ORLANDO -- Regardless of the industry, every experience provides an opportunity to make an impression if you’re a job seeker.
Little did Dafne Bravo know hers would come during a week-long sports envoy program this past May in Santiago, Chile, to grow the games of baseball and softball. Former Major Leaguer Gregor Blanco, who is MLB’s senior director of baseball operations, also served as an ambassador on the trip and was struck by the way Bravo conducted herself.
“Whenever I saw her over there and I saw the passion she had for the game and the way she speaks, the way she handles herself, and being around people, it's hard,” Blanco said. “It's not easy in the embassy. And I was like, ‘She can be a great candidate for [Take the Field],’ and I talked to her about what she's going to study for, and she wanted to do good things, so I invited her, and I told her to apply, and they did a great job inviting her here.”
Bravo, who had caught professionally in La Liga Mexicana de Softbol over the past two years, is one of 10 participants at this weekend’s Take the Field program with connections to MLB’s youth development pipeline.
“Honestly, if had I not been here, I would have been already out there training, but I decided to take a year off to graduate [with my kinesiology degree] and hopefully kick start my professional career in baseball,” Bravo said.
During high school, Bravo was part of MLB’s Urban Youth Academy in Compton in South Central Los Angeles. As a not-for-profit organization, the UYA aims to set the standard for baseball and softball instruction, teach and educate in urban America and enhance the quality of life in the surrounding communities.
“I think it's really important, honestly,” Bravo said. “Had it not been for the Compton Youth Academy, I don't think that I would have met as many people as I know now. … I think the connections you build and the relationships you build with others, it's really important.
“You never know when maybe you need help in the professional background, or sometimes maybe you just want to connect with them and let them know, ‘Hey, how have you been?’ and that can turn into something else. So I think that it's just really important for players and people like me who don't really get this opportunity. So I saw an opportunity, and I took it, and now I'm here.”
The same could be said for Joey Molis, who was planning to attend the Winter Meetings even before he saw Take the Field mentioned on LinkedIn.
Baseball has always been a part of Molis’ life. As a kid, he would turn on MLB Network while doing his homework. He played corner infield at Bridgewater State. In between, Molis competed for his Pawtucket, Rhode Island, RBI team from 2015-17, making it to the RBI World Series twice.
Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities -- “Nike RBI” -- is MLB’s youth outreach program that provides administrative, programmatic and infrastructural resources and support for organizations that offer baseball and/or softball programming with a focus on underserved kids and communities across the globe.
“I think it's just a lot of people here that are all working towards the same goal: in a way, it's kind of like trying to make an MLB team,” said Molis, who graduated with a degree in statistics and would like to work in analytics. “It's a lot of competition. We're all trying to do the same exact thing, but we're all going about it in different ways, and it's fun to just talk to people, see what their opinions are, their thoughts, how they go about different things, and get to just know people. Get to know people from different parts of the country.”
And then there’s Arwen McCullough, who was attending Take the Field for the second time -- in this instance, less than two weeks after being selected by San Francisco in the Women’s Pro Baseball League.
During high school, McCullough participated in several MLB-sanctioned programs: MLB GRIT, the MLB Breakthrough Series and the MLB Dream Series.
“I want to go play [for the WPBL] during the summer, but when I get back, one of my goals would be to work for MLB,” McCullough said. “Everyone asks what positions specifically. But for me, I just want to be around the game. I love getting my hands on everything, and I just am happy to be a part of it. So my biggest goal would just be to stay in baseball, and ultimately, someday, I'd love to run my own team.”