players, 10-18
are not paid in cash, they are working for future payout and are arguably paid
in equipment and food. Parents often with go their responsibilities once a son
has been taken on by a coach, suddenly claiming to not have the money to pay
for necessities. In addition, many young boys work to pay coach fees and
purchase equipment. In this situation, players practice and work every day
leaving little or no time for school. Young athletes who spend their time
practicing everyday from the age of 10 are left with very little education to
fall back on when they no longer play.
