Latin American baseball league provides migrants in Texas sense of community

By Ken Molestina, Lexi Salazar, Peter Hull and Katie Standing

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    NORTH TEXAS (KTVT) — Most Sundays you can find them playing on different community baseball fields around North Texas.

Founded about a year ago, the Latin American Baseball League (Liga Latinoamericana de Béisbol, in Spanish) is made up almost entirely of immigrants from Latin America. There are more than 10 teams, representing their home countries — including Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

Here, the athletes find a sense of community and belonging in a country where they weren’t born.

Immigrants make up 13.7% of America’s population, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Adapting to a new country can be challenging for new residents, and it’s not uncommon for these growing immigrant enclaves to lean on each other and form communities.

That’s what the athletes of the Latin American Baseball League have found in one another — a space where they can adapt to life in a new country, while still showing pride in where they’re from.

“La idea aquí es que cada nacionalidad utilice el uniforme del país que representa.”

“The idea here is that every nationality uses the uniform of the country they represent,” Darwing Jove told CBS News Texas reporter and anchor Ken Molestina in Spanish. Jove is Team Venezuela’s manager and the league’s vice president.

Jove immigrated to the U.S. nine years ago, but he says most other players have been in the country for less than two years. He says despite their different circumstances, there’s one thing that they all have in common: the love of baseball.

“Lo hago porque la mayoría de ellos están aquí solos en este país. No tienen familia. Están solos. Acaban de llegar aquí.”

“I do it because most of them are here alone in this country,” Jove said. “They don’t have family. They’re alone. They just arrived here.”

Cuban national Adriano Borges arrived in the U.S. two years ago, but says he still misses his home country.

“Me han abierto la puerta para ayudarme a encontrar trabajo. Conexiones sociales. Incluso cultural. Había una ópera en Dallas y un caballero que conocí aquí jugando béisbol me invitó a la actuación.”

“They have opened the door for me in helping me find work,” Borges said. “There was an opera in Dallas, and there was a gentleman who I met here playing baseball that invited me to the performance.”

On the Nicaraguan team, Felix Rocha is also grateful for what the league has done for him.

“Es un verdadero placer para nosotros conocer inmigrantes de otros países y entablar amistades. Todo eso ayuda y es una bendición.”

“It’s a real pleasure for us to meet immigrants from other countries and form friendships,” Rocha said. “All of that helps and it’s a blessing.”

While playing together here in North Texas helps bring them a sense of community, they can’t help but miss the family and friends they’ve left behind.

“Mi sueño americano es tener a mi familia aquí conmigo para que podamos disfrutar de la libertad.”

“My American dream is to have my family here with me so we can enjoy freedom,” said Borges.

That dream may be out of reach for some, especially with so many changing laws and policies for migrants and those seeking asylum. It’s a worry that’s not lost on them.

Borges said he doesn’t worry for himself, but he does for his friends who are in this country under a complicated immigration status that could ultimately lead to their deportation. It’s a reality that is constantly looming for many of the players, but one that at least for nine innings on a Sunday can be forgotten on the field.

“Este es un campo de sueños porque mucha gente soñaba con venir a este país y jugar béisbol.”

“This is a field of dreams,” Jove said. “Because so many people dreamed of coming to this country and of playing baseball.”

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