Former Major League pitcher Bruce Chen saw the future of baseball in his home country of Panama on Wednesday morning.
In front of Chen stood more than 300 ecstatic participants, running, catching, throwing and hitting during this week's Play Ball event. The kids laughed and cheered for each other at each station. But most importantly, they had fun playing the sport they loved.
Chen will see 600 more eager players this week.
"There is lots of talent here, and the people of Panama really love baseball," said Chen, who spent parts of 17 seasons with 11 teams in the Major Leagues. "It's our number one sport, and the love keeps growing each year. It's great to see the kids play."
Chen is a special guest instructor at first Play Ball activation in the Central American country this week. The three-city Play Ball tour in Panama started Wednesday at MVP Sport City in Panama City. It continues with stops at Estadio Gaby Santos, Chitre, Herrera, on Thursday and Estadio Kenny Serracin de David in David, Chiriquí, on Friday. There are 300 participants expected to attend each of the last two events.
Former Major League infielder Olmedo Saenz, who is from Chitre, is also serving a special guest instructor.
"Talking to kids, they are really excited to play and love that Major League Baseball is helping them learn and develop the game," Chen said. "We have players like Manny Sanguillen and Mariano Rivera. Me and Olmedo and others played Major League Baseball, but there can be more Major Leaguers from Panama in the future. We are very grateful to Major League Baseball for being in Panama to help develop players. It's huge."
This week's events in Panama feature hitting and fielding drills, baserunning and agility workouts. All participants will receive a Play Ball T-shirt, bat and ball set and special wristbands.
"There is a desire for kids around the world to participate and we want to make sure we reach those kids that have interest," said Tony Reagins, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of baseball and softball development. "Panama has a long history in the game, and the kids there want to be a part of the Play Ball initiative. I'm glad we have support from former Major Leaguers like Bruce Chen and Olmedo Saenz to help us cover the country really well. We are excited to be a part of it."
Play Ball launched in June 2015, and it has operated events in hundreds of cities across the country. The program has expanded to locations outside of the continental United States.
In April, the Play Ball activation in Puerto Rico featured more than 450 participants from all over the island. The next month, Major League Baseball played host to the first bi-national Play Ball event with more than 600 participants from Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas. Also in May, more than 300 young players from all over the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon participated in an activation in conjunction with the Mexico Series between the Indians and Twins in Monterrey, Mexico.
There have also been Play Ball events in Canada this year. There are tentative plans for a Play Ball event in England during the London Series between the Red Sox and the Yankees next June.
"The program is definitely becoming more popular and as we go forward, we are looking to expand Play Ball around the world even more," Reagins said. "What we are seeing is an increase in participation in the sport and we think our initiative has a lot to do with it because we are not only reaching boys and girls, along with young men and women that have played, but also the youth that have never played the game, and I think that goes a long way toward establishing life-long fans of the game."