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As part of the "Hot Stove, Cool Music" weekend for Theo Epstein's charity foundation, the Sox GM hosted an informal panel of baseball representatives to talk about the growing globalization of our National Pastime. Bronson Arroyo and Manny Delcarmen talked about the player experience (both are of Latino descent) and Omar Nimaya of the NY Mets was also on hand to talk about the growing presence of Latino players in his long history as both a player and manager.

I had a chance to ask Theo and Mr. Nimaya about the origin of scouting in the Dominican Republic and other underdeveloped nations, and whether the ambition to seek less expensive talent was still part of the scouting agenda. Nimaya answered first, saying that Latino players are such a well-developed pool of talent, that they often command higher annual salaries and signing bonuses than their American-born counterparts. Theo Epstein added that furthermore, while the history of scouting there was originally to acquire "cheap labor", the negotiating of Major League contracts is so completely unrestricted in other countries, that quality Latino players are likely to get paid more with all else being equal. While American players are limited by the draft as to with whom they can negotiate, international players can sell their talent to simply the highest bidder.

The players on the panel added plenty of levity to the serious tone of some of the topics, telling stories about the curious ways in which players learn about each other's cultures, and work out their own identities as part of a larger unit. Manny Delcarmen said, because of his American-born status but close ties to his Dominican background and language, that he was onced jokingly asked by a teammate, "Hey, if the Hispanic guys and the White guys get in a fight, who's side you gonna be on?". Bronson Arroyo also admitted to feeling a pull in the clubhouse because of his fluent Spanish and Cuban parentage, while as he puts it, "being THE whitest looking guy on the team".

The take-away from this in-depth discussion on the new face of the MLB, which is increasingly an international one, seems to be that the tangible efforts that teams make to help young players adapt to the food, language, geography and local flavor of their new home is making huge strides in having baseball become a truly worldwide sport. The Red Sox consider themselves on the forefront of this effort, not just in bringing players here from all over the world, but also by sending American players to live and train in the Dominican, where they can see first hand the experiences that shape the lives of the Latino players with whom they'll be sharing a dugout.

by Maggie Magner, Girlsox Contributor