Author Topic: Rays Building a Presence in Brazil (Read 1887 times)

NFA Brian · « **Topic Start:** April 20, 2011, 07:34:52 AM »

Great article about the Rays starting an academy in Brazil.

I will never stop beating this drum

Why the Nationals have not been doing this in other areas of Latin/South America is beyond me

NFA Brian · « **Reply #1:** April 20, 2011, 07:36:17 AM »

Quote

Even harder to believe is that the Rays have so far spent zero dollars on the construction of the academy. The $2.5 million project has been subsidized by both federal and local funds. Tampa Bay's only financial commitment is for the upkeep of the academy, which could be anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million per year, for the next five years. Tampa Bay won't even have to spend a dime on players' medical care since all Brazilians are covered through the country's universal health care plan.

Just amazing

houston-nat · « **Reply #2:** April 20, 2011, 07:40:40 AM »

Apart from everything else, and I write this ignorantly before clicking on the article, Brazilian academies would result in truly awesome player names. Imagine if the Nationals' starting shortstop was named Luis Fabiano or Dunga.

EDIT: Wow, that's fascinating. Got to hand it to the Rays: if they can bring it off, tapping into the Brazil market is simply a brilliant idea. I really hope it works (and we copy them). In the meantime, we'd best get a head start on Argentina...

PANatsFan · « **Reply #3:** April 20, 2011, 07:52:54 AM »

Quote from: houston-nat on April 20, 2011, 07:40:40 AM

Apart from everything else, and I write this ignorantly before clicking on the article, Brazilian academies would result in truly awesome player names. Imagine if the Nationals' starting shortstop was named Luis Fabiano or Dunga.

EDIT: Wow, that's fascinating. Got to hand it to the Rays: if they can bring it off, tapping into the Brazil market is simply a brilliant idea. I really hope it works (and we copy them). In the meantime, we'd best get a head start on Argentina...

"freak" is actually a Brazilian last name

https://familysearch.org/search/treeDetails/show?uri=http://tree.familysearch.org:8080/www-af-webservice/person/45143975

JMUalumni · « **Reply #4:** April 20, 2011, 08:20:23 AM »

Nice move by the Rays. I would love to see the Nats be ahead of the curve one of these days in the international game, such as one of the Pacific Rim countries or in one of the emerging European markets, but at this point it seems like the best we can ask for is no monumental mess ups and a smooth international operation.

Thanks for posting.

Lintyfresh85 · « **Reply #5:** April 20, 2011, 08:24:01 AM »

You guys are missing the point.

The real gold mine is in foreign players that are almost 30 years old when we sign them, not 16, 17, 18 year olds we can mold into real talent.

Lintyfresh85 · « **Reply #6:** April 20, 2011, 08:31:07 AM »

Brian, here's the link to the story... your current one re-links back to the WNFF home page.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2011/news/story?id=6263757

epic_phalanx · « **Reply #7:** April 20, 2011, 09:00:49 AM »

Just keep buying those $8 beers and eventually we'll be able to afford things like free baseball academies.

hammondsnats · « **Reply #8:** April 20, 2011, 10:22:29 AM »

maya stinks.

but that is cool for the rays

BBQ · « **Reply #9:** April 22, 2011, 12:46:09 PM »

How much baseball do they even play in South America? (excluding Venezuela, Columbia)
I always thought Argentinians and Brazilians were focused on futbol.

Kevrock · « **Reply #10:** April 22, 2011, 12:58:01 PM »

Quote from: epic_phalanx on April 20, 2011, 09:00:49 AM

Just keep buying those $8 beers and eventually we'll be able to afford things like free baseball academies.

LOL.

BTW, in The Extra 2%, they talk about how the academies pay for themselves if you hit on one good player. I kind of want to mail the book to Rizzo.

BBQ · « **Reply #11:** April 22, 2011, 01:03:09 PM »

Quote from: hammondsnats on April 20, 2011, 10:22:29 AM

maya stinks.

but that is cool for the rays

Miscellanea note on Maya. I went to his page and by the picture I thought I had the wrong guy. The guy looks British or like Scandinavian, he wouldn't even pass for a Spaniard, not the mention Cuban.

NFA Brian · « **Reply #12:** April 22, 2011, 02:58:14 PM »

Quote from: BBQ on April 22, 2011, 12:46:09 PM

How much baseball do they even play in South America? (excluding Venezuela, Columbia)
I always thought Argentinians and Brazilians were focused on futbol.

How much they play baseball in a country is not really important. Teams need to mine other countries and establish a foothold and encourage kids to play baseball. That's how teams can improve their player development long term. Become the face of baseball in [insert country here]. It's realistically not that expensive to operate an academy in a country like say Paraguay. And if something takes hold, they are there form the outset.

BBQ · « **Reply #13:** April 22, 2011, 04:53:26 PM »

Quote from: NFA Brian on April 22, 2011, 02:58:14 PM

How much they play baseball in a country is not really important. Teams need to mine other countries and establish a foothold and encourage kids to play baseball. That's how teams can improve their player development long term. Become the face of baseball in [insert country here]. It's realistically not that expensive to operate an academy in a country like say Paraguay. And if something takes hold, they are there form the outset.

True, but still why would any kid want to go play baseball while most of his peers are enjoying soccer. Argentina isn't exactly an impoverished country either, so that wouldn't be as big a motivation as other places.

Kevrock · « **Reply #14:** April 22, 2011, 05:02:19 PM »

Because it's a great opportunity. They can get molded into baseball players and hopefully land a professional contract.

NFA Brian · « **Reply #15:** April 22, 2011, 05:02:59 PM »

Quote from: BBQ on April 22, 2011, 04:53:26 PM

True, but still why would any kid want to go play baseball while most of his peers are enjoying soccer. Argentina isn't exactly an impoverished country either, so that wouldn't be as big a motivation as other places.

Not everyone can play soccer. All it takes is one kid who enjoys baseball more than (or as much as) soccer. If they can establish any foundation, it's an asset for the Nationals

BBQ · « **Reply #16:** April 22, 2011, 05:12:01 PM »

Yeah I suppose it's just chances are the best athlete would be playing soccer, just an opinion.

Lintyfresh85 · « **Reply #17:** April 22, 2011, 05:16:12 PM »

Just look at how crazy Taiwan is about CM Wang. They follow his career religiously. They buy his jersey.He's a National hero. Imagine doing the same in Brazil.

It's an untapped gold mine.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #18:** April 22, 2011, 05:22:51 PM »

If Wang is a hero in Taiwan, then who would be a hero in Brazil? Dickie Thong?

blue911 · « **Reply #19:** April 22, 2011, 05:42:14 PM »

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on April 22, 2011, 05:22:51 PM

If Wang is a hero in Taiwan, then who would be a hero in Brazil? Dickie Thong?

GNatsNoMore · « **Reply #20:** April 23, 2011, 02:05:28 PM »

Quote from: NFA Brian on April 22, 2011, 05:02:59 PM

Not everyone can play soccer. All it takes is one kid who enjoys baseball more than (or as much as) soccer. If they can establish any foundation, it's an asset for the Nationals

Exactly. Look, basketball is probably the third most popular sport in Brazil (after futbol and volleyball). But they have at least four or so players in the NBA (Barbosa, Tiago Splitter, Nene, Varejao). So kids are interested in and successful in other sports there.