The Colorado Rockies baseball academy in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic is considered one of the best in baseball. First opened by Rockies vice president of international scouting and development Rolando Fernandez—now entering his 33rd year with the organization—in 2013 for a sum of $6 million, the academy focuses on both the baseball and cultural development of the young men the team signs out of Latin America.
“We teach them how to play baseball, but we’re also very involved in teaching these young men to grow, as leaders and as good citizens,” Fernandez told the Denver Post back in 2018.