My Monday "siesta story" at camp is always about the Dominican Republic.

First, I talk about how a disproportionate number of great players come from the DR; the stats are mind-blowing.

There were 108 Dominicans on MLB rosters on Opening Day this year, from a country with a total population of 11 million people.

Compare that to the 516 Americans on 2024 Opening Day rosters, from a country with a total population of 350 million people!

But more importantly, I talk about how, because the country is so poor, the kids in the Dominican are forced to play baseball very differently than our very lucky kids here in the South Bay.

When I first visited the DR in 2005, most adults there made about $5 USD a day; it's now up to about $7 a day.

A DAY.

With such a poor economy, especially in the little villages I spent time in, most baseball-loving kids play barefoot or in sandals, they use sticks and rocks for bats and balls, they use a milk carton or cardboard instead of a glove, and they certainly don't have dugouts, scoreboards, Snack Shacks, or Gamechanger!

If they're lucky, an entire pick-up game might have a single bat. When I tell my campers this, their first reaction is always, "but what if it isn't your size?!?" They make do with what they've got and compared playing with a stick, they're just excited to have any bat, even one that's 20 years old and 10 ounces too heavy!

Many kids are just playing ball in the street or in an open field (not a baseball field, mind you, but an actual field).

But despite the lack of basic baseball equipment and infrastructure that we all take for granted, the kids down there play with SO MUCH JOY! Their lives are so difficult on a daily basis that getting to play ball, in any form, is a true gift. They hustle, they cheer, they laugh, they're loud, and they play hard! CON GUSTO!!!

I tell this story not to make my campers feel guilty about what they have compared to what the Dominicans don't, but to make them feel grateful for what they have.

I also tell this story to set the tone at camp; if the Dominican kids can play with non-stop joy while running around barefoot using a stick and a milk carton, then our kids playing on amazing fields with great coaches and more equipment than they need certainly can too! There's never a reason to cry after making an error or slam their ($400) bat into the ground after a strikeout when our kids have already won the "Little Leaguer Life Lottery" just by getting to play ball here in the first place!

A baseball friend of mine who joined us for one of the trips had just wrapped up a 10-year MLB career and on our last day down there, we played a scrimmage against one of the local scout teams (mostly 16-18 year olds) on a "baseball diamond" that was basically a dirt mound in the middle of a sugar cane field on the outskirts of town.

He and I both pitched an inning, and afterwards, as we had watched the sun set behind the field with a couple of cold beers in hand, he said it was the best baseball experience he ever had in his life...and he pitched in Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park!

No drama, no frills, no expectations, no scoreboards or fans, no All-Stars, no politics, no paychecks, and no pressure...just pure baseball.

I never made it to the show but agree with him; there was something truly magical about playing down there.

That's why I feel so lucky to share my experiences in the DR with our local baseball community and why I'm REALLY excited to be collecting equipment for those kids on Wednesday, July 31 at RHLL from 10am-2pm...let's empty our garages of all the old gloves, helmets, bats, batting tees, baseballs, and cleats you can find!

This equipment drive is a great opportunity to further connect Summer Camp with the young ballplayers more than 3000 miles away while hopefully giving our very lucky kids a sense of gratitude for what they have, along with a desire to help out those less fortunate (through no fault of their own) than they are.

GIVE Hard, Have Fun! (Can you spot me in these photos?) -DS