Back in November the Caribbean Journal ran this video about how there is an attempt to revive baseball on the islands of the Bahamas.

There have been six big leaguers of Bahamian descent. The most successful is Andre Rodgers, a shortstop that spent 11 seasons in the big leagues in the late 50s and early 60s. Rodgers was a cricket player and was signed by the New York Giants in 1954. There is also Ed Armbrister, who was a bench player for the Big Red Machine during their back-to-back championship in 1975 and 1976.

Teams have yet to set up academies on the islands ala the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, but the Atlanta Braves showed interest earlier in the decade. Atlanta actually called up the latest big leaguer of Bahamian descent, Antoan Richardson, this past September. The 28-year old from Nassau is an outfielder, but was used as a pinch runner and pinch hitter during the season’s final month.

We have seen baseball begin to expand around the globe to China, India, Brazil, Africa, and Europe. The Chinese government actually helped fund a $30 million dollar stadium in Nassau. If there is a desire to build and develop talent in the Bahamas, it would behoove a team to potentially set up shop there. I don’t think it’s a secret the first team to pioneer such a move would be rewarded.

This is also good news from the business and marketing perspective as the more places the game is played, the better opportunities you have to build a loyal fan base. That is how the NBA became a global force under David Stern.

You could read more about baseball in the Bahamas at baseballbahamas.net 

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Andre Rodgers, Antoan Richardson, Atlanta Braves, Baseball in the Bahamas, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Ed Armbrister, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates