Baseball returns to Freedom Farm

It’s been 11 months since organized baseball has been played in The Bahamas due to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this past weekend the Freedom Farm Baseball League (FFBL) ended that hiatus as they hosted an all-star weekend at the Freedom Farm Baseball Complex in Yamacraw.

The 13-14 and 15-18 age divisions were in action and a few scouts flew in from the United States of America (USA) to look at the players. Commissioner of Freedom Farm Clarence ‘CJ’ McKenzie said that the play on the field was not bad.

“You can actually tell the kids who have been working out since we shut down in March versus the kids who pretty much have not been working out for the last 11 months,” said McKenzie. “The play was expected, it was pretty good and sharp. Obviously, as they play more games over the next few weekends, it will increase the level of competition and play.”

One of those players who looked like he was putting in work over the extended break was 15-year-old Breyias Dean. The Excalibur Christian School student hit two home-runs to left field. He helped his team, the Tainos/Arawaks, defeat the Caribs/Lucayans 9-2 on Saturday.

“Those two hits came pretty easily because the pitcher made a mistake each time, and I took advantage of it. I was a bit surprised in the first at-bat but in the second at-bat I was ready and had the timing down,” Dean said. “It feels pretty great. We do not get a chance to go on the field as much as we would like to because of COVID-19 but once we came out here it was fun.”

Dean’s first homer came in the top of the fourth inning, putting his team up 5-1. The second one came the following inning as his team went up 9-2.

Malik Foster, who pitched as well as hit for the Caribs/Lucayans, said it was a good game.

“I was pretty good at the plate going 1-for-2. I did not have the best location when I was pitching, but it will get better. Overall, it was a good day,” Foster said. “I am happy to be back with familiar faces who I have been seeing all my life. It has been a long offseason, longer than anyone expected. I am just happy that everyone was able to keep in shape and keep their game on.”

On Sunday, the Tainos/Arawaks defeated the Caribs/Lucayans again, this time 17-8.

In the 13-14 division game on Saturday, the Silverjacks/Sharks defeated the Racoons/Potcakes, 9-7. On Sunday, the Racoons/Potcakes got revenge, taking down the Silverjacks/Sharks, 7-5.

Professional scouts were in town from Major League Baseball (MLB) teams like the Philadelphia Phillies and the reigning World Series Champions Los Angeles Dodgers, looking at the Bahamian talent.

“The Bahamas is a new marketplace for baseball, so we are always getting calls for scouts who are looking to see when we start games and when we resume for them to fly down from wherever they are at to be able to watch and observe some of these players. The minute we said that we were having an all-star weekend, we got flooded with calls in terms of persons looking to come down from all over,” McKenzie said.

Phillies’ International Scout Sal Agostinelli has been coming to The Bahamas since 1997. He said there is a good group of players here who are very athletic.

“There are a lot of athletes here, a lot of guys who can run and throw. It is an interesting group of good bodies and athletic kids,” Agistinelli stated. “In the first game, the younger kids had a little trouble because they had been away and are not as strong. In the second game, the guys swung the bat well, like Dean. I’ll continue to look at them tomorrow (Sunday). The second group (15-18) looked good.”

Dodgers’ scout James Kang said he came to look at the players and get a feel for them.

“…. [A] lot of good athletes out there,” Kang said. “The Bahamas is a really interesting market that is coming up on the international side. With a lot of guys starting to sign out of here, it’s good to see all of these young kids come out. We expect them to be a little slow at the beginning but when we come back in another six months, we know that they are going to be a lot better.”

McKenzie said they are looking at doing everything in stages.

“We started off today with our 13-14 and 15-18 divisions,” McKenzie said. “They will go at it for about 30 days. Then we will look at starting our 9-10 and 11-12 division. We must creep and take our time and be responsible as we resume baseball. There is not going to be in 2021, where we are going to have our 44-plus teams and 800-plus players all come to the park at once. The older players are a trial run so we can iron out all the kinks as health and safety is a priority. As we and the country continue to do well, we will see more games added on the schedule.”

Freedom Farm is planning on hosting another tournament next week, and in short order, will look at putting together a shortened 2021 regular season.

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