Getting that degree – Part 2 – Ubaldo Jimenez

Our second story about education, the lure of the money, and why the two can co-exist involves a young man whose family made possibly an even harder decision than Ty Warren.

Ubaldo Jimenez, a rising star pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, is from the Dominican Republic, clearly the greatest producer of MLB talent per capita than any other locale in the world. Many of the players coming from that country are from very modest means. Frankly, most are quite poor.

In an enlightening story from By Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, you will learn how Ubaldo’s parents insisted that he finished high school, prepared him early on for a life that maybe did not involve a pro playing career, and instilled in him values that you hear when he speaks about his long-term goals.

There are a lot of factors that would push parents of a gifted athlete to take a nice upfront lump of money.  For some families, basic survival may be the one and only factor. But peer pressure may also come into play, for both the parents and the player. We applaud the foresight of Ubaldo’s parents in making what must have been a difficult decision. We are confident that no matter how his baseball career turns out (things look really good for him), he will be successful in life.