MLB partners with Brazilian baseball federation to provide nearly 50 scholarships

Forty-seven students between the ages of 13-17 arrived in Ibiuna, a town of nearly 80,000 in the southeast part of Sao Paulo, to begin living their baseball dreams on Tuesday. Dressed in bright green or yellow uniforms, they were there for the launch of a new program spearheaded by Major League Baseball and the Brazilian Baseball Softball Confederation (CBBS) at the Yakult Baseball Training Center. There, the children will live and train, attending school each morning before spending the afternoon working out at the academy.

“It's an honor to be able to have a partnership with MLB,” CBBS president Thiago Caldeira said recently over Zoom. “Lots of countries want these projects and we hope more and more Brazilians have an opportunity to improve their game and become a big leaguer like Thyago Vieira, André Rienzo, Yan Gomes. MLB is [providing] 50 full scholarships, school, food, high-quality training, everything.

“I think in the future, we will have a lot of André Rienzos.”

Rienzo made his big league debut in 2013 -- one year after Gomes became the first Brazilian-born player in the Major Leagues -- and he has represented the Brazilian national team at the 2013 World Baseball Classic and 2016 Qualifiers. He's seen the growth of the program over the last decade and has high hopes for the future of the academy.

"I want, with all my powers, to make baseball in Brazil grow and get better," Rienzo, who will be the team's pitching coach at the upcoming World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Tucson, said. "I want to see us win the Premier 12, things like that. I want to see us on top -- I know it's hard, but living is hard sometimes. I see an amazing future for us, especially with everything we have here."

Rienzo wasn't the only big leaguer on hand for the event: The tall right-hander was joined by some of the best Brazilian ballplayers from the past and present, including former big leaguer Vieira and current Minor Leaguers Daniel Missaki and Eric Pardinho. Even big league slugger and current Dominican Republic GM Nelson Cruz and professional soccer player Gabriel do Carmo were in attendance for the celebration.

In addition to the scholarships being provided, MLB has also installed brand-new equipment, putting the facility on par with many Major League teams and top-tier college programs. There are plans for upcoming showcases and scouting opportunities, providing plenty of chances for these young players to show off their skills.

In the past, the federation would look for the most talented youngsters they could, but the academy was private. Families needed to have the means to send their children there. Now, with MLB’s support, that is no longer the case.

“The best thing that happened for us right now is that we can give the opportunity to everyone,” Rienzo said. "We did the tryouts in Brazil. We went to, like, 12 different [states]. We scouted more than 500 players. We gave the opportunity to anyone: Show up and show your skills. Right now, the best player, the best kid, will be there with us.”

"We're excited to open this program in Brazil," said Morgan Sword, MLB's Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. "The federation has done a great job, and we look forward to partnering with them to take this development program to the next level, as well as to grow baseball across the country."

In the past, few Major League scouts made the trip to the soccer-rich nation. Baseball had originally been brought and popularized in small pockets of the country by Japanese immigrants in the early 1900s, and so it was often Japanese scouts and coaches who were in the country, looking for new talent and nurturing the game.

“I'm the first generation of this academy in Brazil,” Caldeira said. “In my time, we didn't have many scouts. We just had our opportunities to go to Japan. So I went to Japan and played in high school, college, and came back to Brazil. Now I'm working with the players.”

The work that's been done over the last decade has been tremendous, and the team will show that off at the upcoming Qualifiers by bringing the first all-Brazilian coaching staff to the upcoming Qualifiers.

"For the Brazilian players and Brazilian people, they are very happy," Caldeira said. "We loved to have Barry Larkin and Steve Finley [managers at previous WBC tournaments and Qualifiers] but now we have André Rienzo, Paulo Orlando, Yuichi Matsumoto, who played in Japan [in Nippon Professional Baseball]. We have good coaches now."

Now, with MLB's support, Caldeira and Rienzo hope that the sport can continue that upward trajectory, spreading and flourishing throughout the country.

“MLB just wants the kids to play baseball,” Rienzo said. “Just go and give the best effort you have, the best attitude, the best discipline. We’re convinced the results are coming.”