Read the passage below and check your comprehension by answering the following questions. Then “submit” your work.
The typical Major League Baseball (MLB) team has a full roster of players and a substantial staff of coaches who work with players on specific skills. There is the general manager, a bullpen coach, a batting coach, and a bevy of trainers and coordinators. And, sometimes, there is a language coach.
In any given year, about a quarter of MLB players are foreign born (Lagesse, 2016). Many arrive in American locker rooms with much fanfare but few or no English skills. In order to succeed as part of a team, however, it is crucial that they be able to communicate with their teammates and coaches, both on and off the field. For Asian players—most drafted straight out of the Japanese leagues, like Ichiro Suzuki, Koji Uehara, and Nori Aoki—translators are essential. They have long accompanied players on the field during practices and assisted them in interviews. New MLB rules also allow them to accompany coaches onto the field during games for on-field conferences (Associated Press, 2014).
The rules may not help many Latino players; they do not usually have translators and instead try to rely on bilingual teammates. Some teams, such as the San Diego Padres, teach basic Spanish to their staff. “It’s something I thought was important to make us efficient when dealing with players when we’re going to the Dominican [Republic] or with our players who are just coming here and don’t have command of the English language yet,” said Padres Director of Player Development Randy Smith (Brock, 2010). MLB teams also target players long before they get to the big leagues: most teams have training academies in the Dominican Republic, and many have added classes emphasizing English and financial skills to help players better manage living in America (Lagesse, 2016).