Caribbean Baseball Organization

THIS IS A PRETTY BIG DEAL ? As many of my contacts know, I have been working hard for 4 years to build out a dream that was brought to me, and which I now share, with Gift Ngoepe, the first African-born MLB player. The mission: Change the World through baseball How? By taking the strong existing interest in youth and adult baseball throughout several?countries on the continent of Africa, and providing organization, nurturing, and of course, funding. So we formed?the Africa Baseball Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit?organization. Simple, right? Of course not! I've been in the baseball business for 30 years, but I love the sport so much, a lot of that was anything but "work." But this project requires quite an effort. Fortunately, I have lots of help. In addition to Gift's leadership and friendship these past few years, none other than MLB Hall of Famer Andre Dawson and All-Star Catcher/World Series Champion Charles CJ Johnson and Chountelle Bullock have been key players in getting us this far. And, I have a growing number of folks who love baseball but are not MLB standouts, who have helped us go from talk to action, across several African nations, where we are already putting runs on the board, so to speak. Those include Neal Bendesky, Gavin Bennett, and several interns, volunteers and early adopter-donors to the project to get us this far. But this is clearly just the top of the first inning for our club. But finally, after setting up the basic infrastructure in Africa, attracting thousands of kids and adults hungry to play and build skills in the best sport in the world, this is the moment we are taking our project into the open. My friend Rob Isbitts might be a career investment pro, but he has been a huge baseball fan longer than that. Just this week, Rob and his wife Dana launched?Classic Baseball World,?a blog site on the popular Substack platform. The site aims to build a fun community of baseball fans around the world, and he's designated a prominent part of the site to the Africa Baseball Project. So, that community is now OUR community. It is free to join, and just wait until you see what fan-friendly content, events and interactions await us there! And this grass roots effort has finally reached the point where we can formally raise money via "crowdfunding" and other dedicated donors. We are actively seeking that to get us to the next key steps during 2025. Read more about all of this at?Classic Baseball World.?I look forward to hearing from you! https://lnkd.in/gnzVT-MB

14th Annual Granf Bahama Sports Festival!

NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO!!!! Tune in and watch the interview with Mr. Italian, Coach Jim Mansilla. The WCPB is only 3 days away!!!! https://lnkd.in/e_NMh_yn

??DR OPEN DIVISION needs players!!!?? The WCPB is only 8 days away!!!

??New YouTube video is out?? Click the link below to watch an interview with Coach James Charboneau!!! He is the 15u coach from Canada!!! https://lnkd.in/d2qn9jji

This Gift Ngoepe. The first ever African born player to make it to the Major Leagues. Below is his video and message to young African baseball players!

Our New Fall Interns for 2024! Jake Romano - Jake from Cooper City, Florida, is a senior at St. Thomas University. He is studying Sports Administration. He is also a pitcher for the baseball team at the university. He is also running the social media for the Caribbean Baseball Organization(CBO)! Donovan Hill - Donovan is from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, also a senior and baseball player from St. Thomas University. Playing outfield for St. Thomas he also studies Sports Administration. Donovan hopes to work front office for an MLB team. He is starting his journey with his internship working on the African Baseball Project(ABP)! Alvin Konan - Alvin from Ivory Coast in West Africa, is a graduate student at Barry University. He is currently pursuing his masters degree in Sports Administration. He is interning with the ABP as an assistant coordinator with the goal of establishing baseball in Africa to give the youth an opportunity to play baseball! Alex Patten - Alex attended Barton College where he would graduate in 2020. He would get his degree in Liberal Studies with a Concentration in Exercise Science and a Concentration in Health Promotion. Alex also played semi-professional baseball up and down the East Coast and Midwest. He is now interning as the communications manager for the ABP! Ryan Summerville - Ryan a senior attending the University of Florida and is majoring in business and Sports Management. He is interning this summer as Director of Operations at the Palm Beaches Tournament!

MLB Veteran Derek May has a message for Cameroons’ Harmony Baseball Academy & Foubder Arsel Giowou

Tomorrow's post and my LinkedIn page are about the relationship between Japan and Africa for Baseball. Find out how the Japanese have been instrumental in building fields, training, and replicating a famous high school tournament. Today you can read how my maternal grandfather's homeland is looking for players; https://lnkd.in/eraCcWfv

MLB first Catcher from Colombia speaks to Zambia Baseball