From: Greg Spira <gregspira@...>
Subject: [Business of Baseball] Astros to close Venezuelan Academy - MLB.com
To: businessofbaseball@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 8:57 PM

HOUSTON -- Twenty years ago, the Astros were the first team to start a
baseball academy in Venezuela, and since then, dozens of products from
that grassroots undertaking have gone on to enjoy successful and
lucrative Major League careers, including outfielder Bobby Abreu and ace
left-hander Johan Santana.

But the Astros are preparing to close the Academy, opting instead to
shift the players who would normally live and train there and
participate in the Venezuelan Summer League to the United States, where
the club is adding a Minor League team to play in the Gulf Coast League.
Other players will move to the Dominican Republic, where the Astros are
upgrading an academy that they hope will eventually include multiple
baseball fields and dormitories on the site.

http://houston. astros.mlb. com/news/ article.jsp? ymd=20081216& content_id= 3718999&vkey= news_hou& fext=.jsp& c_id=hou

te.<br>
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