[新聞] Rays Looking To Brazil For Talent
http://0rz.tw/fLtvL
Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:33 pm EDT
Rays wonder if soccer-mad Brazil can produce MLB talent
By 'Duk
What if Pele and Ronaldinho had been handed a bat and ball as kids instead of
pointed to the nearest soccer match?
That's the question the Rays are attempting to answer by becoming the first
MLB team to open a training center in Brazil. It'll be located in Marilia and
will aim to tap the athletic potential of at least part of the country's 190
million people.
From the Associated Press:
The Rays will invest $6.5 million in the next five years in the academy,
which will train future players and promote the game locally. Up to 4,000
young people will have a chance to learn the sport at a free after-school
program.
"Brazil has been good at producing athletes," said Andres Reiner, special
director of development for the Rays. "Brazil has a lot of people, millions
of young people and not everyone can play soccer. If they aren't good soccer
players they can be good baseball players."
The AP article states that 11 Brazilian players are already under contract
with MLB teams and that most of the country's baseball-loving crowd is
derived from its large Japanese population. Still, baseball's popularity in
Brazil doesn't come close to the levels it's received in neighboring
Venezuela, so there's still plenty of room to grow.
And if MLB can try to make strides in China and the Pirates can start mining
India for pitching talent, why shouldn't the Rays be giving this a shot?
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