Talking It Over
[Empty Body]
Many professional baseball players come from Latin America speaking very little English at the start of their careers. Not only do they endure the grueling grind of playing Minor League Baseball, they also have to deal with the challenge of dealing with a language barrier. On the IronBirds are three Spanish-speaking players and one coach (Ramon Sambo). Two of these players,
We sat down with Carrillo and Ortega to learn firsthand about the challenges of playing professional baseball in a foreign country where English, not Spanish, is the primary language.
Interview was conducted in Spanish and translated to English
¿Cuando llegaste a los Estados Unidos, sabía como hablar ingles?
Carrillo: No, nada.
Ortega: El año pasado, no.
When you first came to the United States, did you know any English?
Carrillo: Nope, none.
Ortega: Last year, no.
¿Como aprendes ingles ahora que estás aquí?
Carrillo: He aprendido bastante con los coaches latinos, El equipo nos pone una programa online para que aprendemos ingles. Pero durante el entrenamiento, gimnasio y todo que hacer, fue difícil aprender ingles rápidamente. Es una lengua muy difícil. No imposible pero difícil
Ortega: Para mi, es solamente escuchar todo lo possible.
How do you learn English now that you are here?
Carrillo: I've learned a lot from my Latino Coaches. The team gave us an online program to learn English. But during practices, workouts and everything we had to do it was really hard to learn English quickly. It's a really hard language. Not impossible, but pretty hard.
Ortega: For me, I just listen as much as I can.
¿Que fue difícil sobre jugando en un equipo de personas que no hablan español?
Ortega: El año pasado era muy difícil porque estaba aprendiendo nuevo y hablando con el pitcher fue difícil. Él comenzaba a hablar y decir que hacer en ingles y me sentía un peligro. Pero este año, gracias a dios me entiendo mejor. Estoy mas cómodo este año.
What was hard about playing on a team where very few people spoke Spanish?
Ortega: Last year it was really hard because I was still learning and talking to the pitcher was difficult. He would start talking and giving directions in English and I felt out of place. But this year, thankfully I understand more. I am a lot more comfortable this season.
¿Como un cátcher, como comunicas con los pitchers durante el partido?
Carrillo: He aprendido lo básico de beisbol. Los pitcheos, donde tiran los pitcheos y todo. No hablo mucho ingles pero lo poco que hablo puedo comunicar con los pitchers. Los señales de mano han sido parte de beisbol hacía la historia de beisbol hace muchos años. A veces cambian pero es lo mismo.
As a catcher how do you communicate with the pitchers during the game?
Carrillo: I've learned the basics of baseball. The pitches, where to throw the pitches and all of that. I don't speak a ton of English but the things I know help me communicate with the pitchers. The hand signals have been a part of baseball since its beginning. So that changes sometimes but it's pretty much the same.
¿Viviendo tan lejos de casa, es posible ver a tu familia?
Ortega: No he regresado a la Republicana Dominicana. Pero es posible que mi familia viene aquí al fin de este año
Carrillo: Tengo una mama muy enfermo. Uso el beisbol para apoyar a ella y mantener su felicidad. Si, voy a tratar de visitarla pronto.
Will you get to see your family now that you live so far from home?
Ortega: I haven't gone home to the Dominican Republic yet. But my family might come here for the end of the season.
Carrillo: My mom back home is pretty sick. I use baseball to support her and keep her happy. So I'll try to go back and visit her soon.
Nos puedes decir un frase de beisbol que los aficionados pueden usar?
Ortega: Buen golpe.
Carrillo: Juega duro.
Can you tell us a baseball phrase in Spanish that the fans can use?
Ortega: Good hit.
Carrillo: Play hard.