Leandro Mendez pitches for Kansas Christian College. (Photo courtesy of the Royals) |
Welcome to this edition of the Royals Beat newsletter. My name is Anne Rogers, and I’ll be delivering news and insight to your inbox all season long. Thanks for following along! The day Leandro Mendez received some of the worst news of his life was the same day he would make the best decision of his life. He just didn’t know it yet. In January 2020, Mendez’s professional baseball career was cut short when he was released by the Royals. Mendez had signed with the organization four years earlier out of the Dominican Republic. He pitched for three seasons in the Dominican Summer League, but the Royals have to cut a certain number of players every year, and in ‘20, Mendez was one of them. “It was hard,” Mendez said. “It was a tough conversation. “Everybody has the dream to become an MLB player. You want to be like the players you’re watching on TV.” Later that day, Mendez received a different call, this one from Jeff Diskin, the Royals’ director of professional and sports development. Diskin explained that Mendez had made a strong impression on the staff, especially with his classwork. He might have a potential opportunity for Mendez in the United States. “I was curious,” Mendez said. “I was hopeful. I had no idea it would be the best decision I have ever made in my life. “He told me, ‘I think I can get you to the United States to play some more baseball and, more importantly, get a degree.’” What Diskin was proposing was an education program the Royals had established a few years earlier for some players released from the organization’s Dominican Academy. |
Jose Ballista, Jesus Reyes and Leandro Mendez celebrate their graduations. (Photo courtesy of the Royals) |
Earlier this month, five years after Diskin first explained the program to him, Mendez graduated from Kansas Christian College. Two other former Royals joined him in Jose Ballista and Jesus Reyes. All three earned their Bachelor of Arts in Business Leadership with an emphasis in Sports Management. “I can’t even say how happy I am to see those guys accomplish this,” said Randy Fernandez, the Royals’ assistant to Dominican operations. “You don’t see that often down here in the D.R. These kids start playing baseball at a young age. And if they don’t make it, they don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s why we try to encourage these kids: School is part of Plan A. It's not just about baseball.” The Royals’ Dominican Baseball Academy is a baseball institution focused on developing future Major Leaguers. But teams sign Latin American players when they’re in their teens, and many drop out of school even earlier to focus on baseball. That’s why the Royals’ Academy offers a vast amount of resources to help develop players off the field, including life skills and a high school curriculum. As Fernandez says, they’re “building players from the bottom up,” teaching them what being a professional means on and off the field. “The harsh reality of this game is a lot of players don’t make it to the Majors,” Royals manager of Arizona operations/life skills Jorge Guzman said. “A lot of players don’t even make it over to the States. We pour into these guys year after year, and unfortunately if someone gets released, how do you say to them, ‘You’re on your own now’?” That question was especially hard for Diskin to answer when the Royals released Leonel Bejarán, a middle infielder who had impressed in the classroom, in 2016. “Such a great kid, learned English quickly, graduated high school,” Diskin said. “He was the one that got me thinking about what we could do. How do we help these kids?” |
Jose Ballista, Jesus Reyes and Leandro Mendez at Kansas Christian College. (Photo courtesy of the Royals) |
Diskin found a way for Bejarán to enroll and play baseball at Mid-American Christian University in Oklahoma City, Okla., a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA), which have different eligibility requirements than the NCAA and allowed former pro players like Bejarán -- with a high school degree -- to still have eligibility. “It was such a cool experience because I wasn’t retiring fully from baseball,” Bejarán said. “I got to play. But at the same time, I was preparing myself for what was next.” Adjusting to life in the United States was “a little bit of culture shock,” Bejarán said, but he persevered and graduated in 2020. Now, he’s a career transition specialist for MLB’s Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.), directly assisting former players in navigating life after baseball. That might mean going to school or applying for jobs. B.A.T. also helps former players financially through grants and scholarships. Bejarán’s journey gave Diskin a blueprint for enrollment and eligibility with NAIA and NCCAA schools -- and a direct success story. “These guys think [baseball is] the only thing they’re good at,” Diskin said. “The only thing they can do. But they’ve got so much more to them. And when you get to know them as people and you see them struggle when their pro careers are over, knowing they’ve got other options -- this is why we do it.” |
Jesus Reyes has put up a .328/.390/.514 slash line in his career at KCC. (Photo courtesy of the Royals) |
Mendez, Ballista and Reyes were identified as students who might do well with an opportunity like this when they were released because of their work ethic and abilities in the classroom. All three enrolled at Kansas Christian College in Overland Park, Kan., in 2021. It helps that NCCAA schools are small, which gives the students smaller class sizes and better relationships with professors and coaches.
Because the transition isn’t easy.
“The first couple of days, I was lost,” Ballista said. “I could pick up some words. But then everyone would start speaking way too fast. The food was different. I wasn’t used to the weather. I was used to being far from home, but never this far. Also, you need a car to go everywhere. I didn’t know if I could do it.”
“Almost everything here is on a computer, which I was not used to,” Reyes added. "When I started, half the time I did not know what I was doing.”
“I tried to go back,” Mendez said. “I was so uncomfortable.”
But they leaned on each other, friends who have turned into “brothers,” Reyes said.
They leaned on Diskin, whom all three described as a second father to them. Diskin took them out to eat, to Walmart for college supplies, and he encouraged them to continue when it got tough. |
Jose Ballista has a 3.61 ERA over three seasons with the KCC Falcons. (Photo courtesy of the Royals) |
And slowly, it got better. “I wanted to give my mom the privilege of having three children make it through college,” said Ballista, who has two sisters. “And I would be the first one to do it in the United States.” Reyes was also reminded of what his mom, Carolina Bruce, had instilled in him back in Venezuela. “She believed in me when no one else did,” Reyes said. “If you have a strong mentality, you can do everything in life. And my mom gave that to me.” That’s why their graduation was a culmination of so much hard work and resiliency beyond just what they accomplished in the classroom. “When I started with the Royals, I was a little kid basically,” Ballista said. “But I learned how to be a man through them. They taught me to grow up. They were there for me when I failed. They are here for me now. What they do to get players to the next level, not only on the field but also in life, is incredible.” Mendez, Reyes and Ballista are currently finishing the baseball season at KCC and figuring out what’s next. All three are eager to stay in baseball in some capacity. Because of their experience, they know that there are opportunities in baseball beyond the field. And that they’re equipped for it. “I never expected to be here,” Reyes said. “Never. When I was a kid, I thought I would grow up and just find a job. In my country, it’s hard. But to see me right here, with a degree in the United States, it’s incredible. I am proud of myself.” |
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