Bonus Episode: Upcoming Tours

Welcome to Chatter Up presented by Extra Innings Travel. I am your host Shane Barklay and today we have a special tour update episode. This is going to be a quick run through of upcoming tours that we have with a focus on the couple that are imminent, uh, the Dominican Republic in November and Okinawa NPB spring training trip in February. We want to do these episodes from time to time to keep our community informed of the latest info on our global baseball tours. So, we are going to jump into it right now. And with me as my co-host to help us get through this tour schedule is Mark Gent. Mark, thanks for joining us and I will pass the mic to you. Thanks, Shane. Appreciate it. Uh excited to look ahead to the last adventure of this year and then also for us to uh look at what's on the docket for 2027. So, if you're listening or if you're watching and you hear something, you want to learn more about it, just reminder, go to our website, extrainings.com, and you can find all about the tours. Uh, but first up is the Dominican Republic Winter Ball Adventure. It's November 11th through 22nd. It leaves. It is 6 weeks away. So, but if you're thinking about, you hear this and you're thinking about going on this uh trip with us, it's not too late. Shane will help put it all together for you. But just a little bit about this trip. It's divided up into two segments. You may hear and be like, "Oh, that's a really long trip." But it's divided up into two segments. You can go to either the first, the second segment, or you can go to the whole thing. Seven games, local tour guides, a lot of excursions, cultural experiences. But Shane, for you, if uh people listen, people already know you or listen to that first episode. Dr. has a special place in your heart. You lived there for two years when you worked for Major League Baseball. And um you also fluent in Spanish. You've spent good amount of time there. And this is a trip you've done before. So, uh, tell us just for you personally before we get into the nitty-gritty. What is it you enjoy most about this trip? Well, I want to, uh, go back first of all, my history goes all the way back to studying abroad in the DR. So, I have a long history, um, in the country. And so, selfishly for me, I love just returning to my second home. But, of course, that's not necessarily the uh, the appeal for our guest. for our guest. For me, I mean, you mentioned a rundown of what we do on this tour, but the thing that really I think sticks with the guests that we've um that have traveled with us in the past, and this is um our let's see, we started in 2020, so I guess this would be our seventh trip to the DR. And every time, the thing that catches our guests off guards is they don't realize how much we take a deep dive into the Dominican baseball machine. I think most of our guests, they're interested in seeing the winter ball down there, you know, the Dominican Winter League. And uh we hit up those games and kind of build our tour around attending those games. But those games are all night games. And during the day, um we do cultural stuff, you know, sightseeing, historical things, but most of the focus is on baseball stuff that's not winter league games. It's sometimes amateur baseball. It's the developmentmies of the MLB teams. It's meeting with different characters uh both on the more formal MLB side of things or we visit the official MLB bank and learn about the economics of baseball in the Dominican Republic. Uh we visit the MLB league office and um the officialmies. Every team has an academy down there. Then we also visit with these independent trainers who are helping to develop the players starting at really young ages and creating the um the foundation of this ultra productive baseball development system. And uh there's been a lot of um I'll just say no other way than kind of bad news coming out about the Dominican Republic. It's there's there's problems with this system. Um there are kids being taken advantage of financially and um but there's also so much good of this system. Like it's it's a really interesting topic and we go down there and we learn all about it and you come away. My goal is for you to really understand the complexity of this system that really is the a primary source of talent in Major League Baseball. And uh yeah, that's that's kind of what I like sharing with people and and it's all the people who I like to meet down there and introduce our guests to. Yeah, that's that's phenomenal. Uh talk about like you you've met some had some really interesting encounters over the years cuz when you're going uh down to the DR, especially this time of year, not only may you run into current players, but former players. Give us a couple of uh names you've that the tour has met in the past and it's always just like happen stance. It doesn't h didn't not planned, but uh yeah, inside and outside the ballpark, who are the few people you've met? Yeah. So, the cool thing about being in the DR in the offseason is all the Dominican players go home. And I mean, the Dominican stars are the biggest stars in baseball. And uh we've been lucky enough to run into them as a tour group. And the cool thing is that when you run into these guys in the DR, their guard is down. They're in their home country. They actually think it's cool that Americans are coming down to check out their home country. And uh so yeah, to name some of those names, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Sodto, Johnny Quaido, O'Neal Cruz. Um these are all guys that we literally ran into like at a gas station RI joint for a bunch of them. Um but or at a gym and and uh you know, I try to put us in situations where it might happen, but you never know. Um, and sometimes we meet up with former players intentionally, but it's really those chance encounters that uh are the most memorable ones. And um, you know, with Sodto and Tatis, they were so nice to our group and they were taking selfies and signing autographs and um, yeah, it's pretty cool how many guys you run into. And then some of the names that are playing in the winter league down there will really uh, surprise you. You know, some blasts from the past and then it's they're accessible at the ballpark there. uh you know guys like Robinson Canó, Albert Pooh played down there when our tour group was down there. So it was cool to see him playing in his his last year. So yeah, the biggest stars are are all down there. That's for sure. That's great. That's great. So that will not be part of the official itinerary, but if it happens, uh just a freebie, just an add-on. Um, you know, one thing about this, it's not just you, uh, and Jesse leading the group down there, but you have local tour guides as well, like you do in all the uh, trips that we take. But tell us a little bit about, uh, like the local tour guides, like um, they're I mean, they are like the heartbeat of this operation when it comes to helping make these trips happen. Totally. Well, Patchi is our main tour guide down there. Francisco Castillo is his full name, but everyone calls him Patchi. Everyone has a nickname in the DR. And uh so Patchi um I mean he's just this incredible human being. He was a product of that Dominican system I told you about. He was a really good prospect as a youngster and he was kind of discarded by the system because his representative kept asking for more and more money and he was never able to really pursue his dream as a professional baseball player. So his insights into how this system works are are really personal and um and like complete in how he understands how it all works cuz he went through it. And on top of that, he played baseball in the States. It um and so he he kind of like has the full spectrum of of the baseball experience. Um he's from a humble little town called Pantoa, which we always visit on our trip. and our guests. Um, I love going down there as a guide and I like to think that I do a good job, but Patchy uh is definitely the draw. Um, guests absolutely fall in love with him and and we have a few other people who help us out. Um, but yeah, I'll just since we're trying to keep this thing quick today, I'll just talk about Patchy and and yeah, he once you get to know him, you're gonna want to come back and he's like family. Yeah. And uh what about the accommodations? uh whether you go on segment one, segment two, uh I've heard you talk about some of them that are pretty uh picturesque, but uh tell us just real quickly about some of the accommodations uh that the group when they're thinking, oh, where are we staying? What are we doing? Like you've got that all taken care of well in advance, places you've stayed many times. Yeah, these are all hotels that we we know very well and and I love them all in their own way. The first tour, segment one, uh it's more of an urban uh baseball adventure. We're in Sto. Domingo and Santiago, the two main cities in the country, and we're spoking out to the countryside and to places along the coast and whatnot. But we're staying um at business class hotels uh in Santa Domingo. We're right on the water. Uh this beautiful hotel has an awesome pool with ocean views, very comfortable, epic. All these hotels have epic breakfast. Like kind of unreal. uh with all the fresh tropical Caribbean fruit and um and Dominican breakfast, which is a whole another conversation that we don't have time for today. Um in Santiago, we're in the heart of the city and this kind of fun hotel that has a casino and restaurants and cigar lounge and all sorts of stuff and also a great pool of course. Um and then the best hotel is definitely Juanolio. That's segment two. It's a boutique seaside resort. It has its own private beach. Um it's I call it a screen saver beach, you know. It's got it's just so picturesque. Um I try to as much as I want to pack in baseball and food and all stuff. I I do try to pack in or I try to a lot for some free time at the hotel in Janu. It's called Kasa Hemingway, named after Ernest Hemingway who spent a lot of time in the Caribbean. And uh it's kind of just this tranquil ethereal just beautiful place. And the each room has a deck and a living room and a kitchenet. It's it's like you kind of never want to leave. So, uh we spend the entire segment too at that hotel Kasa Hemingway. You just sold a lot of people on the trip by describing the hotel. They might have listened to the baseball, but the way you just described that last hotel, they are placing their deposit now. Um so, uh if somebody is listening, thinking about going, uh what is anything else you want to share? um they can go on the website and see what are the dates for segment one, segment two. You've done a great job describing about the baseball and uh things outside uh the ballpark, but anything else you want to share for people who may be uh thinking about this kind of last minute jumping aboard. Well, I'd say first of all, if you want to learn more, just like you said, check out the website. We have past trip recaps there. You can see pictures and recaps of what we do. And um you know, I I promise it'll be the trip of a lifetime. So, if you're considering it, I know it's last minute. It's it's going to be, like you said, we're about 6 weeks away. Um, it's not too late, though. We're still accepting bookings if you'd like to join, especially for those who are basically like Atlanta and East. It's a super easy flight. And all you do right now is get your flight and then once you're there, we take care of the rest. So, um, we wanted to talk about this on this episode because if someone's like, "Hey, I want to extend my baseball season. and it's after the World right after the World Series when this trip is. Of course, there might be a lockout next year. So, it's like let's keep as much baseball in 2026 as we can. And um just get your flight to Sto. Domingo and then we'll pick you up at the airport. It's transportation, accommodation, food. Food is a huge part of our tour. Uh we eat at all the places I want to eat and we always have this joke, is this a baseball tour or food tour? Because uh it is a food tour in a way. So, um, yeah, you don't really need to worry about anything. Uh, once you pay for the trip, uh, you're basically on your own for meals at the ballpark and souvenirs. And so, um, we'll take care of the rest. And I'd love to have anyone jump aboard. That is one of the great things about going with Shane and extra innings as, uh, you book your flight and you just show up and go and sit back, relax, and enjoy some baseball. So, uh, at the very end of, uh, the segment two, um, we have the play abroad trip and, uh, we've talked about play abroad in in the first episode, of course, but we have some kids and families coming from North Carolina. Uh, they're going to play against locals for about a week, but give us a uh, give us an idea of what the play abroad's about, just so people know that's happening. That's not part of uh, this fan tour. It's just a add-on for extra innings. Yeah, we're uh we're hosting a group. We have 12 players and their families and they're spending Thanksgiving week with us. Um I'm going to be there with Jesse, my wife, and my two kids, and my mom and dad and brother. We're all going to do Thanksgiving week. So, it's going to be a tropical baseball Thanksgiving. This playroad ship's going to be full of baseball cultural exchange. We're going to be giving back to some the local youth programs. And a lot of this group who's traveling with us from North Carolina. This it's from North Carolina and other parts of the country, just kind of the core groups in North Carolina, but it's all individuals who signed up and a lot of them came to Japan with us last year and they had so much fun where they said we got to come back. And I had so much fun with them in Japan. It's just a great group. The people who come on our play abroad trips, it's like baseball families who are adventurous and it's just my type of people. So, it's going to be a great week. It's great. Uh that is fantastic. Well, let's fast forward to February. We have our NPB spring training tour in Okinawa February 18th to 24th. Uh are accepting bookings there. You can go online and make your deposit, but um you know, and you mentioned this earlier, but our baseball very well may be delayed here in America next year. Uh but the rest of the world will not be having a labor issue and they won't be fretting over a CBA like a lot of us uh here will. So you can go to Japan with us and get your fix. But uh what is spring training like in Okinawa? Well, I'd say it's for anyone who went to spring training back in the day, it's what the Cactus League and Grapefruit League were. Um you know, I'd say like in the '9s and prior. Uh it's a lot quiet. it it's quiet, it's relaxed, it's full of like passionate baseball fans who are really hardcore. Um it's you know you're close to the players. The stadiums are tiny. It's not a um you know nowadays I mean spring training is great still but games are selling out. Tickets are expensive. Like you can't just um be right there on the dugout like you used to be able to do. And so Japan spring training is a throwback. you're in the island of Okinawa, um, which is way south of the main island of Japan. So, a similar concept of, you know, the weather of course dictates that they got to start their training, uh, further south, closer to the equator. And, um, it's not a big tourist destination in Japan. I mean, people go, Okinawa is a tourist destination, but spring training itself is not like how it is in the States where like the hardcore people are like, "Oh, it's the best thing to do." You know, only a certain select group goes. So, we're kind of in the know when we're there, you know? It's like it's it's it's cool because it's a little bit of a novelty when people see a group of American baseball fans and the the locals um are all like kind of they want to take pictures and talk to us and like what are you guys doing here? And so it feels like kind of in on a little secret when we're down there, which is really awesome. And for those who normally go to spring training and know what I'm talking about, um and some people a lot of people in our community go to spring training off maybe every year. And uh the the the thing is is next year there's probably not going to be spring training in in Major League Baseball. You know, I hate to say it, but like there's probably going to be a lockout and hopefully they won't miss any regular season games, but I think there's a good chance they cut into spring training significantly. So, if you want to guarantee to get your spring training, we'd be happy to have you join us uh next February to Okinawa. And they just have incredible baseball in the NPB. I mean, look at the influx of players that we've received over in recent years. So, uh, you may go and if you're if you're not a fan of the MPB right now and don't know many of the names, you have plenty of time to study up to see who you're going to go watch. And they may or may not ever come to the States, but if they do, um, they have sent us some amazing talent in recent years. Yeah, we we uh saw Munitaka Murakami in his last spring training in Japan before coming over to the White Socks. saw Roki Sasaki in his last spring training in Japan before coming to the Dodgers. Um, so it's yeah, it's and our guides are NPB experts and they'll tell you who the guys are. Terraisto is kind of the big name. He's for the Honing Tigers. People are all MLB fans are hoping he comes over and and we always make a point in visiting Tigers camp. So yeah, it is a great way to to feel and then when you have those pictures, it's such a bragging right when you're back in like look at this. I saw him play in Japan in Okinawa spring training and and uh anyway, so yeah, that's a that's a great point to call out. Well, go to the website, check that out. Uh a $600 deposit. You can go ahead and secure your spot. You be in touch with Shane and the team to work out the details. And that is just like four and a half months away. Four or five months away. All right, we wanted to focus most of this episode on those two trips uh to the DR and then to Okinawa. But we have six more adventures next year that we just want to quickly run through so that you're aware of them. They're also on the website. In May, uh we'll be going back to Japan for the NPB tour. This is the flagship uh trip that Bob Bevesy started uh in 1999 under Japan Ball. And then in June, we have a group going to Korea for the KBO. This is a adventure that we've done for a few years now. So, uh that's a couple of backtoback. Also in June is the Alaska Midnight Sun Game. Uh and I believe that is on June 18th next year, the summer solstice. And that is a really unique uh trip uh where there's not only that game where the sun doesn't go down, but also some before and after. Uh July 23rd through 26th, we'll be in Coopertown with Sports Travel and Tours as we partner with Stat. And that's going to be another Hall of Fame induction ceremony weekend like Extra Innings did in 2025. And then in September, we're going back to Japan for another NPB tour. We call this our mini tour. Uh just because it's not as long and we don't go to as many stadiums. And then next November 2027, you can count on it. We'll be going back to the Dominican Republic for another Winter League uh excursion. And uh that will wrap up our 2027. So people listening to all this now u as they look ahead to what next year holds, they can slot their extra innings baseball mostly international adventures on their calendar. Yeah, thanks for running through those. Um I should mention we do still have play abroad offerings next year. Most the most of them are full teams who are already booked, so that's why we're not mentioning them here. But I do expect to have a Dominican Republic Thanksgiving trip again next year which will will be open to individual players and their families to sign up. So stay tuned on that. And so to stay tuned on all these trips and if you're interested in going any of them on our website, we do have interest list and interest list make sure that you can hold your spot on the trip and also uh helps you keep in uh keeps you informed of any news or info that comes out about those trips. Generally speaking, just signing up for our newsletter uh which is on our website at the bottom of the page, extrainings travel.com. That will make sure that you get all of our general uh news and information that we send out. Um of course, uh we appreciate you following us um online on social media. Extra Innings Travel is our handle. And then if you want us get more of these tour updates, which um Mark and I expect to do from time to time as we open up bookings and whatnot for other tours, then make sure you're subscribing to us on whatever podcast platform you are listening to us right now. Uh so Mark, thanks so much for doing this and uh thank you everyone for listening and hopefully you will want to sign up for one of these tours and I will be traveling the world with you on some baseball adventures. So, uh, thanks for listening and we'll see you at the ballpark.