{"id":8,"date":"2018-11-29T17:00:37","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T00:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilingualbaseball.wordpress.com\/?p=3"},"modified":"2018-12-04T17:08:22","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T00:08:22","slug":"bridging-baseball-language-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onestepdeeper.com\/bilingualbaseball\/2018\/11\/29\/bridging-baseball-language-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging baseball’s language gap"},"content":{"rendered":"

How a Brazilian pitcher\u2019s path to the Majors\u00a0<\/strong>shows the value of being multilingual<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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It\u2019s a cool November evening in Scottsdale, Arizona. Bo Takahashi, a 21-year-old pitcher from Presidente Prudente, Brazil, warms up in the bullpen before taking the mound for the Salt River Rafters. He\u2019s getting ready to play in what is, at that moment, the only Major League-affiliated baseball game in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Takahashi, a third-generation Brazilian with roots in Japan, signed a minor league free agent contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013. He fires each pitch to Tres Barrera, a Texas-born catcher in the Washington Nationals organization, who fires back encouragement in Spanish. <\/span><\/p>\n

All the while, pitching coach Dave Burba, of Dayton, Ohio, and the Colorado Rockies organization, offers small tips to Takahashi in English to ensure his starting pitcher is ready to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not your typical baseball scene. The baseball season is usually over<\/span> in October. Arizona is supposed to be warm. And don\u2019t Brazilians speak Portuguese?<\/span><\/p>\n

But this is baseball, and in particular the Arizona Fall League. The sport has become increasingly bilingual in the last half century, with more than a quarter of major league players coming from Latin American countries. <\/span><\/p>\n

And perhaps no person is more emblematic of the uniqueness of this setting and this sport than Takahashi. Through players like him, baseball clubhouses have become more diverse, transforming into multi-lingual hubs of community and culture and connecting players from different countries, dialects and upbringings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBo has been a godsend for me for a lot of this [language] stuff,\u201d said Shelley Duncan, Takahashi\u2019s manager for parts of the last three seasons and the hitting coach for Salt River this fall. \u201cHe\u2019s been my dude when it comes to a lot of the communication with guys.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Pitchers Mitch Horacek, Jesus Tinoco, and Tyler Mark enjoy some downtime after a bullpen session at Salt River Fields, the Rafters' home ballpark in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/span><\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Tyler Mark, who's from Los Angeles, and Bo Takahashi, who's from Brazil, are right-handed pitching prospects in the Diamondbacks organization. The two roomed together during the Fall League season and say they speak Spanish almost exclusively at home.\u00a0(Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Jesus Tinoco and Justin Lawrence, two pitching prospects in the Colorado Rockies organization, play catch and throw long toss before their game against the Peoria Javelinas that evening.\u00a0\u00a0(Photo by Erica Block)<\/span><\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Members of the Salt River pitching staff shag fly balls in the outfield in the hours before the Arizona Fall League championship game.\u00a0(Photo by Erica Block)<\/span><\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Tres Barrera is a catcher in the Washington Nationals organization who grew up in Texas. Barrera says his ability to speak Spanish is crucial, since being bilingual allows him to communicate with Spanish-speaking pitchers, coaches, and other teammates who are still learning English.\u00a0(Photo by Erica Block)<\/span><\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Pitching coach Dave Burba chats with battery mates Tres Barrera and Bo Takahashi before the Rafters' evening game against the Mesa Solar Sox.\u00a0(Photo by Erica Block)<\/span><\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Starting pitcher Bo Takahashi and coach Dave Burba stand for the national anthem before Takahashi takes the mound. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Pitchers Justin Lawrence and Jesus Tinoco chat outside the bullpen during an afternoon practice at Salt River Fields. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Salt River hitting coach Shelley Duncan coaches first base during an afternoon game in Peoria. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Tyler Mark and Bo Takahashi watch teammates throw in the bullpen at Salt River Fields. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Catcher Tres Barrera and teammates prepare to take the field as the Fall League championship game enters extra innings with the score tied 2-2. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Justin Lawrence takes the mound in the bottom of the ninth during the Fall League championship game on November 17. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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The bullpen can be a world unto its own. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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Salt River pitchers watch their championship game unfold from the visitor's bullpen at Scottsdale Stadium. (Photo by Erica Block)<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\t
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