Same Sport -- Two Different Worlds

By Olivia Huckaby

Tare Joshua (TJ) Cordero, a Saint Augustine’s College senior with a heart for baseball, has lived in two cultures and so he can draw a picture about his journey from one country to another. Since the age of four, baseball has been a part of that picture in both of his worlds.

“Every since I hit the ball, it grabbed a part of my heart,” he said.

TJ was born in Santo Domingo a small city in the Dominican Republican. Although the U.S and the D.R share the same sport, the cultures that are behind the game are very different. TJ has lived in both worlds with baseball tying them together. TJ’s family later relocated to Virginia when he was 14 years of age so that he could pursue his career in baseball. TJ was the nickname given to Tare by his high school coach.

When TJ first arrived in the United States he struggled with the very different and new language. It was very difficult for him to pronounce certain words; he also confused words like “across with crossed”. With the help of his teammates and coaches TJ was able to understand English and speak English more fluently. TJ’s native language is Spanish, so learning to speak English is what he called a real task.

“English was so hard for me; it was like a whole other world,” said TJ. It took him a lot of time and practice to get it down pat; he has come a long way from when he first came over.

He traveled back and forth between the Dominican Republic and Virginia and then decided to stay in the United States permanently when he was 20 years old because he was considering playing professional baseball. He later injured his shoulder, which probably ruined his chances of becoming a professional baseball player.

What made him keep going; why didn’t he give up? “I love this sport that I knew I had a place in it somewhere.”

He was prepared to take any steps necessary to accomplish his goals. One step was to go to college. He had a friend at Saint Augustine’s College so he came to St. Aug in the fall of 2007. He was able to play baseball at Saint Augustine’s until the first semester of his junior year.

As disappointing as his injury was, he didn’t let that obstacle get in the way of his overall success. TJ is currently in therapy for his arm in hopes that it heal so that one day he will be able to play again.

TJ said he would trade anything for American fields and that if he hadn’t come to America he doesn’t know what he would have done. He said that in the Dominican Republic it’s so much harder to get somewhere and his parents knew that he had a better chance of going to the professional league if he came to America.

When TJ thinks about the differences between the two cultures he has experienced, he thinks first about scenery and weather.

“The whole atmosphere of the Dominican Republican is a lot different; the scenery is like no other,” he said. He said it is nothing but pure beauty; it looks like something out of a magazine. The weather is always warm. It rains often but other than that the sun is always out.

“America has the weirdest weather ever,” he said. The first time he bought a coat was he was 15.

The other differences he talks about come from his love of baseball. He said that the equipment in the U.S. is much better. For example, the bases in his country were made of some cheap sponge looking material. He said the stands were also poorly put together. The fields in the U.S. are so much better that his love of the game grew even more once he started to play on them.

Even though TJ’s shoulder injury keeps him from playing, he still shows love to the team by coming to practices and attending the games. “Whatever life may bring baseball will always be part of me,” TJ said.

TJ says the voyage from one country to another has made him a better person and that he has learned so much since he has been here. He says he wouldn’t trade his experience for anything.

“I have truly tasted the best of both worlds,” TJ said.