Minnesota Twins Open Baseball Academy in Dominican Republic
Twins, Phillies Combine Open Doors on Academy in Dominican Republic in Boca Chica.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies threw open the gates on their shared baseball academy project in the Dominican Republic.
The 46-acre complex features six full playing fields (split down the middle, giving each team three), covered batting cages, bullpen mounds, classroom training – including cultural and language classes.
The $18 million joint project between the two clubs was engineered by familiar faces on both sides, with Dave St. Peter and Andy MacPhail once again joining forces over a common goal.
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In addition to the separate fields and classrooms, each side is able to house up to 78 players in a dormitory-style living arrangement.
And, like a college, there is food service available, this time a shared cafeteria located centrally in the main building.
In a show of support to the community both the Twins and Phillies made financial contributions to the Boca Chica area.
The town is located just between the two hotbeds of baseball in the Dominican Republic, the capital city of Santo Domingo and San Pedro De Macoris (where the Twins discovered a young Miguel Sano) on the south side of the island.
The financial funding will go towards Fundacion ENED, an organization that will then purchase team kits (baseballs, gloves, bats, uniforms) for local under-privileged and under-resourced youth teams.
From Twitter, the Minnesota Twins gave us a bird’s-eye view of the complex:
Today we’re proud to celebrate the Grand Opening of our new Dominican baseball academy with our partners @Phillies. pic.twitter.com/93gpWWD95S
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) January 17, 2017
Winter Caravan: Twins completed Week 1 of their off-season tour of the Upper Midwest yesterday. Next week, they will be traveling to Mason City, IA, the Rochester, MN, area, Warroad/Grand Forks area, and the Detroit Lakes/Alexandria area.
Next: Twins Sign Catcher Chris Gimenez
Twins Fest: The annual Twins Fest featuring 60 future, current, and former Twins players, will kick off in one week at Target Field. Next Friday night through Sunday. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for kids 14 and younger. Metro Transit is providing FREE rides to all attendees with the completion of a survey.