Baseball's Growth in Medellin - New York Yankees Star Giancarlo Stanton Hosts a Clinic in Medellin

On Saturday, November 29th, Medellin's sporting youth had a special visitor come to town. New York Yankees star slugger, Giancarlo Stanton came to Medellin to headline a baseball clinic for the youth of Medellin at Estadio Beisbol Luis Alberto Villegas. The clinic was part of Federacion Colombiana de Beisbol's push for popularity of the game in the deeper parts of Colombia. The game is incredibly popular in the coastal regions of the country, including Cartagena and Barranquilla, however the rest of the country has not joined in this until now. Partially due to the fact that many Venezuelan families call Colombia home, and if you don't already know, baseball is hands down the most popular sport in Venezuela.

This is the second clinic in a month that I've been blessed to attend. The first was held by a foundation I'm proud to work with called Project Beisbol, who is spreading the game throughout the country including having a youth baseball league in El Peñol, outside of Medellin. However earlier in the month, they held a clinic with retired players in coordination with the MLBPAA (the players alumni association), bringing former major leaguers to different cities in Colombia including Cali, Cartagena and Medellin to hold clinics and teach players how to play the game properly, and ultimately share the love of the game with the next generation. They brought in Desi Relaford, Preston Wilson, Charles Gipson Jr, Michael Tejara and native Colombian Sugar Ray Marimon who is also the pitching coach for the Colombian national team.

This event was a little more targeted and with only one MLB player, and an active one at that, this event felt more like a meet and greet with some light hitting drills and alot of talk about the love of baseball from someone who is actively living the game right now.

I will say I was blown away by how personable Giancarlo was, and he definitely loves giving back to the youth, that much is obvious, but the smile he had on his face the whole event is a testament to his big heart. It's a great thing that FCB and Project Beisbol are working on growing grassroots baseball in Colombia, and to see former and current major league players coming here to help this cause is incredible.

With the massive influx of Venezuelans escaping their country searching for a better life in Colombia, it only makes sense to grow the game they love, and give their children a chance to fall in love with the game they love as well. Baseball in Venezuela is a true spectacle, and having seen it with my own eyes, I have to say that the passion for the game doesn't just go away, and as more Venezuelan families settle in Colombia, the need for baseball to grow here is immense. There is no reason baseball can't be big here, and this can become a hotbed of talent for Major League Baseball, just like Venezuela and the Dominican Republic are. Project Beisbol and FCB are doing great work to spark interest in a sport which I'm constantly told "nobody cares about in Colombia". Well, the turnout at these clinics shows that this is incorrect.

I want to encourage everyone to get involved in any way you can. FCB is a government funded program and is doing work like this to get the game in front of as many eyes as they can. They have long neglected the areas outside of the Caribbean coastal region, and that has stalled the growth of the game nationally, but they are starting to pay attention, and that is to be applauded. If you want to know more about this, please visit their site fcb.com.co for more information on how to get involved. Also on Instagram at @federacioncolombianabeisbol

Project Beisbol is a true grassroots foundation that is working on growing the game of baseball everywhere in the country, with the belief that I share that Colombia is the perfect place to nurture the game of baseball and a great place to plant the seeds of love for baseball. They are not government funded and appreciate all of the help you can give, anything you can helps, not just financially, but if you are also in the area, they are always looking for volunteers to help, and they even teach English classes and are always looking for TEFL teachers to help out here. Check out their site for more information on how you can help out - https://projectbeisbol.org. Conversely if you have a child that wants to participate in clinics and leagues, check them out as well. You can find them on Instagram at @projectbeisbol

At the end of the day, it was a pleasure to meet Stanton as it was to meet the former players at the Project Beisbol event earlier in the month. It is great to see that the youth of Colombia is starting to embrace the game. Sometimes all it takes is a 6'6" gentle giant to make kids take notice of the game. It doesn't hurt when that giant plays for the Yankees, is a 16 year veteran of the game and has hit over 450 home runs in his career, and he's not done yet. Check out some of the images from this event, and follow both Project Beisbol and FCB to participate in future events.