Dreaming of opportunity

Today, the world of professional baseball will have their eyes on the All-Star Game. This year, the game will be played in our nation’s capital, Washington D.C.

It’s a very interesting time to for our nation, as one of the most debatable and most talked about topics is centered on immigration reform. When I was doing research on features to produce around this year’s All-Star Game, I wanted to bridge the topics of immigration and baseball.

In order to do this, I reached out Juan Escalante, an active Dreamer, DACA recipient and communications manager for America’s Voice, a nonprofit based in Washington D.C. that advocates for full labor, civil and political rights for immigrants and their families. I knew if anyone could talk about the intersections between immigration and baseball, it would be Juan.

Escalante, a native of Venezuela, makes interesting connections between the two when he says, “I wanted to make sure that I carved a path out forward for myself in order to get a better job, get a better education and just move my life forward,  which is not so dissimilar to a lot of the things a lot of immigrants want, which is an opportunity to play the game as well, whether that be baseball or open their own business or get an education.”

As the United States is facing its own challenges and issues, so are other countries where baseball players come from like Venezuela, Nicaragua, México.

“Some of the players that are currently scheduled to play in the All-Star Game may come from Venezuela, may come from countries that are facing significant political, economic and social challenges,” Escalante says. “If we don’t understand how immigration is tightly woven around the sport, then we don’t fully understand what the players go through on their personal time and how that may translate onto the field on those off days that they may be having.”

While we’ve seen players in the National Football League take a knee for issues and policies they believe in, will professional baseball players in the near future take their own “knee” for policies and issues they believe in? We do see ballplayers volunteer their time and money to causes that are near and dear to their hearts, but we still have not seen players stand up politically. Is the game of baseball too conservative? Are players just focused on just the game? Should players keep baseball and politics separate?

Escalante shares his thoughts on how he believes players can be educated about the topic of immigration as well as how they can be a voice for their immigrant families in this day and age of separation and uncertainty.

I hope this piece stirs discussions around the topic and how it’s tied to the game we love and the players who play it.