THE SUN SETS ON A FANTASTIC WEEK


Friday, our final day in the Dominican Republic, was our least busy; a just reward for a group of kids who have worked hard and embraced every experience and opportunity wholeheartedly for the entirety of the trip.  With nothing on the schedule in the morning, the kids were able to sleep in (a bit) and enjoy one last beach and ocean experience before the noon hour.



After lunch, we boarded our bus for our final “games” of the week – a pair of situational scrimmages vs. Pembroke Hill Academy of Kansas City, MO.  These games were played at the Royals’ Dominican Academy on a pristine field and it was an opportunity for the kids to engage in a more relaxed game environment.  Those who were not in the lineup got to work with some of the Royals’ coaches so there was lots going on and lots of action throughout the afternoon.  Another strong pitching performance from Freddie Mierke was a highlight from the first game, while Allie Muirhead looked good in game two, as did Henry Anderson, who polished off the week with a 1-2-3 final inning to punctuate the team’s play.



Following the game, we had a quick dinner in the Royals’ cafeteria and then our players connected with the Royals players to help them with their English.  They read children’s books – in both English and Spanish so it was a mutually-beneficial experience – and talked about their background, childhood, girlfriends, etc.  It was funny to note that the Royals’ players were all wondering at what point our Hanover guys would be signing, sort of forgetting that baseball is not the be all, end all of our experience and everyone had a good laugh at that. 




The Pembroke Hill coach, Jeff Diskin, whose full-time job is Senior Director of Professional and Community Development with the Royals (and who set up this experience for the kids) shared his unique role within the organization.  Essentially, his job is to ensure the smooth assimilation of DR natives into the various minor leagues in the states and work with them to secure their GEDs and advance their educations. He notes that most of the successful Dominican players on the Kansas City Royals were not the players who signed for seven figures but rather those who signed for $10-$30k.   That may seem odd but makes sense within the context he shared; the high signing bonus players are often assigned immediately to affiliates in the US and struggle with the culture and language.  Those who are signed for modest amounts begin their career at the Dominican Academy, often spending as many as 4 years there, and are given the non-baseball tools that allow them to succeed once in the States.  

We concluded the visit with a tour of the facility and then headed back to the hotel for a snack and to pack for our return flight home to Boston. 

This weekend, I’ll be asking the players to share short reflections on the trip and will be posting them here.  During a quick meeting at the pool, our group leader, Jim Darin, asked the kids to share and their articulate and thoughtful responses will likely result in some interesting perspectives.

The bus leaves at midnight, the flight leaves at 3:30am and a band of wary but changed young men arrive at 7:40am.  And tryouts start on Monday…


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