Beyond Baseball, Latin American Players Look For An Education

04:55

March 21, 2016

A prospects game at Estadio Tomás Arrieta, home of the Édgar Rentería Baseball Academy in Barranquilla on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Some players here said they dream of a pro career in the U.S. Others said they want to use their talent to get a U.S. college scholarship. (Lorne Matalon)

President Obama is expected to attend an exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team tomorrow while on his historic visit to Cuba.

Major League Baseball looks to Latin America for talented young players from the many baseball academies that dot the region. But what happens to the vast majority of young players who don’t get signed to a pro contract? Chasing the dream of playing in the U.S. often comes at the expense of a high school education.

In Colombia, some emerging baseball players say they have an alternate goal in honing their baseball skills, and it’s not necessarily to make it to the big leagues. Lorne Matalon from Marfa Public Radio and Fronteras Desk reports.

Read more via Fronteras Desk

Reporter

Lorne Matalon, reporter for Fronteras Desk, West Texas Public Radio and Marfa Public Radio. He tweets @matalon.

This segment aired on March 21, 2016.