Over the past 10 days, 30 high school-aged players from around the globe have converged in Phoenix for a first-hand taste of America's pastime.
Traveling from Africa and Asia, Europe and South America, and as far as Australia, the young men met for the fourth annual Major League Baseball College Showcase, part of the league’s effort to spread the game globally.
"Probably most important is that [the College Showcase players] understand the type of competition that exists in the United States," said MLB's senior vice president of baseball and softball development Kim Ng. "And for them to understand what they have to do to in order to compete at the [U.S. college and professional] levels."
"The more you understand what you have to do, the harder you are going to work to get to your goal," she added. "Hopefully, at some point, we will see them over here playing, whether that's professionally or in college."
This year's showcase pitted the international talents against teams from Arizona State University, Arizona Western College and Central Arizona College before culminating with a game vs. the MLB Youth Academy squad on Saturday. Those who traveled in also participated in a “Pro-Style Showcase” workout before college recruiters and pro scouts, and had a chance to tour college campuses.
For those fortunate to make the trip, the lessons learned over the week-plus proved fruitful.
"It was a big thing for me, and I think for all of the guys. I really want to thank MLB for giving us this opportunity to play in front of all the scouts," said 20-year-old Ondrey Furko of the Czech Republic.
Afforded top-level instruction each step of the way, many of the Showcase stars were ready to return home to show off their newfound skills.
"I've learned some new ways to pitch that will help me throw more strikes," said 17-year-old Australian Blake Cavill. "It's been a dream."
Recognizing the door-opening potential of his baseball skills, 18-year-old German Finn Bergmann very much enjoyed his close-up look at the U.S. university experience.
"My favorite part of the trip was the [Arizona State University] visit. It was really cool because the complex is very different than German schools. It was very interesting to see," he said.
Despite the expected cultural contrasts present in a camp of players hailing from five continents, one common theme shone bright throughout the Showcase: an unquenchable thirst to improve.
"It has been amazing. [In the] 10 days, we have experienced different players, different types of people and different backgrounds," said 17-year-old Ugandan Isaac Odongo. "I used to think I work really hard, but I have seen people work so hard, and that is a big motivation for me. The next time I come here, I want to be better than everyone."
Since the inception of the College Showcase four years ago, 54 participants have signed contracts with MLB clubs or advanced to play at the college level in the U.S. Globally, MLB operates developmental programs in Australia, Brazil, China, Curaçao, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Poland, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Uganda and Venezuela.