Roy Hobbs Baseball is more than 700 teams across the USA, Canada, the Caribbean and in Europe, representing more than 9,000 players.
Roy Hobbs Baseball is people who love the game of baseball and have determined that anyone can play the greatest of America’s team sports regardless of age. Since the founding days, Roy Hobbs has expanded its view to include all ages from 30 to 75 and over.
Ron Monks has been involved with Roy Hobbs Baseball since very beginning. Not only was Monks on the original board of directors but he also was the man who coined the name for the organization. Monks sold Hobbs to Tom and Ellen Giffen in 1992. Monks started Hobbs in the 1980s, when he resided in Woodland, Calif. Now, he lives in Odessa, Ukraine.
Monks has brought a Ukrainian team to the World Series. He’s spreading the gospel of baseball in this faraway land. Why? He’s been in Ukraine nearly seven years and believes bringing a team to the World Series will grow the sport there.
“Try to get their enthusiasm level jacked up a little bit,” Monks said. “That will translate into them doing more to help the kids coming up because they started playing when they were kids.”
It was a long trip getting here, flying from Kiev to Istanbul and then to Miami and driving across Florida late Saturday night. Lee County facilities amazed Ukrainian players such as Raidel Arbelay, who is originally from Cuba. He said he kissed the CenturyLink grass and wants to grow the sport he played as a boy in Cuba.
“I never imagined 65-and-older, 70-and-older, 75-and-older. Unimaginable that first year.” – Monks said. He couldn’t have imagined expanding into Ukraine, either.
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