The Perspective Of A Native American Baseball Showcase Participant
Today, one of our authors shares some of the insight he gathered during an interview with one of the MLB's Native American Showcase participants.
IBWAA members love to write about baseball. So much so that we've decided to create our own newsletter about it! Subscribe to Here's the Pitch to expand your love of baseball, discover new voices, and support independent writing. Original content six days a week, straight to your inbox and straight from the hearts of baseball fans.
Pregame Pepper - Native Americans In Professional Baseball
Leading Off
MLB’s Native American Showcase, In The Eyes Of One Participant
By Benjamin Chase
In a world that has focused plenty on attacking teams with any semblance of Native American or indigenous tie in the name or background of the team, the Atlanta Braves have quietly worked to develop a relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee, including a wide-ranging weekend of activities that took place on July 23 as part of the team’s annual night at the park with the tribe.
The Braves’ relationship with the tribe goes back more than 20 years and has led to notable changes in the imagery and advertisement of the team over the years. Within the Braves’ new stadium, Truist Park, there is a Monument Garden with a permanent display entitled “We Are Still Here” to educate fans on the Eastern Band of Cherokee, their original territory, and their love of stickball.
The partnership that the Braves held for decades with the Eastern Band of Cherokee led to a natural hosting location for Major League Baseball’s first-ever Native American showcase event for high school players on July 14-17. One of the participants, Davonte Ross, who will be a sophomore at Lakota Tech High School in South Dakota in the fall, talked about his experience.
While players had to find their own transport to and from the event, Davonte expressed that housing and transportation were provided once they arrived.
“Everything was really close,” he observed.
That would make sense for Ross, who has traveled 100 miles one way to play American Legion baseball in the summer. He prefers third base, but he is willing to play around the infield as needed.
High school baseball is still a club sport in South Dakota, not a sanctioned state sport, so many youths in the state play Legion ball instead. This summer, Ross had to make a different choice.
“With gas prices, I played ball with Hot Springs (a local travel ball team),” Ross explained. “It was just too expensive to play with Post 320 (the Rapid City-based Legion team he’d played with before).”
Ross found out about the event through his cousin, Haedyn Haas, who then encouraged him to register. Once they arrived in Atlanta, the first two days were spent meeting the 48 other participants who came from 13 states and Canada to participate in this event. Saturday was filled with instruction from former major leaguers like Marquis Grissom, Johnny Estrada, Marvin Freeman, and Lou Collier. Then they played a game on Sunday.
What did he notice about all the participants? While diverse in location, Ross said they shared plenty of commonalities.
“We all come from tough backgrounds, usually having to make do with whatever we can to play the game,” Ross mentioned. “Most of the guys came from reservations.”
And what was Ross’s favorite experience about the weekend?
“Absolutely playing on a major league field,” Ross expresses, with an immediate lift in his voice. “Every kid that plays baseball dreams of someday playing on a big league field, and walking across the foul lines onto the field…it was like a dream come true.”
Asked whether he would be coming back, he said that he would definitely come back if MLB holds a showcase again next year, and he says he’s got plenty more takers.
“My friends all saw my bags when I got back, and they’re all excited to go next year!”
Returning to the discussion about Native American team names in sports, Ross said he didn’t really feel any issue with the Braves’ environment while at Truist Park.
“For me, nothing bugged me about that because it’s just a sports team,” Ross said. “All those team names, they really never bug me because it’s just about a team having a name. There are bigger things to worry about (on the reservation) than that, you know?”
An impressive perspective from a young man who just experienced every baseball youth’s dream.
Benjamin Chase is a newspaper reporter in South Dakota with a love for baseball, especially prospects and amateur baseball. He is part of the Pallazzo Podcast prospect podcast each week on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Eastern on YouTube and can be found on Twitter under @biggentleben.