MPOTD: The New York Mets in the Dominican Republic

by Darren Meenan November 16, 2017

Peloteros de los Mets en RD acaban estudios de bachilleres La Academia de Baseball de los Mets de Nueva York en República Dominicana, entregó títulos a seis nuevos prospectos que concluyeron sus estudios de bachillerato, como parte del programa docente CENAPEC-#METS de NY...Seguir leyendo en notinotas.net #notinotas #listindiario #baseball #beisbol #bachiller #rd #dominicanos

A post shared by D Santos (@notinotas) on Nov 16, 2017 at 4:31am PST

Scrolling through IG this morning, the above photo stood out to me. I don't speak Spanish, so tossed the caption in a Google translator.

"The New York Mets Academy in the Dominican Republic handed degrees to six new prospects that completed their high school studies as part of the education program CENAPEC."

A lot of players in Dominican Republic have a very difficult choice to make in their teens: school or baseball. Amed Rosario let baseball wait until school was done, but a lot of guys don't have that option.

“A good majority of the kids that play baseball are from economically depressed situations,” said Omar Minaya, who was born in the Dominican Republic, grew up in New York and went on to become the general manager of the Montreal Expos and the Mets. (NY TIMES)

I knew the Mets had a strong presence in Dominican Republic, but didn't realize schooling was part of that. The Mets are investing in not only the future of the ball club, but the kids themselves, and that's good to hear. Finish school, learn important life skills, then start the road to the Bigs.

Congrats to these six Mets prospects, and all the best on your journey.