Orioles to host opening ceremony at new Dominican Academy
The Baltimore Orioles today announced that they will host an opening ceremony for their new, state-of-the-art training academy in Guerra, Dominican Republic on Tuesday, January 16, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. AST. Several dignitaries are scheduled to attend the event, including Dominican Republic President LUIS ABINADER, Dominican Republic Vice Minister of Sports ELVIS DUARTE, and Dominican Republic Commissioner of Baseball JUNIOR NOBOA, along with Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager MIKE ELIAS, and Orioles Vice President of International Scouting and Operations KOBY PEREZ.
“This academy is the culmination of years of hard work by so many people, and I am grateful to everyone who made this a reality,” said Elias. “For the last several years, one of the main goals of our partnership group and front office has been to excel in Latin America, and I am very pleased by what we as an organization, led by Koby Perez, have accomplished in this sector. This grand opening marks another major milestone in scouting and player development that will keep our minor league pipeline flowing and preserve winning baseball in Baltimore for years to come.”
The 22.5-acre complex is home to the Orioles’ regional facility for Caribbean, Central, and South American player development operations, and includes three full fields, a sports turf agility field, batting and pitching tunnels, administrative buildings, dormitories, and educational facilities. The complex will house more than 100 players, coaches, and staff, providing dormitory-style rooms and entertainment spaces and includes three classrooms and a computer lab, which will provide on-site learning and an education plan for each player, as well as a dining room that will offer daily nutritious meals.
“I am incredibly proud to say that the Baltimore Orioles now have one of finest training facilities in the Dominican Republic,” said Perez. “The impact this complex will have on the future success of the Orioles, and the young players that we recruit and sign, is immeasurable. Having a state-of-the-art facility will not only allow us to continue to attract top international talent to the organization but will also allow us to teach them valuable life skills off the field that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.”
The project was led by landowner and developer BRIAN MEJIA of Brison SRL. The Orioles were represented by renowned Dominican academy architect JOSÉ MELLA, who is considered one of the foremost training facility architects in the Dominican Republic, having designed around half of the current academies in the DR today.
The Orioles have emerged in the international market since Elias took over in November 2018. During that time, Baltimore has signed two of the largest signing classes in club history in 2019-20 and 2022-23, landed the team’s first seven-figure signings in SAMUEL BASALLO and MAIKOL HERNÁNDEZ in 2020-21, set the franchise record for a bonus given to an international player in BRAYLIN TAVERA in 2021-22, and broke that record with the signing of LUIS ALMEYDA last year. Six of the current top 30 O’s prospects according to MLB Pipeline are international players signed by the organization, including Basallo (MLB No. 46, O’s No. 5), Tavera (O’s No. 16), Almeyda (O’s No. 25), LEANDRO ARIAS (O’s No. 18), FREDERICK BENCOSME (O’s No. 23), and LUIS DE LEÓN (O’s No. 26).
In addition to the several dignitaries scheduled to be in attendance, 2023 Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year FÉLIX BAUTISTA, and current Oriole JORGE MATEO, along with Orioles alumni including National Baseball Hall of Famer VLADIMIR GUERRERO SR., HANSER ALBERTO, DANIEL CABRERA, NELSON CRUZ, RADHAMES LIZ, MELVIN MORA, and MIGUEL TEJADA, as well as Baltimore minor leaguers, many of whom began their careers playing on similar fields and academies in the area, are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony.
The Orioles will host a clinic for kids from communities across the Dominican Republic at the academy on Wednesday, January 17, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The organization and the Orioles Advocates will be providing 150 baseball gloves to the clinic participants, gathered at collections in Baltimore throughout the 2023 season. O’s players, coaches, and alumni will teach the participants from across the DR a variety of baseball skills throughout the day.