A LITTLE LESS BASEBALL THAN WE PLANNED
11/18/2008 7:34 PM - Cal
Well we are back on U.S. soil after a very rewarding visit to Nicaragua. As I mentioned yesterday we couldn’t conduct our events in the City of Leon because of the unrest after the recent elections but I don’t believe that hampered our trip too much. The good news is that the baseball equipment and school supplies that we brought for the kids in Leon will still get to them. The good people at the Embassy will drop them off next week.
Speaking of the people at the Embassy I do want to thank them for making sure that John Maroon, Tim Gebhart, Matt Backert and I had a great experience. Obviously our thanks to Ambassador Callahan and his wife Debbie. I also want to send a special thanks to a few people at the Embassy: Michelle, Craig, Shany, Kristin, Lia, Marixell, Felix, Thom, Kit, Scott and Marilyn as well as the site officers who worked hard in each city.
I also want to thank the people of Nicaragua who made us feel so welcome and were truly excited about our visit. In addition, the Nicaraguan media was terrific and the trip was covered extensively.
And of course a big thank you to my friend Dennis Martinez and his wife Luz. I always liked and admired Dennis but I came away with an even greater appreciation for him, his passion, his ability to teach and his overall desire to grow the game in his native land…I hope we can help him achieve that dream.
Now we are home and it is time to reconnect with the people at The State Department and set dates for our next trip…spring of 2009 to South Africa.
As I mentioned earlier in the week these trips are great initial trips and goodwill efforts. It seems that baseball connects people and supersedes any language barriers that might exist. That said we don’t want to just make one journey to a country and simply leave.
After my trip to China last fall my brother Bill made a follow up trip earlier this year and we are working with the people in China to bring a Chinese team to the Cal Ripken World Series.
I want to make sure that we are back in Nicaragua and working with Dennis to help more kids follow and develop their passion for baseball. I believe it is a relatively untapped resource of talent at all levels.
Thanks to all of you for reading my daily blog. I am new to this blogging world so I hope that you liked what I wrote. My kids thought it was pretty cool that I am a blogger.
See you around the ballpark…how long until spring training?
Cal
A Wonderful Trip To Nicaragua Nears An End... But We'll Be Back!
11/17/2008 8:41 PM - Cal
Today was our last full day in Nicaragua as we fly out of the country tomorrow morning. We were scheduled to have a big day in the City of Leon, unfortunately the Mayor’s office and the Embassy decided that due to the unrest because of the recent elections it would be best to cancel and not travel to Leon.
I feel bad for the kids who we would have been working with but the change was unavoidable. But like I told Dennis this will not be our last trip to Nicaragua and hopefully we can meet the kids from Leon during our next visit.
The positive that came from this was that we had a chance to be real tourists and have a fun and relaxing day. We started by taking a boat tour around some of the very small islands that were formed from the volcanoes. Many of them now have beautiful private homes sitting on them. The most fun of the trip was the stop at “monkey island”. It is a very small patch of land in the lake where several monkeys live. They have become very comfortable with people and one jumped into the boat and we fed him tootsie rolls and bread. The others stayed in the trees on the island and we tossed treats to them as well. I am sure that Rachel and Ryan, my kids, will be jealous when I tell them about that.
After the boat trip we visited Granada, Dennis’ hometown, for lunch and then we did some shopping. I found some great pottery that I will have shipped home for Kelly. Nicaragua is known for its pottery and the pieces were made by a couple and their sons and they were unique and beautiful.
Like I said I am disappointed in the clinics getting cancelled, however, we had a wonderful first trip and we had the chance to impact many kids and lay down the groundwork for future visits and perhaps a way for Dennis and I to work together moving forward.
Dennis loves his native country and would be very proud to bring baseball instruction to many young ballplayers here. It is clear that there is talent and a love of the game here.
Thanks again for reading my blog. I will send a lat one tomorrow to wrap up our trip.
Cal
 
A DAY THAT INCLUDED A VISIT TO DENNIS MARTINEZ STADIUM AND RECRUTING THE U.S. AMBASSADOR TO HELP COACH THE KIDS
11/16/2008 6:46 PM - Cal
What an action packed day in Managua! We started with an 8 am coach’s clinic and after lunch we conducted a 2 ½ hour youth clinic for kids in the Dennis Martinez League. Most of them were younger ballplayer, 8 and 9 years old, so getting them organized is always a little more challenging.
We break them into four groups and the groups rotate through four stations: I run hitting, Dennis runs pitching, Tim Gebhart of Ripken Baseball runs infield and Matt Backert of Ripken Baseball runs outfield. We had about 120 kids and some of them were excellent ballplayers. We had a lot of kids and we needed a little extra help so I recruited Ambassador Callahan to assist me with the hitting station. Hew loves baseball and did a great job with the kids. Thanks Ambassador!
In case you weren’t away there has been a great focus on the recent Nicaraguan elections and there is some controversy over the results. I get the impression from the media that they are enjoying a reprieve from politics by covering our activities. The coverage has been outstanding…Dennis and I have been on the front page of the sports sections of the two largest papers, El Nuevo Diario and La Prensa, everyday since our arrival!
Today the Washington Post ran a very favorable story and ESPN was with us all day. All of this coverage goes a long way in letting people know of our trip and helps a great deal in spreading the message of baseball.
After the youth clinic we paid a short visit to Dennis Martinez Stadium. It is an older stadium and could use some revisions but it has a lot of character and I loved the very unique light towers that curved in over the field slightly.
We ended the day with a visit to American College…it is actually a high school with an outstanding baseball program. The ballplayers asked some wonderful questions about everything from how to turn a double play to pursuing a baseball career and their education and they even had a question about steroids. Dennis and I really liked that interaction and there was very substantive questions and discussion.
Tonight we are at the Ambassador’s residence for a barbeque and we will be heading to bed early (I am tired!). Tomorrow we visit the city of Leon and then head home Tuesday morning.
Thanks as always…please check in again tomorrow.
Cal
 
A Day To Relax
11/15/2008 7:21 PM - Cal
There was no baseball on the schedule today. We had a chnce to see a little of the country and its beautiful beaches.
We started the day with a drive to Rivas where Dennis Martinez has a lakefront resort named La Mar. It is a wonderful place on Cocivolca Lake, Looking out onto the lake there are two dormant volcanoes, a beautiful view. Dennis and I talked about his plans to grow the resort and maybe add some ballfields to it.
While there we relaxed, ate fresh fruit and drank coconut milk straight out of fresh coconuts. After our time there we visited the beachfront tourist town of San Juan del Sur. It had a large, beautiful beach and it is quickly being discovered by surfers around the world.
After lunch we drove to the active volcano called Masaya and did some shopping at the market nearby.
Tonight we will be at the U.S. Embassy for a gathering of U.S. citizens living in Managua and then we will have dinner at the home of one of Dennis’ friends.
Back to baseball tomorrow with a coach’s clinic and baseball clinic at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Managua and a visit to American College in Managua that is one of the sponsors of our visit.
Monday we have a full day in the City of Leon and we return to the United States on Tuesday.
Thanks for checking in.
Cal
Me and Dennis Martinez lost in Nicaragua
Baseball Speaks To Everyone Regardless Of Language
11/14/2008 6:01 PM - Cal
We spent today in the city of Granada. The day began with a coach’s clinic for about 40 youth coaches from Granada. I taught the hitting and Dennis Martinez taught the pitching. It was interesting to learn that these coaches had very few resources when it came to teaching the game. They seemed very happy to hear our presentation and receive a copy of the Ripken Baseball coaching manual, translated in Spanish.
Next we hosted about 50 younger kids from the area in a fast and furious game of Ripken Quickball. I like to refer to this as organized chaos, although I don’t know how organized it is, but the kids (that includes me) had a blast! For those of you that don’t know Quickball is a fun game played with spongy balls that keeps the kids engaged and moving.
After lunch we moved to the stadium for a more formal baseball clinic with kids in the Dennis Martinez League here in Granada. Dennis is truly like Elvis here…it is fun to watch. Baseball-wise the biggest difference between Nicaragua and China, where we went last fall, is the passion for baseball and the skill of the players. The kids in Nicaragua all play the game and there are many talented kids here. In China the game is very much in the early stages of its development.
Following the clinic we visited the Barrio La Esperanza. This is one of the poorest areas of Nicaragua and the kids are assisted by an incredibly dedicated group of people from Empowerment International. They help the kids with their school work and do all they can to get kids through school.
Dennis and I visited with the people there and met the kids. Before we left we donated a few Quickball sets to them so the kids can play ball with better equipment and I was very happy that our foundation, the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, was able to make a financial contribution that will keep twenty kids in school for the next year.
In addition I want to send a big thank you to the Spanish classes at Fallston High School in Harford County, the county where I grew up. The teacher, Jean Buttitta, contacted our office after reading out the trip and offered to donate school supplies. Well they gathered and sent a 200 pound bag! The supplies were greatly appreciated by the kids and teachers in the Barrio and will help so much. Thank you Fallston!
Tomorrow is our rest and cultural day. It should be a fun day. We will be visiting Dennis’ resort in Rivas and we will be attending a meet and greet for Americans working in Nicaragua. In addition we will stop by the volcano called Masaya and do some shopping…good thing because I have to pick up some souvenirs for Kelly, Rachel and Ryan.
Thanks for reading…talk to you tomorrow.
Cal
 
FINALLY … WE ARE IN NICARAGUA
11/13/2008 9:58 PM - Cal
Well I woke up around 2:30 am this morning and headed to BWI Airport. We had a 6am flight to Miami where we met Dennis Martinez and then endured a four hour layover. The flight to Nicaragua was great…we are tied and we are here.
Dennis and I just took part in a press conference at the United States Embassy along with Ambassador Robert Callahan and Jorge Ayestas, the Executive Director of American College here in Managua.
The press conference went well and we had a great turnout from the Nicaraguan media. It was a different experience because we had an interpreter and had to wait for her to interpret everything I was saying into Spanish. She did a great job…I guess I should have paid more attention in Spanish class in high school and in winter ball because my Spanish is nearly non-existent.
I was surprised that very few of the questions were about my serving as a Public Diplomacy Envoy and our trip here…everyone wanted to ask me about baseball and the streak. A subject I have covered once or twice in my career.
I just ducked out of a reception that Ambassador and Mrs. Callahan are hosting for Dennis and I to write my blog. I think that the time is catching up to me a little because I am starting to fade. I know we will sleep well tonight.
I am very excited for tomorrow as we begin sharing the craft of baseball with Nicaraguan kids and coaches. It will be fun to see how Dennis interacts with them. He is truly a legend down here and very well respected. Most of the kids we will be working with play in the Dennis Martinez League!
Tomorrow is a full day as we spend the day in the City of Granada. The day will start with an 8 am Coaches Clinic and that will be followed by two baseball clinics and then a visit to a community supported by an organization called Empowerment International.
Thanks for reading! Tomorrow will be fun to write because the time with the kids begins.
Cal
We Leave For Nicaragua Tomorrow Morning!
11/12/2008 9:00 AM - Cal
It seems like we have been talking about this trip for a long time but the journey is finally here and we leave tomorrow morning … very early!
I continue to be blown away by the honor that the U.S. State Department bestowed on me last summer. To remind you, last August Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appointed me to the position of American Public Diplomacy Envoy.
Having the opportunity to represent our country abroad is such an honor. Our first trip in this role was to China last fall. While there we visited Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and we taught baseball to youth coaches and kids across the country.
Baseball is still a very foreign game to the Chinese but they really embraced it and had fun learning the basics. It was a true people to people exchange and an incredible experience.
Now we are embarking on a visit to Nicaragua and I am happy to be making the trip with my friend and former teammate Dennis Martinez. Like me, Dennis is passionate about growing the game of baseball and passing along the craft to kids. Also in the travelling party will be Tim Gebhart and Matt Backert, two of our instructors from Ripken Baseball ( www.RipkenBaseball.com) as well as John Maroon from Maroon PR ( www.MaroonPR.com) who will handle all of the public relations and media. John was with us in China as well.
When we are there we will be running coaching clinics and youth baseball clinics in the cities of Managua, Leon and Granada. From what I am told the people of Nicaragua love baseball and the excitement for our trip should be high…especially with “El Presidente”, the country’s favorite son, a part of the travelling party.
We are only on the ground in Nicaragua for four full days but they are very full days and I am confident that we will be able to represent our country in a very positive way and make a small difference in the lives of some kids and coaches.
Thanks for reading … I will write to you again tomorrow.
Cal
Sunday
11/05/2007 7:13 AM - Cal
Sunday
Hard to believe but we are about to enjoy our last day in China. Currently we are in Guangzhou after stops in Beijing and Shanghai.
The trip has been fulfilling and I believe that we have accomplished what we wanted to accomplish. We reached hundreds of children and introduced them to the game for the first time and have enhanced the game of hundreds of kids who already were enjoying the game here in China. We also met some key people over here with the government, the Chinese Baseball Association and the business community. It is through these relationships that we will be able to continue to help the Chinese people in their effort to grow the game.
I believe that baseball has a great future in China but clearly it is not something that will happen overnight. If we were able to hook a few kids on baseball and introduce it to a few more those kids might grow up to play or just enjoy the game. It is through that spirit of fun that the game will grow and prosper.
In each city we had at least one coaching clinic. By teaching the teachers and providing them with a few tools and tips they can follow their passion to teach the game at the grassroots level and impact many more young ballplayers.
This afternoon we hosted a wonderful coaching clinic and tomorrow we host a QuickBall Clinic in the morning and a more advanced baseball clinic in the afternoon. For those of you who don’t know what QuickBall is, it is a very unique and fun game that makes baseball fun and fast moving for young ballplayers. It has been very well received over here and I believe it will continue to grow in popularity and will serve China and other countries well in their efforts to grow the game.
On Tuesday morning we begin our journey home (It will be Monday night back home). We had an amazing trip and we fell in love with China and the Chinese people. I am sure we will return in the near future and see what we can do to keep helping the people of China grow the game that I love so much.
Thanks to all of you who have followed our trip on the internet. I hope that I was able to paint a picture of our efforts over here with my words and my photos.
Cal
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thursday
11/02/2007 6:23 AM - Cal
Thursday
Today was wonderful because we had a little time to relax and really be tourists. The best part of the day was the trip to the Great Wall of China. What an amazing structure!
We drove about 1 ½ hours from Beijing to the Great Wall. Once we arrive we took a lift to the top. It was kind of cool and it looked like one of those little cars you see on pulleys at Disney World that takes you across the park, but in stead it took us up a mountainside to the peak of the Great Wall.
Once we were up there Kelly, her dad and I, along with everyone else from our traveling party, walked about a ½ mile of the wall taking pictures and exploring. The thought that this wall is 2,000 miles long and took over 1,000 years to build is mind boggling!
When we were done we rode down the mountain on individual toboggans. It was a lot of fun and I am sure that Rachel and Ryan won’t believe that their mom and grandpa did it.
From there we headed to the airport for a two hour flight to Shanghai. We landed around 9pm last night and headed to the hotel.
Today we have a coach’s clinic in the morning and a Quickball clinic in the afternoon. Today will be nice because we wrap up around 5pm and Kelly and I will have a chance to have a private dinner and take in a little of Shanghai.
Thanks as always for following our journey and I will “talk” to you tomorrow.
Cal
 
 
Wednesday
10/31/2007 8:35 AM - Cal
Wednesday
Today was a wonderful but exhausting day for us. We began the day having breakfast with a group of people from the American Chamber of Commerce. We were very interested in hearing from the U.S.-based businesses in China and what their plans are and we enjoyed telling them about what we were doing in China and our hopes to help grow the game here.
Following the breakfast meeting we conducted a baseball coach’s clinic with about thirty Chinese coaches. The clinic took place at the Olympic softball stadium which was a great facility. About five of the coaches were the ones who came to the United States in August and stayed at our facility in Aberdeen for a few weeks. Most of them were new to our program and very enthusiastic.
After the coach’s clinic we traveled to a school for a more advanced youth baseball clinic. The kids here were very athletic and excellent ballplayers. I started out with some very basic drills for them but I quickly realized that they were more advanced and we changed the program to reflect their skills on the fly.
We took the kids through three stations. I handled the fielding, B.J. Surhoff ran the hitting and Rick Dell, a coach doing work in China for MLB, handled the pitching station. The media coverage was great with China Daily, CCTV (China’s official television station), NBC Nightly News, CBS and Voice of America all covering the clinic.
The final stop of the day was a very heartwarming clinic at an orphanage. The work that they do there is amazing and it is clear that despite the hardships the children are very healthy and happy. We played Quickball and the kids just ran around laughing and hitting the ball. It wasn’t very organized and I think that is what made it so special.
Tomorrow we get in a little sightseeing with a trip to the Great Wall in the morning and then we head to the airport for our flight to Shanghai and stop number two in our tour through China.
Thanks again for reading and we will post a new update tomorrow sometime once we get into Shanghai and get settled.
Have a great day.
Cal
 
 
 
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