Answer:  This is something that I’ve been doing for, I don’t know, 15 years now, traveling internationally, teaching the game to kids and it’s an enjoyment. You know, I get to share something that I love to kids who I hope are, you know, falling in love with it, either already love the game or are looking to fall in love with it.

I can bring something to the table as far as my knowledge, good energy and my love for the game and I think it can be infectious. If kids come out and they can see a grown man having fun with the game that they’re playing as well, I think that just helps them with a little bit more, you know, gives them a little bit more push to want to play and be good.

Answer: Just the fact that we are covering mental skills in the clinic is special in and of itself. I think each person may have a little something to bring to the table as far as how important mental skills are. In the game of baseball, we all know that it’s a thinking mind’s game and it’s a game of failure.

That’s the big part of it. You fail a lot. So the mental training is really preparing kids how to fail, how to deal with failure, and how to continue on playing the game as though failure didn’t happen.

That’s a very important piece of the game. Like I said, the good hitters. A very good hitter hits 300.

That means he failed 7 out of 10 times. For example, I’m a perfectionist by design and baseball was really tough for me. That was one of the hardest things for me to overcome in my professional career was dealing with failure.

I started my professional career at 17, so I was relatively young and I had never failed before. I learned through my Miami experience how to fail, how to bounce back from failure, but more importantly how to deal with it and how to make yourself more mentally strong.

Answer: Well, the thing is, these kids are getting knowledge and experience from a lot of years of experience in the major leagues. Like, the team, the group that we have here coaching is a pretty special group. I mean, first and foremost, we’re major leaguers.

But, so with that, there’s a lot of knowledge there. There’s a lot of knowledge that we can provide and help these kids as far as them being able to take the information in and utilize it. That’s the big thing.

Because we can sit up there, we can talk, we can show them everything that we know. But, it’s going to take individual effort when we leave. So, individual effort to continue learning what we’re talking and putting it into practice.

And it’s tough to come out in a one-day stint and take in so much information. Because, like we talked about, there’s going to be six, seven stations. And they’re going to get fed a lot of information over a short amount of time.

So, if kids were smart, they would come out with a little small pad and paper and just take as many notes and learn as much as possible. Because this is a game where you’re going to learn a lot and it happens so much, you’re going to forget a lot. And when you take in a lot of information, you can’t just suck it all in and it just sticks and we’re good.

So, it’s hard to expect a kid to come in for one day, take in everything that he’s heard from six different people, seven different people, and then immediately put it into practice. That’s pretty much impossible. So, the fact that we’re here giving them something, giving them information.

If they can take one or two things away, maybe three. And if they’re writing it down, they can take in a lot more. But if they can focus on one or two things and continue to work on those, it will be a success.

Answer: Well, my background kind of helps the decision easier. My background helps me make the decision. My dad’s from Aruba.

I have a lot of family in Aruba. So, giving back to the kids from Aruba was an easy choice.

Answer: I think we got a lot of guys with a lot of experience. I think it will benefit the kids to see guys that have done it on a professional level. I’m excited to see what the skill level is going to be individually with each kid, but I’m excited to see where the kids are at in Aruba.

I’m excited to help them maybe take the next step. You might know the basics, but if you already have that in the bag, I’m excited to work with guys and hopefully help them get closer or get to that next step where it could be more effective with certain skills. So yeah, I’m excited to help them go from A to B.

Answer: Actually, I think the hitting side, because that’s my power side for myself. So that’s why I’m here to teach all the kids the hitting side. So I think that will be my power side.

Answer: Well, my background kind of helps the decision easier. My background helps me make the decision. My dad’s from Aruba.

I have a lot of family in Aruba. So, giving back to the kids from Aruba was an easy choice.

Answer: Well, I think in baseball, baseball is one of the toughest sports for the reason is, offensively, if you’re successful, you still probably fail 60% of the time. If you hit 300, you succeeded 30% of the time, that’s pretty good. And being an athlete and competing, it brings up a lot of emotions, because you want to do good, you know what you’re capable of, and it can bring a lot of frustration when you’re not performing.

So if you know how to handle your emotions and how to channel it the right way to best help your abilities, it would be really, really beneficial.

Answer: I think we got a lot of guys with a lot of experience. I think it will benefit the kids to see guys that have done it on a professional level. I’m excited to see what the skill level is going to be individually with each kid, but I’m excited to see where the kids are at in Aruba.

I’m excited to help them maybe take the next step. You might know the basics, but if you already have that in the bag, I’m excited to work with guys and hopefully help them get closer or get to that next step where it could be more effective with certain skills. So yeah, I’m excited to help them go from A to B.

I was optimistic in 2023, Oranjestad started showing signs of revival, I thought it was the beginning of a good vision, turning Oranjestad into a center of residence and gastronomy, with private investors doing the work, and GOA as a permit/license facilitator.

It turns out the ‘fast track’ is slow but when you walk through town you notice that private investors are doing a steady job at opening vacation rentals, and eateries.

We’re on the right track. But overall, the shopping experience is na werki, though there is some talk about the plan to obtain a Culinary Capital Certification for Oranjestad, as one of the tastiest islands in the Caribbean, joining Grenada, which is already the first culinary capital.

Checkout: the certification process of oranjestad as the next culinary capital of the caribbean has begun

I was also optimistic about a great event, Oranjestad ‘s upcoming 200th year anniversary, celebrated with different festivities. Though I understand that not everyone agrees that Oranjestad was indeed established in the summer of 1824.

Stichting Rancho is making efforts. It dressed up a building at Nikki Habibe Plaza, and it has some old photographs on display. Where once great colonial architecture stood, only weeds grow, since the building was bouldozered.

A charla was supposed to unfold on Wednesday, July 24th, from 6 to 8. I showed up at 6:15. We were just two people in the audience. I waited a while, then trotted over to Olivia for a glass of wine. When I emerged at 7:15, a cool band was playing, grupo Makuto Bolingo, Grupo di Tambu Electronico. There were two dozen people in attendance watching a presentation, see video below! https://fb.watch/tyiexTf5_e/

I hope you make a bigger fuss, when I turn 200.

One of my friends writes:

Heard you were asking about the festivities for Oranjestad. Well, as naive as we were, we relied on the wrong people to make something beautiful happen. We were forced to make significant changes to the original event we were planning for the community of Aruba.

Initially, we had ambitious ideas for a grand celebration. Unfortunately, we had to reassess these due to lack of true commitment by GOA to financially support it.

Despite the generous support of some local businesses, the remaining amount for the down-scaled plans was still too much, and we couldn’t reasonably expect the Aruba Tourism Authority to cover all of these expenses.

Furthermore, there has been limited enthusiasm from other involved parties, and we feared the risk that GOA will not arrange for permits, safety & security services, or cleaning and maintenance.

We waited for answers, and waited, then given the short timeframe, we felt the success of the event cannot be guaranteed and therefore, decided not to proceed with what we dreamed of, for August 24, 2024, our designated anniversary date.

However, we are not abandoning the idea of hosting a celebration altogether. We are currently exploring alternative options.

The Aruba Tourism Authority will be organizing AUTENTICO, a culinary festival in October, as part of restaurant week.

From the brochure: In line with A.T.A.’s aspiration of driving prosperity for Aruba through sustainable tourism development, Niche Tourism is an integral approach in helping the destination achieve this goal. As part of A.T.A.’s strategic niche development plan, culinary tourism has been identified as a key opportunity to position Aruba as a unique tourism destination. Aruba’s culinary scene has undergone a big transformation in the last decade, where cultural diversity and high-quality offerings give the destination a unique advantage. To continue to promote Aruba as a culinary destination, the A.T.A. will focus on short and long-term niche product development.

AUTENTICO will unfold in Oranjestad, from Nikky Habibe Plaza to Pepe Margo distillery, and will offer food, drink and entertainment.

Bloom at Fantastic Gardens, Caya Cuida bo Cura 14, closes 5:30pm.

I used to say that coffee is an unexploited niche, no more, we now have good coffee places, not just coffee, sweets too, and delicious light lunches.

At Fantastic Gardens besides everything you would need for an award-winning backyard, Bloom has a good-looking barista and 100% home baked cookies and cakes by Rebecca Maduro, yes, the heiress is a proficient baker. And her brother Ricky makes a beef-soup every Saturday, worth lining up for.

Among standout desserts, the Blondie, balancing sweet with a touch of salt, thickly frosted Lemon Squares, moist and squooshy Banana Bread and Carrot Cake. In the cookie department, Oatmeal, Oatmeal Raisin, and Amaretti, competed with the Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookie for my attention. I got all three.

In case you decide to tie the knot: This is the ultimate source for traditional Bolo Preto, but order in advance to allow the fruit to soak.

I made a mental note to try the Thunderbolt Lemonade: A tall glass of lemonade with a shot of espresso, a unique blend of tart, sweet and bitter. Brrrrrr.

Among sandwiches, the chicken salad is especially popular – home made, and the Bloom special salad serves the broodje gezond ingredients with a balsamic vinaigrette.

First coffee and cake, then shop for gifts, or potted plants.

@FantasticGardens @Bloom

T2Pan Sourdough Boutique, at Caya Taratata 11, 7am to 3pm.

The boutique has been open for a few weeks and keeps calling my name. You should know that from now on, you can no longer find the baked goods of T2Pan at farmers’ markets. They have an outlet now, with an exhibition bakery and a retail counter run by a lovely barista. Two picnic tables outside allow you to enjoy your loot, on the spot.

Baker Zaida Everon expanded — moving from her garage, in which she worked a successful boutique bakery since 2020, to a comfortable, bigger space. I predict it will soon be too small.

Check out their breads, and pastries. The other day I had a mini baguette sandwich with a slice of salami, cheese, tomato and arugula, which inhaled itself. I also, on another occasion, wolfed down an almond croissant, and went straight to heaven. I am determined to go through the entire menu.

First get a piece of cheese & spinach quiche, a slice of fruit tart, or pie, next, zip into Splash N Dash to wash your car.

@splashndash @T2Pan

In 1996, the news of the groundbreaking ceremony for a local brewery at Balashi surprised many who thought the business could not be sustainable, after all how much beer can we drink?

They were wrong.

With an investment in excess of 20 million florin, Meta Corp. collaborated with German partners on the proposed venture. They combined some of the best drinking water in the world, Aruba’s, with the latest German technology, to produce Balashi, a world class product for local consumption and export.

It made perfect sense. Meta Corp., already owned the local Coke filling plant, Tropical Bottling, and Balashi’s production line happily shared the space with the world’s most popular soda brand, one side of the plant brewed, boiled and chilled, the other mixed and filled. They both used the amazing bottle washing machine and shared modern canning and labeling capabilities.

Ten years later, the brewery was inspired to create Chill, and launched it successfully during Carnival season. How did the name come about? Nobody remembers, it must have grown organically on brewers, and locals, because Aruba’s new beach suds were enthusiastically received and wholeheartedly embraced, a game-changer in the local market, giving all foreighn beach beers a run for their money.

In 2018, while the taste remained exactly the same, the brand became brighter. The logo received a distinct sun surrounded by rays of sunlight, where before the wave could have been a sun. The cursive lettering became more playful and distinct, the blue-hued bottle was replaced by clear glass and best of all the label became transparent. The inscription on the back of the bottle minimized, but still carried the Keep Aruba Clean message.

Sold in sunny bottles or cans, with the clear label, Chill now jumps off shelves easily, landing into open hands and supermarket shopping carts, even before being invited in.

So do our tourists drink Chill, while the local crowd sticks to Balashi?? Or maybe it’s the other way around, both brands are popular in the market and sister Magic Mango, became the fastest growing beer here, adored by women, loved by men.

So what’s the secret of the brewery? Made in small batches, always fresh, no sugar added, and most distinctly, found in Balashi, right next to the water desalination plant, with world famous water and boutique attention to detail.

Balashi Chill & Magic Mango are now the “greenest” beers on Aruba, successful at recouping over 90% of its bottles, thanks to a generous bottle return policy, and an ultramodern bottle washing and recycling operation, saving many empties from the land fill.

The Balashi brewery is now a fully automated environment, with tight quality controls, all products bear the Aruban flag, so consumers are protected, they know where their beer is from, they know it’s fresh with no additive, no food coloring, deep golden in color, soft on the tongue and the nose, and easy on the foam cap.

As its tag line suggests: “Take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footprints behind.” Please help us keep our beaches clean by bringing back all your empty bottles. It pays to be sustainable.

“Balashi is more than just a beer,” says Rowald Werleman, Marketing Manager, it is part of our life and culture in Aruba.”

From a press release: Balashi beer is a national product made right here in Aruba for our residents and tourists. Using only the finest ingredients available in the world, such as 100% barley, 100% hops, and one of the best waters globally, which is our Aruba water.

Balashi beer has won two gold medals, one for taste and one for quality. It is available in over 1300 locations across the island, including most bars, supermarkets, as well as hotels and casinos.

The brewery is one of the most modern production facilities in the Caribbean and produces beer based on traditional German methods but with a local touch. In 2018, Balashi underwent a rebranding, and in 2021, it introduced the “Tapa Cora,” which resulted in a successful project by Balashi National Brewery.