At that first game in the Dominican Republic in 2005, I was standing at 3rd, ready to wave runners around as we mounted scoring rallies.  I had made this trip to coach a team of high school and college aged players that I had helped assemble. As an afterthought, I had taken a small glove repair kit with me. On this day, I asked the interpreter, Otto, if he would ask the other team if anyone wanted a glove repaired. Just before the game started, he brought Hector's glove.
Hector's glove was in shambles. Two rips, shoe string, rotted leather strands and regular sting with padding coming out all over describes it. Ignoring negative advice, the bus driver, Otto and I started the repair job. It got so hot in the dugout that we moved to the stands to do our work after an inning or two. As we worked, we were swamped by about 35 youngsters (6-12 years old), each wanting to get his glove repaired or reconditioned.
The resulting glove repair party was a blast as we used our limited supplies to bring a glimpse of happiness to this group of youngsters. As we worked hard and fast, and as we showed we cared, we connected with these beautiful kids.
After the game, Hector came over to pick up his glove. I gave him his glove, now looking pretty decent, and I took a brand new, Alex Rodriquez model (about $150 retail) glove to throw a couple with him. As he tried his glove out, I asked if he liked the repair job. He did. I then took his glove to try myself and asked him to use my new one. After a few tosses, I asked Hector if he wanted to trade his old one for my new one. He was hesitant, so I asked him if the old glove had belonged to his grandpa or someone like that. He said it had not, it was just that he loved his glove. So, I asked him to ask his teammates. When he turned to ask them, they all laughed and told him he was crazy if he didn't trade. He traded and I came home with Hector's glove. (Hector's reluctance to trade his worn out glove for a brand new one, shows how important a kid's baseball glove is to him).
We had a great time that day. The kids were great, laughing and cutting up with us as we made our way to our bus. We had connected in a special way; the glove repair session was the spark. We herded our team onto the bus. As we coaches got on last, a young boy, probably no more than 6 or 7 ran up to me, got my attention and gave me a big hug (The Hug)! As I looked down, I saw a face and smile that were immediately and forever etched onto my brain and heart. I can't forget that day.
Since that time, I have returned to the D. R. many times, not to coach but instead, to repair gloves. Today, Wes Lecroy and Bob North join me as we report to the stands at each game to repair gloves and interact with the kids. At every game, we spend the entire game time repairing gloves and even with 3 of us working, we are never able to finish the pile of gloves put before us.
To date, we have repaired over 1000 gloves and given away over 500 gloves, but have not made a dent in the amount of work needed. We need your help. Our needs are: new and used gloves, repair items and finances for the trips.
We are now a Surgance Program. As Surgance, we are aligned with other programs, groups and individuals to faciltate needed community changes.
SURGANCE: UNCOMMON PARTNERS, COMMON GROUND, REMARKABLE RESULTS
Dave Audia, Program Director
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