It was a Caribbean Christmas experience when Wabash baseball spent part of their December break in the Dominican Republic (DR). During their six-day visit, the team was able to play four games, visit some of the important landmarks in the country and do community service work.
Before the trip, several members of the baseball team enrolled in a specialty Spanish 312 course with Professor V. Dan Rogers. The course gave the student-athletes a chance to learn about the culture, history and geography of the Dominican Republic. The team was accompanied by Dean Todd McDorman, who sat in on several of the class sessions.
“I think the 15 or so members of the baseball team that took the class arrived in the Dominican with a better understanding of its history and the role of baseball in their culture,” said McDorman.
“Dr. Rogers’s class allowed me to better connect with the people and the culture because I somewhat knew what to expect when I got there,” said Grant Stratton ’25. “It was a great class and I enjoyed learning about the DR before I got there.”
During the visit, Wabash baseball played four games facing the Dominican Army, Dominican Navy, Dominican Police and a team of minor league-affiliated players. During their games, the Little Giants were able to witness first-hand the deep love for baseball embedded in the culture of the Dominican Republic. One of the games was attended by 300 local children.
The Little Giants were still getting back into the swing of things, as it was the team’s first time playing this season. They showed a little rust on the field, but saw promising signs for a December start.
“We saw some good things considering we were playing baseball in December,” said Head Baseball Coach Jake Martin ’03. “We kept our pitchers short so we didn’t put too much of a workload on them during a time of year that they are not typically pitching. Our defense played well. Some individuals had a good week, but in general, we looked a little hesitant offensively. That can be credited to the quality of pitching we saw. We faced a couple of arms in the mid 90’s.”
As part of their trip, the team participated in several acts of community service: painting a house, preparing a baseball field and handing out candy in a Christmas season parade.
“The baseball piece of the trip was fun. However, the most impactful part of the trip was interacting with the players, kids and community,” said Martin. “The community service opportunities allowed us to get a look at how the local community lives.”
The team was also able to take a day in the capital city of Santo Domingo, where they toured the colonial zone – the oldest part of the city established by Spanish settlers in the sixteenth century.
Altogether the six days spent abroad gave everyone something different to take away, while they were able to use a baseball trip to achieve so much more.
“It really gave me perspective on what other countries and people outside of the U.S. have to go through each and every day,” said Stratton. “The baseball was great and I can see how much they love it down there.”
“As Dean, I don’t get to spend as much extended time with individual students so one highlight of the trip for me was to simply be around the students and get to know many of them,” said McDorman. “That part of the experience was rejuvenating for me.”
“This was an amazing trip with a great balance of education, service and connecting to people through the shared love of baseball,” said Martin. “I believe the student-athletes in our program returned from this trip with an appreciation for what we often take for granted, a better understanding of how the game of baseball has become so important to the country, and a new love for the sport. We are grateful for the support of so many who made the trip possible.”