Roberto Campos He had a lot on his shoulders as a teen baseball phenom, including learning English.
Campos, who spoke without the help of an interpreter, revealed to the Detroit free press On Wednesday, March 5, he used some north -American pop music to perfect his English skills.
“Thank you, Taylor Swift“, Said Campos with a smile as he was in the tiger spring training in Lakeland, Florida.
Campos, now 21 years old, was only 13 years old when he moved to the United States since his native Cuba to chase his dream of becoming a professional basketball player.
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When he was 16, he signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers, which included a $ 2.85 million bonus. At that time, it was the biggest bonus that ever given an international free agent for the franchise.
After signing with the tigers, Campos was assigned to play baseball in the minor league for West Michigan’s Whitecaps in the organization. Whitecaps play Grand Rapids suburbs, Michigan, approximately 160 kilometers north -Detroit.
It is enough to say, it was a cultural shock for Campos.
“My Latin friends said,” Hey, brother, you must learn English because it is difficult when someone speaks to you and you don’t understand anything, “Campos said to The Detroit free press On Wednesday, March 5, Tigers Spring Formation in Lakeland, Florida.
So, Campos decided to take questions in his own hands.
The camper said to the Free press He saw action films and comedies on Netflix with the activated subtitles, put his phone in English and saw videos to try to learn new words.
He added, “It’s impressive. Sometimes I am in my room and say, ‘Man, I did it. Because when I get here, I said,` `I will never learn English because it costs a lot. But now, every time I can answer a question, I feel great. Man, inside me, I feel like, yes!’ ‘
Campos stated that his best ability to communicate with his coaches and teammates has made things much easier and more pleasant for the young athlete.
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“They treat me as if I were one of them,” said Campos. “I feel good every day I come here.”
All the hard work of Campos away from the field has not gone unnoticed by the Tigers organization; just ask the manager Aj hinch.
“It’s a good lesson for all of us patiently,” Hinch said, 50 years old Free press. “The acclimatization process is not just about learning about basketball. He has had to learn about living in a different country, in a different language and interacting with many different people. “
Hinch added: “It only feels as if it has taken a long time for our lack of patience as an industry, not for anything he has done or he has not done so.”