Or so we hope. Today, July 2nd, opens Major League Baseball's (MLB) signing period for international players.  Latin American baseball talent is funneled through the DR, so it's an emotionally heightened day for all. There is no international draft for now. Territories outside of the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico are not under the limitations or strictures - or protective rules - of the MLB draft.  

​The ​international signing period has it's own set of rules, only touched on in this post:

• "An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between July 2 through June 15 of the next year if he is 17 or will turn 17 by the end of the first season of his contract."  

In practice, MLB fudges this to age 16.  And it appears to be going younger again.

• "Additionally, any prospect who is already 17 or older and has not previously signed a Major or Minor League contract, resides outside of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and has not been enrolled in a high school or college in the U.S., Canada or Puerto Rico within the previous year is eligible to sign during the period."

That means you can move to the DR and try out as an international player. 

The lack of an international draft is a good thing in many ways. For one, international players compete in a smaller pool of talent. In other ways, not so much good. Without strictures and oversight, signing talent can be a pretty sketchy business.  But this is a story for another post.

July 2nd is the biggest of days. It sets the tone for the signing season. Not everyone will experience magic, or have their dreams come true, or have their lives change today. But I hope these hardworking Dominican baseball players vying for an MLB contract this season will receive something for their efforts.  And at a fair price, ethically given.

Ok, that may seem backward.  It's usually the other way around, right?  But in this case, the long baseball journey begins in New York City with an empty box.  The small step is every donation of baseball/softball gear I receive in my ongoing drive to support the community of Boca Chica.  Those steps fill up the box.  All the steps together?  That's a whole lotta love.  Love from y'all.  

In gratitude for that love, I thought I'd tell you a little story of the journey of one box. The last box I sent.  In January 2015.  Um, a year ago.  Yikes.  Here’s how the box grew in New York City during the final week of December 2014.  My Big Santa Christmas box.

​Look at all those awesome donations!  There was so much gear, I couldn't fit it all in the photo.  

​Organizing it takes some time, people.  And space.  

I sort gear into piles.  Then I re-sort them.  

​Then I spend a couple of days stepping over the piles while thinking about what should go in the box this trip.  

​Then I get out a fresh box. Gotta have a big, deep box.

I start to fill it.  And then I re-sort one more time.

Serious.

I stuff that box with as much gear as it will hold.  Then I cram in some more.  

​Creativity is key.  I fold and roll and shove jerseys into cleats, and caps and balls into batting helmets.  You get it.

Next I wrap it with a whole lotta packing tape so it won't break open.  And to keep others from opening it. 

​The shipping company picked up the box on January 17th. 

Here it is heading off to its cargo cruise across the sea.​

The box was heavy.  The guy was having a hard time getting it down the stairs.

The box arrived in Boca Chica late.  Like late April.  Seems the shippers couldn't find the house.  Even though they've delivered boxes there before.  Hmmmm.  The Dominican Republic can be wacky like that.  You know.  It’s a thing.

​No worries.  A couple of smart, savvy, don’t take no shit women calling from New York City and Boca Chica (that’s me and my friend Rosi Vásquez) got it sorted out.  The box got to my friend Luís Hernández.  And Luís distributed the love.  Here's what went down.

Some of your donations went to talented individual players in need.  Boys and girls at a stage where the trajectory of their lives might be changed by a good glove they can call their own or by a pair of cleats that can grip the earth and let them run like the wind. ​

Donations also went to our old friends at ​Club Juan Alberto Ozoria. ​ But with this box, Luís extended the love outward to other struggling grassroots organizations: Liga Mejia and Liga Roa.  Luís gave whatever was most needed that we could offer--bats, gloves, batting helmets, catcher's gear, bases, and clothing.  Liga Mejia and Liga Roa received enough gear and clothing to fill a duffel bag each.  Awesome!  Let me briefly introduce them to you.

​Liga Mejia is located in La Caleta, a neighborhood in west Boca Chica, close to the airport. Here is señor Mejia with some of his player trainees and your donations on the field they practice and play on.

Liga Roa trains on a field in east Boca Chica.  Unfortunately, the field is more grass than dirt.  Like many, many fields in the Dominican Republic. ​ Still, señor Roa keeps his field pretty smooth.

Liga Mejia, Liga Roa, and Club Ozoria are all fighting the same battle.  And they struggle to do it with few resources.  Your donations mean so much.  I repeat: your generous donations help them keep kids off the street and away from drugs, prostitution, and other kinds of delincuencia (delinquency, crime).  Your donations help boys and girls develop their talents, learn social skills, adopt new tools for living, and cultivate a solid sense of self and responsibility to others.   

Through sport clubs like these, baseball is applied to help young people make sense of the life that is.  And to prepare them to make a better life in the future.  Not everyone can become a Big Papi.  But, as Luís says, they can become good persons.  

Small steps.  A long journey.  Well worth it.
Thank you for your generosity. 
​Dios bendiga a ustedes.  God bless you.

I conduct research on baseball at the local level in the Dominican Republic.  I also collect donations of baseball and softball gear for the people with whom I work. 

This post is a big shout out to those who generously donated gear to my ongoing drive.  I want to take a moment to introduce a community your donations impact: Club Juan Alberto Ozoria in Boca Chica. 

Juan Alberto Ozoria: Sport, Culture, and Recreation Club is a community center, like the YMCA.  In baseball programming, it works a lot like US Little Leagues.  Unlike them, it has no backing.  Club Ozoria receives little financial assistance from the federal government. 

What, you say?  Baseball is so big in the Dominican Republic that the government must want to subsidize the growth of ballplayers.  And Boca Chica is a hub of MLB activity, with 14 player development academies located in or around it, so much money must come in from Major League Baseball.  That’s crazy! 

Indeed.  It is crazy.  The state does not reinvest in its baseball future.  Not much MLB money trickles down to the community level.  That’s why your donations are so important.  

It’s hard to hold practice when 45 kids share the gear held in one duffel bag.  It’s hard to work on hitting when balls and bats are dead.  It’s hard to field and run without cleats.  You really gotta get creative to make it work.

Beyond the ballfield, Boca Chica struggles as well.  International sex tourism brings all kinds of nasty to the town.  Extreme national economic restructuring makes poor people poorer.  Together they make informal work around tourism tempting.  That would be the sex, but not limited to it.

To counteract the situation, my friends at Club Ozoria fight the good fight to teach and to exemplify what is of value in this world beyond the quick buck.  They do that through ball.  And they do it for free.  

Trainers are volunteers.  Two, Luís Hernández and Willi Martínez, train full-time for free.  No pay, no insurance, no security.  Nada.  They give of themselves to make a difference in the live of others and toward the betterment of the community.

Your generous donations help them keep kids off the street and away from drugs, prostitution, and other kinds of delincuencia (delinquency, crime).  Your donations help boys and girls develop their talents, learn social skills, adopt new tools for living, and cultivate a solid sense of self and responsibility to others.  

All of these open the door to a better future for them—as ballplayers and as humans.

Giving to others is a way of life for my friends at Club Ozoria.  Your giving to them is a big deal.  The ballplayers thank you.  Club Juan Alberto Ozoria thanks you.  The community of Boca Chica thanks you.  I thank you.

¡Muchísimas gracias!