When I founded the No Bats Baseball Club thirty years ago, I had no idea we would grow into the extraordinary organization the years have ordained. Yesterday, Easter Sunday, we partnered with Baltimore’s Oriole Advocates to outfit every child on the island of Bimini, Bahamas to play baseball if he or she desires. This is over-the-moon tremendous for reasons extending way beyond just fostering the sport. Baseball builds character and these young people will prove it.
Like No Bats, the Oriole Advocates are charity-centric volunteers who do good deeds through baseball. In this case, they chose to help us complete a project we have been working on for more than a year: cleaning up and restoring the tiny island’s baseball field post-hurricane, and acquiring the uniforms and equipment required to return the island’s athletic youth to the diamond.
Located just 50 miles off the South Florida coast, Bimini is an idyllic lily pad for a tropical vacation. Popular with divers, anglers, and curious explorers, this gorgeous island of slightly more than 2,000 residents first entertained Ernest Hemingway in 1935. Hemingway visited and stayed often through 1937 and was on-island when he wrote To Have and Have Not.
My first visit was in May of 1991 to fish for bonefish in the flats with Bonefish Rudy, who loudly berated me for casting my baited shrimp directly atop a big bone’s head after he specifically told me not to throw it too close. On subsequent trips I switched to legendary guide Ansel Saunders, a remarkable living legend who befriended Dr. Marin Luther King and builds exquisite wooden flats fishing boats by hand from native woods found on North and South Bimini. I was living in North Miami back then and seaplanes over several times, each time staying in Hemingway’s old room at the historic Compleat Angler hotel. In January 2006 the Angler burned to the ground in a devastating fire that took the life of Julian Brown, who perished making sure a guest escaped safely.
Bimini is a baseball playing island, its field tucked beside Ansel’s boathouse. I first took a team of guys over there in 1992 to play the locals. We had a great time and friendships were formed. Leonard “Brave” Stuart and I have remained close to this day and was the point man for us with this initiative. All of us have special places in life and Bimini is one of mine.
Baseball is a team game played by individuals and all who play, young and old, take turns being hero or goat. Regardless where the games are played, the ball has an uncanny knack for randomly finding everyone. Being able to fully outfit this generation of children to keep the Bimini baseball tradition strong and vibrant warms the soul. For this I thank Brave, the Oriole Advocates, and all the guys in No Bats. Teamwork produces great results. Charity teamwork goes even further. Charity teamwork changes lives.
Through the years, No Bats has helped raise and donate more than $2.2 million to a wide variety of noble causes, a number we persevere to keep growing. I am proud of what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.
On your next visit to South Florida, do yourself a favor and cruise or fly over to Bimini. You’ll love the place…and the kids playing ball will love to see you cheering them on.
Ocean Palmer