By Rowan Kavner
As the Dodgers navigated the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, their focus on educating players in the Dominican Republic never wavered.
Earlier this year, 12 current and former Dodger prospects obtained their high school diplomas as part of the club’s joint education program with Major League Baseball. It marked the Dodgers’ largest graduating class at Campo Las Palmas, the club’s player development facility in the Dominican Republic, and the most graduates among all National League clubs.
The Dodgers were able to continue their education program while players were dispersed during the pandemic because they dedicated the resources to doing so with their online courses. There were obstacles, including figuring out each player’s Wi-Fi capabilities, but a teacher was available to work around the kids’ schedules.
“There was continuity, there was a framework, but with a whole lot of flexibility and adaptability — not only for the guys doing the high school program but for everybody in all the other areas,” said Dr. Cathy Lara, who helps oversee the education program at Campo Las Palmas and the Dodger affiliates. “We didn’t want this to be a lost year.”
The education program is voluntary at Campo Las Palmas, but the hope is the more players who join and finish, the likelier the next class is to follow. There is no limit to the number of players who can join the program in a year.
“Now, it seems like a cultural shift where the expectation is they should join,” Lara said. “When players sign with us and come in to Campo Las Palmas, because so many players are partaking in the program, there’s such a positivity around it.”
The first graduating students at Campo Las Palmas were Martin Santana and Luis Yan, who completed their studies in 2018.
It was a goal of Dodgers director of baseball resources Duncan Webb to get the education program off the ground ever since he jumped on board in 2015. It was also important to him not to force players to join the program and that the players who did join were committed to seeing their education through.
“It’s easy to say that,” Webb said. “It is a whole different thing when you’re actually there on the ground and trying to make it happen, make it a reality.”
In 2016, the Dodgers had four certified teachers from the United States travel to Campo Las Palmas to evaluate the players’ education and literacy levels in order to provide recommendations on the education program. The Dodgers outsourced the program to an organization called CENLA, which provides the educational support.
Webb said that decision took the program to the next level.
“One thing that I was hesitant about was this isn’t just about getting these guys a piece of paper that says they graduated from high school,” he said. “I had seen that some teams went in that direction and said, ‘Hey, look, these guys got to finish their high school degree,’ but what did that really mean? That was sort of my first question. Let’s start there. If it’s just a piece of paper, I wasn’t interested.”
In late 2016, the Dodgers hired Jesus Negrette, the senior facility manager at Campo Las Palmas. Negrette and Jose Rosado, who runs the CENLA program, got to work on shaping what the Dodgers’ education program would look like. The Dodgers have since added Lara, a Los Angeles native who has a doctorate in educational psychology and has taught foreign language for more than 20 years, to finish off the vision.
In a normal year, Lara said the players would have class time at Campo Las Palmas, where a dedicated teacher could help walk them through any questions they have with the online program.
At the development facility, days start early for the players. Webb said they might lift in the morning at 6 or 6:30 a.m. before getting breakfast and starting their day. Official workouts follow soon after. For the players in the education program, they would usually start their classes sometime after lunch. Classes typically lasted from 3–6 p.m., depending on the classes they were taking.
A normal schedule was off the table this year.
But a teacher was still in place to focus on the players enrolled in the online high school programs. This past year, it required flexibility to meet the players’ schedules. For instance, there could be a student who only gets internet on certain days when visiting family.
In 2020, while many of the electives offered at Campo Las Palmas were pushed aside because of the pandemic, the English program carried on in small virtual classes via Zoom and WhatsApp. There was also a winter camp with targeted seminars for life skills, from baking to applying baseball math.
“We were able to offer that support to the players no matter where they were,” Lara said. “We were like, ‘We’re not going to stand still.’”
One of this year’s graduating students, Joan Valdez from San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, had initially dropped out of high school as he pursued his baseball career. During a meeting at Campo Las Palmas, he found out about the education program and decided to join.
The program was also finished by top 30 prospect Alex De Jesus, who attended one of the top bilingual private schools in Santo Domingo before joining the Dodgers’ online high school program. He took some of his final classes remotely while playing on the Dodgers’ Arizona League club and received the highest GPA in the program while graduating with honors.
Receiving a high school diploma is a significant accomplishment for the players and a point of pride for their families. When players in the Dominican Republic decide to pursue baseball as a career at a young age, a continuing education is not always a given.
“A lot of times I think the assumption is they’re going to have to leave behind their studies and their schoolwork,” Webb said. “For them to know when they sign with the Dodgers that we’re going to continue that I think is a big relief.”
It also provides a mental boost for the player.
“The confidence that comes with finishing that and knowing that you did it and did it on your own as a choice, that reflects itself when they have to make the difficult transition to the US because their confidence is higher,” Lara said.
The following 12 current and former Dodger players received their diplomas this year: Joan Valdez Perez, Alex Buenavista de Jesus Vittini, Benony Robles Gonzalez, Felix Bladimil Cabrera Baez, Confesor Joel Inoa Laurencio, Bladimir Jose de la Rosa Rivera, Juan Ramon Diaz Vargas, Rafael Emilio Dotel Marte, Isaul Paez de Jesus, Darlin Noel Pinales Amador, Andy Espinosa and Lesther Medrano. Major League Baseball held its annual graduation ceremony for players completing their high school studies virtually in February.
With the success at Campo Las Palmas, Lara said a second online high school program will be starting up for players in Venezuela. Webb’s hope is to continue graduating players every year, and for it to be accepted as part of their development.
“We work so hard with these guys in every facet of their lives, really, when they’re members of our organization,” Webb said. “If they can understand the connection between continuing their education, learning English and learning about the cultural differences in baseball, but also educating themselves to the point where they’re graduating from high school and they can make a connection between how that can benefit them both after their playing career but also during their playing career, that, I think, is the major win.”
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