ApL Princeton WhistlePigs

Former Princeton Players Part of Tampa Bay's 2007 "Study Abroad" Program

Published on October 23, 2007 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Princeton WhistlePigs News Release


As part of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organizational philosophy that Latin America will provide a significant portion of their players in future years, three players with Princeton ties, both past and present, will be travelling overseas this fall as part of the organization's "Study Abroad" program. With 2007 being the program's inaugural year, the process started when Milton Jamail, International Player Relations Consultant for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, visited both the Princeton and Hudson Valley affiliates this past summer to outline an opportunity for players from those two teams to visit academies being operated by the big league team in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

Many players from the two teams volunteered to make the trips but only four will be making the trip, three having worn the Princeton colors already in their young baseball careers. Selected by Tampa Bay's player development department to make the journey were two players from this year's P-Rays: pitcher Justin Garcia and second baseman Michael Ross. Catcher Mike McCormick of the 2007 Hudson Valley Renegades, who was a third baseman for the P-Rays in both 2005 and 2006, was also selected to the delegation along with Ian Paxton, a catcher who has spent both of his professional seasons with Hudson Valley.

"Our Study Abroad program is very similar to a college student going to a foreign country to learn about their culture. It is going to be exciting for these guys and will be helpful if they were ever to decide in the future to play winter ball in Latin America," commented Jamail in a October 15 phone interview from his home in Austin, TX.

The first trip will be for two weeks to Tampa Bay's Venezuelan Baseball Academy in Valencia, VZ and began on October 20 for McCormick. Joining him in Valencia, a city of just over one million residents, will be Jamail for the first week only and then by Tampa Bay baseball operations assistant Chaim Bloom for the second week. During this time period, the McCormick will actually be staying at the academy while also participating in daily team workouts with the outside possibility of also seeing game action.

A one-week trip from November 4-11 to the Dominican Republic will then be taken by Garcia, Paxton, and Ross to the Campo Las Palmas Academy which is cooperatively shared between the Devil Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers. The trio on this trip, who will also be accompanied by Jamail, will take part in daily morning drills and workouts before exploring the country's beaches as well as doing such things as touring a sugar mill. On the night of November 7, they will attend a night professional winter league game of the Licey franchise, who will be celebrating the team's 100th anniversary at this very game.

Another thing they will be doing is actually attending a Devil Rays' tryout camp for Dominican players. Jamail stated this will "give the American players a chance to see how we sign the Latin players that they later play with throughout the Rays' organization."

The job Jamail now occupies with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays is a new position which was created this past April. He is a retired professor from the University of Texas and has written several baseball books. He became acquainted with the Rays organization through Gerry Hunsicker, now TB's senior vice president of baseball operations, and Andres Reiner, now TB's special assistant in baseball operations, both of whom he knew from their time spent previously with the Houston Astros organization.

"The program works both ways. This also gives our Latin players who have yet to travel to the United States a chance to meet some American players. This makes their initial trip to the States a little easier and removes some of the mystery of it for them," commented Jamail, who added that the success of innovative programs such as this are crucial in enabling the Rays to keep pace with their American League Eastern Division rivals.

"This program is already in the budget for next year and as long as it is proving useful, I hope it will be there every year for us to utilize," said Jamail.

Jamail also saw many things he liked about Princeton, and the community's role in developing future Tampa Bay Devil Rays, during his two visits here during the summer of 2007.

"I had never been to Princeton before and did not know what to expect. But after the first visit, I loved it. The people are very friendly and our players are well taken care of. I am always encouraging our staff members to go see the beauty of Pipestem State Park. I always talk very highly about Princeton every time I am in Tampa Bay," Jamail concluded.

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