Recapping Brown’s Baseball’s Trip to the Dominican Republic

1/11/2023

The Brown baseball program closed out the 2022 calendar year with a weeklong foreign trip to the Dominican Republic from December 25 to January 1. While on the island, Brown’s student-athletes immersed themselves in the Dominican culture and took part in three community service initiatives, did some sightseeing, and played three games against Dominican teams.

“As a program, we have the rare opportunity to visit a country whose culture is centered around our passion - baseball,” Brown head coach Grant Achilles said. "As a general rule, the Dominican people are welcoming and kind. The added layer of baseball created a bond with almost every community we encountered from the moment we touched down until the time we left. To arrive as a baseball team among people who cherish baseball after only their families and God, the connection was palpable and opened doors and hearts in unique fashion. We were no doubt foreign to the country, but around every corner were reminders that the Dominican Republic was more familiar than any first glance may suggest.

“I hope that our team took away from the weekend that our circumstances in life do not define us,” Achilles said. “Rather, it is our responses that reflect who we are and dictate how others are able to see us. As we move forward into this season and beyond, these men and women have tremendous opportunities to impact the world around them with a greatness they are capable of.

“I am beyond grateful for those who made this life-altering trip possible," Achilles added. ”Their investment was not only in this year's team, but in the decades of impact that will follow the imprint this week has left on us all."

Monday, December 26

The week started early on Monday morning with a 7 a.m. beach workout, led by members of the Dominican Baseball Camp. This beach workout consisted of many agility, speed and shuttle workouts on the beach outside the resort, that are typical for baseball players in the Dominican. There were several players working out on the beach alongside Brown that morning ranging from youth and high school aged players, and even Jose Soriano, who pitches in the LA Angels system.

After working up a major sweat and having breakfast, the team walked to a local field a few blocks away from the resort in Boca Chica for practice. Upon arrival, they were welcomed with a large hand-painted Brown Baseball sign that spanned the entire height of the concrete right field wall.

After practice, the team got to enjoy the rest of the afternoon at the pool and the beach.

Day 1 Photo Gallery - https://bit.ly/3vXq6t2

Day 1 Highlight Video - https://bit.ly/3VZ2bDT

Tuesday, December 27

On Tuesday morning, Brown boarded a coach bus and headed to the Washington Nationals Dominican Academy for an intrasquad scrimmage, where the team was split into two teams and played a full nine innings against each other but faced Dominican pitchers that were all members of different MLB team’s Dominican academies, meaning they are under contract as part of the team’s minor league system.

Late in the afternoon, the team headed back out and ventured to a remote part of the island to an orphanage to visit and meet each of the children, most of whom ranged from ages 5-15. All of the kids at the orphanage were either homeless and spent their days at the facility, or lived there permanently, with some having physical and/or developmental disabilities.

The sprawling grounds featured many large open spaces for recreational activities, a playground, basketball court, a chapel, and a shaded area under some trees that included a stage for performances.

With music playing, the Brown players and their families who attended all split up and played pickup basketball, soccer and baseball, joined them on the playground, and handed out candy. The entire travel party joined the children on stage and led the group in several dances. Before leaving, Brown donated toys, games and clothing to the children.

“Our idea of community service is often centered on the impact we can make in the lives of others, and that was no different with our opportunities in the DR,” head coach Grant Achilles said. “We were the first visitors at Los Pequños Hermanos in quite some time, and the size of our group allowed for quality time in ratios that far exceeded their norm. The brightness of each player's smile and laughter made me emotional, because they paled in comparison to the countenance of the kids they were playing with.”

Day 2 Photo Gallery - https://bit.ly/3Xk8T8I

Day 2 Highlight Video - https://bit.ly/3GCVDVU

Wednesday, December 28

Brown engaged in its first game of the week – its first game against another opponent since the end of last season – squaring off against the Dominican Army at the Olympic Training Complex in Santo Domingo. The large complex had five baseball and softball fields, all of which had games (youth through adult) happening at all times. Brown blanked the Army 9-0, with four pitchers combing on a two-hit shutout with no walks. The two teams then joined together for lunch, which was provided by the Dominican Army team.

After the game, the team and families went on a private tour of the Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site in Santo Domingo.

In the evening, the team visited San Pedro for a Dominican Winter League playoff game between Las Estrellas and Licey. The raucous atmosphere at the game certainly lived up to all the hype!

Day 3 Photo Gallery - https://bit.ly/3IHF3ac

Thursday, December 29

Thursday morning began at the local field in Boca Chica where the Bears met a group of over 100 kids from the surrounding neighborhood for a youth clinic. Although there was very little English spoken by the kids, everyone was able to converse through baseball, both through words and demonstrating skills that the kids were able to practice. The field was split into several stations by position, with each group cycling through and receiving instruction and interacting with Brown players at each stop they made around the field.

“There was positional instruction, laughter, and even some competitive games that had all participants tired and sweaty by the end,” Achilles said. "We played our afternoon game at the same field, and there were kids continually coming into the dugout to communicate their favorite part of working with individual players. At the end of these two opportunities one child spoke on behalf of the group to show collective appreciation, even to the point of calling us ‘familia’."

In the afternoon, Brown returned to the field for a game against the Dominican National Police team, with the Bears prevailing by a score of 12-7. Many members of the local community attended, with the police advertising the game over the previous day via an announcement made on a loudspeaker that was broadcast from a bike riding around the neighborhood.

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by the police colonel to Brown coach Grant Achilles.

Day 4 Photo Gallery - https://bit.ly/3ZuLdQP

Day 4 Youth Clinic Video - https://bit.ly/3ZuMl71

Friday, December 30

Friday saw the Bears play their final game of the week against a semi-pro team managed by Jose Cano, the father of former MLB star Robinson Cano. The team featured several current college student-athletes who are home in the DR on winter break, as well as select high school players and former minor league players.

Later in the afternoon, the group headed to the village of Gauthier for another community service project, where they painted three homes in the village. Getting off the bus, the team walked a few blocks through the neighborhood, down narrow, unpaved streets to the houses. Each of the houses in the area did not have running water, instead having to walk to nearby stations to fill up jugs, which they then carried back to their homes.

Players, coaches, staff and their families all painted the exterior of all three homes, as well as some interior rooms. In addition to handing out candy, donated toys and books, there was dancing and interacting with the children that lived in the neighborhood.

The trek deep into the Gautier village was eye-opening, and a chance to give three homes a fresh coat of paint. Regardless of how little they had, the families swelled with pride at the meticulously painted homes as our players exited their neighborhood.

“While verbal communication was often limited by the barrier of spoken word, one thing was made clear by every group we left - there was tremendous gratitude for the time we shared, and to say we got more out of these experiences does not diminish the impact we made,” Achilles said.

Day 5 Photo Gallery - https://bit.ly/3GzeykC

Video: Painting Houses in Gauthier -
https://bit.ly/3W66T2X
https://bit.ly/3ivpG9Y

Saturday, December 31

On the final full day of the trip, the team enjoyed a day in the sun with an excursion to Saona Island, located just off the Dominican’s southeast coast. The whole group got to the island via speedboat, and returned to the mainland with a dance party on a catamaran. While on Saona, the team enjoyed the pristine beach, waves and sun along with a catered lunch.