D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
September 2009
Bravo for Baseball
Ex-WNMU player and current Las Cruces High assistant coach Tim Bravo helps Latino players step up to the plate for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
By Jeff Berg
0-22. Not exactly a record a baseball team could be proud of.
But Tim Bravo, then the third baseman for Western New Mexico University's baseball team, stuck with it, and saw that record turn around almost completely in just three years.
Bravo played for the WNMU baseball team from 1981 through 1984. He was the last player from the dismal 1981 team who helped the 1983 and 1984 teams win several regional championships. The Mustangs became so good that in 1983, the combined team batting average was a remarkable .390.
"I was born in LA, and a friend in Lordsburg told me that WNMU needed baseball players, so I that's how I ended up here," Bravo, who now lives in Las Cruces, recalls.
He never played professionally, although he did have some offers from pro teams in Mexico. But that's not surprising, since few players from New Mexico, either native born or those who have come from elsewhere to attend school in New Mexico, like Bravo, have made it to "the Show." Fewer than 25 New Mexicans have ever played major-league baseball, and currently only one New Mexico native, Cody Ross of Portales, is in the "bigs," as a reserve outfielder for the Florida Marlins of the National League.
Tim Bravo, however, has been able to combine his baseball skills with other talents to become a part-time employee of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's a dream-come-true job for Bravo, who has taught special ed and coached football and wrestling for Las Cruces Public Schools for 25 years, 20 of which have been with Las Cruces High School.
"I've had chances to play in Mexico, but what I always wanted to do is coach," says Bravo, a robust and fit father of five and grandfather of five more.
Although his Dodgers assignment is only part-time work, it has become increasingly important as the world becomes smaller with each baseball season. He explains, "Logan White was a WNMU teammate and a former All-American pitcher. He is now an assistant general manager of scouting for the Dodgers. He said he needed help with the team's Spanish program."
And that's where Bravo's big break came.
Bravo, collaborating with a former co-worker, Carmelo San Mames, helped put together an introductory English-Spanish book to assist Latino players whose English skills might not be as good as their baseball abilities. The booklet was presented to another assistant GM, who approved it. Bravo's booklet is now in use at the Dodgers' Dominican Republic camp, Las Palmas, and through most of the other Dodger minor league and training system stops — in Phoenix; Ogden, Utah; Midland, Mich.; and San Bernardino, Calif. It helps the young men to learn basic English, both in everyday and baseball terms.
He also recently spent time in Vero Beach, Fla., the Dodgers' long-time spring-training headquarters before a move this year to Arizona, teaching classes to Latino players who need help with their English.
One thing led to another, and in 2008 De Jon Watson, the Dodgers' assistant general manager of player development, called to ask Bravo if he would be interested in a part-time position as director of cultural assimilation for the organization. Bravo said "yes!" faster than he ever scooped up a groundball and fired to first base, even in his WNMU prime.
Besides going from camp to camp to help the players with language, Bravo's new job included developing another, much more ambitious handbook, dubbed "The Five Pillars" for its five key topic areas. This book, weighing in at nearly 300 pages, helps introduce players from Central America not only to English language skills, but also offers cultural, financial and nutritional assistance for life in the States. There's even a primer on computer use.
Things that we take for granted living here, Bravo points out, are often foreign and brand new to these up-and-coming baseball players, most of whom have known only poverty.
He goes on, "I worked with Roman Barinas" — executive assistant of baseball operations at Campo Las Palmas — "to put together the 'Five Pillars' book, and it is a 'how to' guide on how to survive through a new culture. Barinas works his tail off and did a fantastic job to get these kids from Las Palmas to Phoenix."
The "Five Pillars" book goes into great detail. When you open the book, the first thing presented is how to write dates properly in the US, followed by the days of the week, month and basic numbers. Players learn how to read schedules, keep appointments, and even cook basic recipes (including one for a yummy-sounding potato salad), along with tips on proper nutrition. The handbook also touches on shopping, using credit cards, banking, going to a library and using the US Postal Service, which is certainly nothing like what they know in the Dominican Republic. There are many pages of problem-solving quizzes and questions, with life-skills crossword puzzles to help review.
One section has outlines of the states where the Dodgers' farm teams are, including one for New Mexico, where the Albuquerque Isotopes sit at the top of the Dodgers' development system. Also included in the "Five Pillars" book is a section on the United Nations.
It is amazing to glance through the book to see that there are at least 300 pages of everyday activities that you and I take for granted, but which are not usually part of the daily lifestyle for a young person born to poverty in the Caribbean. Most of the book is in English — no fudging allowed.
At the end of the "Five Pillars" is information on the Dodgers' dress code and appropriate conduct and rules. Curfew is at 11 p.m., and after four rules violations, a player will be sent home and be subject to release from the Dodger organization.
A third book, "The English Spanish Baseball Handbook," is also used by Bravo and the Dodgers organization. This slim but detailed work, by Sal Artriaga, also has a New Mexico connection; it's dedicated to Artriaga's parents, who lived in Los Lunas, south of Albuquerque. It translates every baseball term, from positions to the World Series (Serie Mundial), and includes a number of simple phrases, such as "good play!" and "what's the score?" and terminology for things such as base running and defense. There seems to be one word missing, however: "lose." No losers here, apparently.
Earlier this year, Bravo had the chance to go to Campo Las Palmas, the Dodgers' training academy in the Dominican Republic (DR). Campo Las Palmas, which opened its doors on March 21, 1987, is located in the town of Guerra, just east of the Dominican Republic's capital city of Santo Domingo. When it opened nearly 20 years ago, Las Palmas was the first facility of its kind. It has since been replicated by numerous teams throughout baseball, and today a total of two-dozen Major League teams operate camps in the Dominican Republic. Located on 75 acres of land, Campo Las Palmas is equipped with two full and two half baseball fields, a dining room, kitchen, recreation room and two two-story dormitories that accommodate up to 100 players.
Among the notable alumni to reach the Major Leagues from Campo Las Palmas are Willy Aybar, Franquelis Osoria, Adrian Beltre, Pedro Martinez, Raul Mondesi and Pedro Astacio, among others. The staff at Las Palmas works to build relationships with each player/student, while making sure that they have structure in their daily routine.
"They do everything at the camp — eat, go to class, play ball," says Bravo. "The kids call you 'teacher,' which is a sign of respect, and they ALL ask questions. Most of the kids are high-school age, and baseball is a pathway out of poverty for them."
(Earlier this year, a splendid feature film, Sugar, was released, which follows a young player from the Dominican Republic, as he leaves his homeland and travels through the fictional farm system of a Major League team. It will be released on DVD on Sept. 1, and is clearly modeled on an actual baseball camp like Las Palmas.)
The Dominican Republic has historically sent more players to baseball's Major Leagues (473), than any of the other 50 or so countries besides the US that have been represented in MLB (including China, Denmark and Afghanistan, which have supplied one each).
"The Dodgers have a beautiful facility there," Bravo says of the Dominican Republic. "The country, the people, the culture were all beautiful."
Bravo says that everyone in the Dodgers organization has the best interests of the young players in mind. He's especially happy to work with Las Palmas' Roman Barinas, whom Bravo says is a "great boss who answers all the questions." He also has high praise for the Dodgers' assistant director of player development, Chris Haydock.
It can be quite challenging for the Dominican Republic youngsters to concentrate on baseball while going to school and learning what to expect if their skills get them to the United States. Hundreds of aspiring ballplayers don't make it, but the ones who do — such as future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez — have to work much harder than an American kid who is signed from the UCLA baseball squad.