Cuban Sports Officials ‘Understand’ the Cultural Goals As Quebec’s Michel Laplante Builds Unique Baseball Experience

Michel Laplanteremembers all too well how difficult it can be when a baseball player is thrown into a new culture without knowing the language.  He saw it every day during his playing days and again when he became manager of the Quebec Capitales, with the norm being Spanish-speaking players in English-speaking environments, or those who grew up in an English-language area traveling to the Caribbeancountries for winter baseball.

Throw a third language into the mix, as he did because of growing up five hours north of Montrealin the French-language community of Val-d’Or, and the complexities were very real.

Playing baseball was “the way I learned English”, the 44-year-old, now president of the Can-Am Leagueteam, explained this week while talking about his recent trips to Cubawhere on the surface the goal seems to to be to work with the Cuban government in allowing for the very first time for outstanding players from that country to leave the island nation and play the sport without need to first risk life and limb to escape and somehow become a professional baseball player.

“They really understand what I am trying to do”, said Laplante, with ‘they’ being the likes of  Velez Carrion,president of the Cuban Baseball Federation.

Outfielder Yuniesky Gurriel(.321-1-11 in 30 games) ,part of the highly-respected baseball playing Cuban family that started with his famous father Lourdes Gurriel, was the first current player to come into the Can-Am League although a few others seem almost certain to follow next season as Laplante tries to take Baseball Diplomacy to a whole new level.

Laplante, who will be inducted into the Quebec Baseball Hall of FameNovember 15, will take some 15 to 18 young   Canadianbaseball players and their families at a time to Cuba as part of this English-to-Spanish “language education program”.  Current Capitales Manager Pat Scalabriniand perhaps one Can-Am League player will be part of the group that will take the first of a series of seven-day junkets to Cuba in January where the youngsters will be on the unpolished baseball diamond from 9:30 in the morning until noon to learn baseball from former Cuban players.  They can hit the beach the rest of the day.  The Quebec lads will play a game against a Cuban team of their age on the last day.

To help speed up the learning process, the former pitcher, who got as high as Triple-A in the Atlantaand Montreal farm systems and spent several Independent seasons with Quebec and Madison, WIin what was the Northern League, is creating an 80-word baseball dictionary of sorts that will be in both English and Spanish so the nine-to-11-year-old players will know what the former star Cuban players are teaching.

Can-Am Adds Sussex for ’15 Plus a Travel Team

The Can-Am League, which was down to four teams this past season, will be at its deepest level since 2011 when it begins its second decade of operation next May because of expansion this week to re-admit a team to play at Skylands Parkin Augusta, NJas well as a travel team.

The Ottawa Championswere added earlier, so the league will have three Canadianteams and three in easy travel distances in New Yorkand New Jerseyplus the travel squad, which is necessary since the Can-Am and the 13-team American Associationwill continue to have inter-league play.

Skylands Park was home to the Sussex Skyhawksfrom 2006-10, winning the title in ’08, and the new Sussex team (the nickname has not been determined) has been getting a warm welcome from local business officials, largely because veteran New Jersey State FairManaging Director Al Dorsopurchased the stadium for $850,000 and is overseeing a reported $2 million in improvements, many of which have already been completed.

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202 PLAYERS HAVE GRADUATED FROM INDY BASEBALL TO MAJORS

Obtain the Complete List at www.WirzandAssociates.com

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What Will Happen in Fort Worth?

Virtually any time changes on the Independent Baseball landscape in Texasare discussed, the city of Fort Worthand its LaGrave Field, are prominent in the discussion.  That topic is open to the rumor mill again, not only because of the Atlantic League’sdesire to add more Southwestern franchises, but also because The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported the United League’s Fort Worth Cats, who have been playing in LaGrave, have been asked to move out of the stadium.

United League CEO John Bryanttold the newspaper his league is merely “bystanders” in an issue between the property owner and the city.

And a Fan Wins $100,000

How often through the years have baseball teams offered a prize–a suit, a year’s supply of diapers or whatever–if a player hit a distant target on some billboard?  Well, the Kansas City T-Bonesmade good on the offer this week of $100,000 if someone hit the 7th Street Casinobull’s eye.  Yes, the right eye, about 360 feet from home plate and 35 feet above the field, had the target.

“I usually enter all of the drawings when I’m at the games,” said T-Bones fan Tina West. Infielder Nick Giarraputo,who once had 22 home runs in the Can-Am League (New Jersey Jackals),hit the first of his two home runs this season for the American Associationteam directly into the target, and Ms. West’s name was drawn from among all of the entries.

(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes on Independent Baseball.  Thirty-six columns are planned during 2014.  Fans may subscribe for as little as $6.99 at www.WirzandAssociates.com , enjoy added stories on the blog www.IndyBaseballChatter.com , or comment to RWirz@aol.com .  The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)