When it comes to submitting blog articles, I hate getting personal. Travel logs? Yeah, I’ve been guilty of submitting a few of those. Maybe they are interesting to some, or to my family, but the average Joe could care less. So with that in mind I have tried to contain my excitement over a personal family situation that has something to do with the Dodgers.

Quick version: My wife was born in Nicaragua though she has lived in the U.S. since age ten. She has a lot of family still in her native country including her cousin, a baseball player and the all-time home run leader in Nicaraguan professional leagues. A man by the name of Stanley Loaisiga.

Even though Stanley hung up his spikes a few years ago, he is still well known in baseball circles in his country. He played minor league ball in the Montreal Expos organization and on a few Pan American tournament teams and international tournaments. (I even have a photo of him applying a tag on Shane Victorino in a game against the U.S. … somewhere). He now manages in the Nicaragua professional league.

Stanley has two sons:

• Jonathan, a 21-year old pitcher that was signed by the Giants in 2013 and last I know was playing in the Dominican Summer league. He put up good numbers, (8-1, 2.75 ERA, 1.107 WHIP, 68.2 IP) but he appears to be out of the game now, as he didn’t play last season.
• Mike, a 17-year old switch-hitting, quick-footed middle infielder that is maturing at a quick pace. At his young age, he has already represented his country on under-21 national teams in tournaments in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and China.

Mike Loaisiga recently attended a try-out camp in the Dominican Republic where he showed off his skills in front of scouts from several major league teams. After the try-out session it appeared that there were no takers and he returned home to Nicaragua a bit disappointed. But his disappointment didn’t last long.

On Monday, international scout Luis Molina – who covers the Panama and Nicaragua regions for the Dodgers – signed Mike Loaisiga to a minor league contract.

“We saw a young man with a great work ethic and a hunger to achieve in baseball,” said Molina of the young shortstop. “We are sure that he’ll go far in the organization.”

International scout Luis Molina welcomes 17-year-old shortstop Mike Loaisiga to the Dodgers as his mom look on. (Photo credit – Jorge Torres)

Although terms of the contract were not announced, Mike will most likely begin his professional career with the Dominican Summer League Dodgers who begin play on May 30.

So that’s all I’ve got. I’ve never met the kid though a few years back while visiting in Nicaragua, I attempted to do a blog piece on the family. Unfortunately Stanley was away in Guatemala on a tournament and Mike was only 14 years old at the time. Maybe next year I’ll make the trek back down there and meet up with them. Meanwhile, I’ll watch from afar hoping that his progression in the minors is steady and positive.

Truth of the matter is his chances of making the big leagues are quite a long shot, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

It’s all about chasing the dream.