Dominican baseball player Carlos Marmol looks for bounce back year, and farms in the Dominican Republic

Carlos Marmol had an off year last season.  After a huge 2010, when he averaged 15.99 K/9 innings, the Dominican Baseball anointed Carlos Marmol best closer in baseball.  But last season he led the MLB in blown saves with 10.

Marmol is looking to rebound, and spent the off-season working on his farms in the Dominican Republic.  Marmol has been around farms his whole life, and went into the business professionally with his brother a few years ago.  Together they own three farms in the Dominican Republic, 700 head of cattle, as well as horses and chickens.  They sell beef and milk, chicken and eggs, and horses throughout the Dominican Republic.

Farming and ranching is perhaps one of the biggest industries in the Dominican Republic.  Virtually all the beef, milk, chicken and eggs, as well as most of the produce, consumed in the country is sourced locally.  This is due, like most of the problems in the country, to lack of infrastructure and an underdeveloped economy.  It is easier to bring the goods to market if they close.  The roads and ports make it difficult to import large amounts of food items, and if international companies cannot import large amounts of goods, it is not worth it to them.

The new age struggle of processed and prepared foods versus locally sourced foods is not even an issue in the Dominican Republic, because the infrastructure is not there to import large amounts of cheap goods.  The Dominican consumer get hurts because they have have almost no options in regards to fresh food.  Non-nonperishable items are imported in large scale and are readily available, especially in the capital and Santiago.

And so it goes.  The process of growing an economy is a complex process.  I am just the Dominican Baseball Guy, and I am not schooled in macro-economics.  But what I know is that developing countries lack basic infrastructure like electricity and roads, and businesses and schools cannot develop without these infrastructural elements.

The Dominican Baseball Guy is also, not in any way, blaming Carlos Marmol or other Dominican farmers for anything.  The people need these food items, and the local farmers are the ones that must provide them at this point.  So saludos to Carlos Marmol and his brother.  The Dominican Baseball Guy wishes them all the best with their three farms in the Dominican Republic.  Carlos is from Bonao, Dominican Republic.

Dominican baseball player Carlos Marmol owns several farms in the Dominican Republic,
photo by Phil Roeder on Flickr