Last week, Major League Baseball cancelled its annual Dominican national showcase because of a planned protest from Dominican players against an international draft. On Friday, MLB announced it was cancelling its Venezuelan national showcase, which was scheduled to take place on November 16 and 17 in Panama. While the cancellations won’t affect MLB lines, it creates a problem for the league.
According to reports, the showcase usually features many of the top 15-year-old and 16-year-old players in Venezuela, who are eligible to sign the following year. But the cancellation means the players won’t get a chance to show off their skills to MLB scouts this year.
Before the Venezuela showcase was cancelled by MLB, the Association of Venezuelan Baseball Agents informed the league that their players would not attend the showcase, not because of their opposition to the international draft, but because it was going to be held outside Venezuela.
The association issued a statement before the cancellation in which they said they the decision had nothing to do with the international draft because they do not believe in boycotts or rebellion. The association said it was looking forward to working closely with MLB as long as the showcase is kept in Venezuela.
One of the reasons the association is trying to keep the showcase in their country is because moving it might suggest to outsiders that Venezuela is off-limits for baseball scouts, which isn’t true.
The association also said that while it supported other Latin American countries, it believes it should be able to craft its own baseball identity and keep the showcase in the country.
Despite the association’s best efforts to keep the showcase in Venezuela, there have been security concerns in recent years, which is one of the reasons the showcase had initially been moved to Panama.
According to reports, scouts that travel to Venezuela have expressed some concern about their safety and welfare while they are in Venezuela. To make things worse, even Venezuelan players have been going to the Dominican Republic due to their own concerns and to get more exposure.
The International Prospect League also cancelled a showcase that was to be held in Venezuela this week citing the conditions in the country not being suitable for their international visitors.
The crime and violence in Venezuela has become very bad in recent years, which is why many baseball scouts from the United States avoid going to the country, and were fine with the showcase being moved to Panama.
Some scouts that still visit Venezuela said they try to follow the same rules to stay safe. The scouts said they never leave their hotel rooms when they are in the country unless they are going to the field to scout a player. They also said they avoid going out when it’s dark outside, and when they do, they have armed guards to protect them.
Due to the security concerns, it seems unlikely that MLB will change its mind about moving the showcase out of Venezuela, which will obviously put a lot of young talented players at a disadvantage. If things improve by the time the next showcase comes around, MLB will likely consider moving it back there.
