A Leap of Faith

About 22 miles or 36 kilometers north of the Dominican capital city of Santo Domingo lies the town of Guanuma. Nestled along the river of the same name, the small town in the country's central region is home to Bowie's own Anderson Feliz.

In his small town under the wide Caribbean skies, Feliz grew up with his three siblings with one consistent activity on his mind.
"In the Dominican, one has fun playing ball, going to the river, and playing a game called "La Placa" at school (during recess)," said Feliz. "We are always (around) baseball, in reality."
La Placa: a game that can be found across the streets of the Dominican Republic. It's a game which at its core combines aspects of modern cricket and baseball. There's a pitcher. There's a batter. There's a field. The field could be anything and anywhere: a sidewalk, a gravel lot, the bank of a river or the middle of town.
It is also able to be played by anyone. It does not matter if one is rich or poor or anywhere along the social-economic spectrum. A ball is not even required. Dominican kids are resourceful, making ball-like objects out of any kind of material found around the neighborhood.
For Feliz, this game was an integral part of early life.
"(I would help) my mother with some of the things she used to sell such as ice cream and things like that," said Feliz. "I would (then) go to school (and) I would go to the field. If I wasn't going to the field, then I would play at the playground with balls that we made ourselves with tights, small medicine pots, etc."
Then, there were las vitillas-small, bottle cap-like items are nearly impossible to hit or accurately throw at first glance. After many neighborhood contests, Feliz and his friends soon obtained the hand-eye coordination and skill set needed to succeed in local youth baseball leagues.
"I started when I was about 8 or 9 years old," said Feliz. "I started going to a league close to my house. The field was about five minutes walking distance, so I was always there. People played a lot of ball and there was a lot of rivalry. I always tried to be the best there."
When everyone is playing at their best and creating that competition, kids start to get noticed by the Major Leagues. It's pretty easy. Teams now have training facilities in the Dominican Republic that help bring in the many talented players from the country.
"I remember when I was 14 years old (that) scouts were going to see some kids," said Feliz. "I could not sign at that age, (but) I have always been very committed to what I do. They would always tell us that baseball is just like a show; it is something that you sell and that is why one must look good while you are playing.
"When the scouts went to see these other kids, they also saw me playing and they said: 'I'm interested in this kid' and my manager said: 'But he is only 14 years old.' The scout responded: 'Yes, but he is the one I want to see.' From the group of kids that they came to see, I was the one that impressed the most and I said 'Wow, I am 14 years old and it seems that I have a lot of talent.' That motivated me a lot to continue my dream."
The New York Yankees became one of the first teams to show interest in Feliz. A man named Edgar Mercedes first brought him to their academy. Things started changing for young Feliz.
"Everything in my life started to change," said Feliz. "The academy would give me everything I needed and the scouts began to know more about me. At that moment, I knew my career started to form."
Fast forward about a year. Anderson is now 15-roughly a year away from signing his first contract with the team that initially took an interest in him.
"I visited a close friend of mine that just came back from the United States," said Feliz. "I said to myself, 'Wow, when will I get to experience my first plane ride?'"
(Spoiler alert: it happened that next year.)
"I signed and I got the opportunity to come (to the U.S.) and experience my first plane ride, which was a very nice moment. I came to a different culture with very strict rules. Discipline is key because here people get into trouble very easily and, after this, I started to notice the reality of being a true baseball player."
That reality for many players involves not staying with the same team that signed you initially. The Yankees released Feliz On March 19, 2015, after seven years in the Yankee system.
From there, Feliz started logging some miles.
"My story is a little complicated," said Feliz. "I had to go and play in an independent baseball league in Lancaster (PA) for one year. After that, I went to Taiwan and played in the "Premier 12" league and, at the end of that year, I went to Nicaragua to play winter ball. Afterwards, I was called by the Pirates and I signed for two years. I played for them in 2016 and 2017 and I ended up as a free agent afterwards. Finally, this year I signed with the Orioles."
For many baseball players, the guarantee of having a team to play for the next season (or the next day) is almost non-existent. For Feliz, dealing with the transitional state of life started from within.
"In reality, it is a bit difficult because one has the uncertainty of who is going to sign him (and where he's going to go)," said Feliz. "I was in the Dominican during the winter. I had a very good season and time was going by, so I was going to move to Mexico because no one had called me. I could feel something inside of me (saying) that I didn't have to worry, due to the good season I was having, thank God.
"I believe in the talent that God gave me and I knew (and) felt that someone on some team in the Major Leagues was going to be interested in me. Sometimes I am optimistic with situations that are difficult. Sometimes (I) want to go crazy, but I always have trust in God and the plan that He has is perfect, (so) I don't get worried."
That faith has come into play on more than a few occasions.
"In 2012 or 2013, I had two injuries in a year with the Yankees. After they had me for a year, I had surgery in my elbow," said Feliz. "When I was back the following year, I was doing pretty well and I injured my leg, (so) I had to have surgery on my right hip. In that occasion, I said 'Why does this happen to me if I work so much and I take care of myself so much?'
"Something beautiful happened to me. I remember it was about 8 a.m. and I was getting put asleep because they were going to start the surgery. They were giving me a treatment to strengthen the muscle and I felt a voice saying 'Don't be scared. I will be with you.' I think it was God that talked to me because once I woke up, I felt that I had lost a backpack of stones that I had been carrying. Since that moment, I stayed relaxed and said to myself 'Whatever has to happen will happen. I won't give up."
Feliz has yet to make it beyond the Triple-A level, but that belief and strength has helped him persevere up through this point.
"Many things have happened to me throughout my career," said Feliz. "I believe that it is not about the amount of times one falls, but about the (amount of) times one stands up again. This doesn't depend on how far one falls, but in the effort that you can give in your day to day and in what you believe.
"I try to control the things that I can control. The things I cannot control I leave up to God. Those slip off my hands."
One thing that Feliz has been able to control is giving back to the people who have given him the opportunity to take this journey. Take his mom, for instance, who sold ice cream on the side of the road in Guanuma to earn money for the family.
"We used to depend on a lot of work to be able to survive, you know?" said Feliz. "After I signed, (I bought) a house. My mom lives well. My dad lives well as well (and) we are always in contact. Life improved, not for all that we want yet because we want a lot of things under what God allows us, but yes, life has improved.'"