Dominican Republic hosting baseball program

Posted by Press Release on October 8, 2015

Attention standout high-school baseball players: The Dominican Republic Sports & Education Academy (DRSEA) will be holding tryouts at Lincoln University on Oct. 17 for its Summer Baseball Experience, a one-month pilot project in the Dominican Republic for summer 2016.

The program is seeking baseball players from the U.S. who are currently sophomores or juniors in high school. Players will be selected by a panel of experts, based on baseball skills and academic standing, and invited to participate in the project, a DRSEA press release said.

Participants will receive baseball instruction from some of the top coaches in the Dominican Republic, including clinics conducted by Major League Baseball, as well as receive SAT and ACT preparation, and Spanish lessons.

While tryouts are open to all sophomores and juniors, in part the project is intended to bring more attention to the dearth of African Americans participating in baseball. African American participation in Major League Baseball is dangerously near as low as it was when Jack Robinson broke the color line, the release said.

After peaking in the 1980s, the number of African Americans in Major League Baseball has steadily declined. Currently, African Americans comprise just 8.3 percent of Major League Baseball team rosters.

Conversely, the number of players of Latin descent continues to increase, currently making up 28 percent of Major League rosters. The Dominican Republic leads the way, trailing only the United States in producing players, with 86 players on 2015 opening day rosters.

Not only do all 30 Major League Baseball teams run academies in the Dominican Republic to train Dominican players, most import players to the Dominican Republic from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Panama and other Latin American countries. In essence, the Dominican Republic has become the world epicenter of baseball player development, the release said.

The first tryout will be at the baseball facilities at Lincoln University (www.lincoln.edu) on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. and is open to current high school sophomores and juniors and requires a $25 registration fee. Prospects should arrive for registration at 12:30 p.m.

Those interested in participating in the tryout or finding out more can contact Tim Halloran at thalloran@drsea.org or obtain more information at www.drsea.org. Pre-registration is available at the website.