And Even More . . .

Actually, the players don’t start games for a few weeks, but the games are more than just practice among the Yankee players. There are a very large number of other camps in the immediate area. Toronto has a complex about a kilometer away and the Red Sox, and numerous others, are only 3 or 4 miles down the road. The various camps compete against each other in a league of sorts, an Instructional League, which the Yanks have won the last two years. Abel Guerra, the head scout for the Yanks in the region and the overall “chief executive” of the campus (I think), told me that the games are very exciting and a lot of fun. He said that when the Yanks go “on the road” for games that I’ll be able to go with them on the team bus. Cool.

More about the security situation: I asked Ani Sanchez, the campus director, if it was ok to go jogging outside the grounds, beyond the fence. She told me NO! It can be fairly dangerous, so I should stay inside the fence. I guess the possibility of getting mugged or worse is too high to take a chance, even in daylight. Like I stated in the last post, we are surrounded by forest, so who knows what might be lurking in the shadows!

I’ve found out more about my duties. I’ll be teaching all 62 of the players (as well as some of the coaches and staff), most of whose English skills are not very good, so I’ll have two levels to teach. They’re grouped into two teams–the Blue team and the Red, 31 in each group. I’ll have 3 classes each afternoon, with 10 or 11 learners in each class. One day I’ll work with the Blue team and the next with the Red, so that each class gets 5 hours of instruction in a two week period. Got that? Anyway, it’ll be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

Abel told me that a very famous Yankee player of the past might be visiting in a couple of weeks. I won’t tell you who it is right now. After it’s confirmed he’s coming, I’ll let you know. Now, doesn’t that keep you on the edge of your seat?

Recent meals: baked chicken with rice and lentil gravy, spaghetti, boiled eggs with potatoes and bacon bits, juice, bananas, etc.

Abel said that the cable guy is coming out sometime this week to run cable TV to my room and that I’ll be getting a TV. Too much distraction, but I’ll live with it. More later.

Related posts:

1. Doubleheader Yesterday’s games were more like a doubleheader than anything else. The Cincy team came here to play because their field was too wet and muddy from the rains on Sunday....
2. Newest Yankee Does this guy look like an All-Star or what? (Don’t answer that, please.) Anyway, here’s me in my new Yankee togs. Cool. Abel asked me if I’d like to shag...
3. Games Start Today The various Major League-affiliated teams start playing each other today. The Yankees and the Bombers play Minnesota and Toronto, respectively. I think the Bomber-Toronto game is here, starting around 10:30...