Pirates Pull Out of Venezuela

[BaltimoreTerp]

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/13/the-pirates-pull-out-of-venezuela

First, with all of the financial problems the Dodgers are having and how they are screwing over former players, I figured they would have to do this first...

Second, the obvious question is whether this is an isolated issue with the Pirates, or whether teams will really take political and social problems into account when it comes to searching out talent internationally.

Venezuala is the most visible example right now. But the Dominican Republic isn't the best-run nation in the region. Part of the reason teams may not be taking a strong initiative in China could be potential issues with them down the road (though it is really only recently when a team could realistically go in there in the first place).

This could be something to keep an eye on as an issue around the fringes of the sport in the coming years.

[Frobby]

I think we've heard before that one reason some teams shy away from Venezuela is the political situation there. That said, it is second only to the DR in terms of foreign players getting to the majors, so it is awfully hard to ignore.

Here's an article from April: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/01/world/la-fg-venezuela-baseball-20110401

Venezuela, according to Major League Baseball statistics released Thursday on 2011's Opening Day, is gradually increasing its presence on big league rosters. There were 62 Venezuelan players this year, up from 58 last year, despite political tension with the United States.

The growth continues even though many MLB teams are leaving Venezuela, in part because of anti-U.S. rhetoric, officials said.

Security has also deteriorated to the point that the Tigers enforce a 7 p.m. curfew for all 35 players who train in this hot valley town about 120 miles west of Caracas, the capital. "The players are natural targets for all kinds of thieves and thugs who prey on them," said Oscar Garcia, the academy's business manager.

Only six teams, including the Tigers, still maintain year-round baseball academies in Venezuela, down from nine in 2007 and 21 in 2002. The St. Louis Cardinals, which closed down its facility last year, was the most recent to leave.

* * *

"Teams have left Venezuela because of issues with the government and security that have made it more difficult to do business there," said a major league official who declined to be named because of political sensitivities. "Absent those problems, there would be a lot more teams here using academies."

[BaltimoreTerp]

I think we've heard before that one reason some teams shy away from Venezuela is the political situation there. That said, it is second only to the DR in terms of foreign players getting to the majors, so it is awfully hard to ignore.

That is what is so interesting. How crazy is the situation there where teams are shying away or pulling out from a large pool of talent? Especially a team that has become a popular choice to look to (at least around here) for a team doing a lot of international spending.

[Frobby]

That is what is so interesting. How crazy is the situation there where teams are shying away or pulling out from a large pool of talent? Especially a team that has become a popular choice to look to (at least around here) for a team doing a lot of international spending.

It's pretty crazy down there. You've got a very anti-American government that tries to appropriate every asset of value for the state. You've got a lot of kidnapping activity there. They have diplomatic relations with the US, but that could change at a moment's notice if Hugo Chavez wakes up on the wrong side of the bed (or perhaps, if certain Presidential candidates wake up in the White House). Not a great place to try to run a baseball academy that is a feeder for a U.S. baseball team. And that's not the only way to recruit or develop Venezuelan talent.