Giving back in Panama

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On Friday night, former Pittsburgh Pirates baseball star and Panamanian native son Omar Moreno will hold his annual gala event in Panama City to raise funds for his baseball academy. Last year, his school gave free training, equipment and lunches to 400 youths aged 6 to 16 , mostly street kids, on loaned facilities inside what was once the Panama Canal Zone. Among his supporters are Major League Baseball, the U.S. Embassy in Panama and 16 corporate sponsors. His goal this year is to raise $100,000, enough for a permanent home on land donated by the Lions Club of Panama.

His country produces its per-capita share of big leaguers -- about 1 per 500,000 population. That’s roughly equivalent to Venezuela, the No. 2 offshore provider of major leaguers after the Dominican Republic. But Moreno believes Panama could generate many more if the academy system -- which has proved successful in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic -- took hold in Panama.

So far, the major leagues, whose teams operate 29 academies in the Dominican Republic and nine in Venezuela, have not invested in brick and mortar here, partly because of the unfriendly political climate. The national sports ministry is pro-Cuba and does little to encourage its native stars to come home from the United States and promote the sport.

So Moreno and his wife, Sandra, have taken it upon themselves to build an academy to serve as a template for pro baseball, while continuing their work with free youth leagues in the capital and in Puerto Armuelles, Moreno’s home town. Among those expected to attend Friday are his 1979 World Series champion teammates Dave Parker and Manny Sanguillen.

-- Chris Kraul in Bogota