NewsWhore
01-25-2007, 05:10 PM
In 2006, 508 Dominican "diamonds in the rough" were harvested by the Major League Baseball academies in the DR, as reported in Diario Libre. This is 26% more than the 403 recruited in 2005. This year, MLB teams distributed US$25 million in bonds to the new players, compared to US$17 million in 2005. The average value of the bonds was also up, going from US$42,000 in 2005 to US$50,000 in 2006. The biggest bond was given to Angel Villalona, a 16-year old third base from La Romana, who received a US$2.2 million bond from the San Francisco Giants last August. According to Ronaldo Peralta, the MLB representative in the DR, as of 31 December 2005, 1,556 Dominicans were under contract in the Major League teams. As of 31 December 2006, there were already 3,200 Dominican players, or a 105% increase. Of the 30 MLB teams, 29 have academies in the DR. Only the Milwaukee Brewers doesn't have an academy. The New York Mets and the San Diego Padres announced that they would invest millions to build their new training centers. Peralta pointed out that MLB invests about US$84 million to train ball players in the DR, and their operations generate over 2,000 jobs.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#14)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#14)