'Beisbol' celebrity entertains to benefit softball
<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">HARRISBURG – His English may be broken, and his sports wisdom questionable, but YouTube baseball celebrity Domingo Ayala entertained a crowd Saturday at The Fieldhouse in Harrisburg to raise money for softball.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ayala, whose true identity has never been revealed, is an Internet sensation who appeared seemingly out of nowhere a few years ago. His YouTube channel, where he offers baseball “lessons” is a humorous parody of well-known sports clichés.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">He has appeared in a variety of different Major League Baseball events like the Home Run Derby. </span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">Saturday night, he stayed true to form, dispensing advice, with gems like “if you want to hit a home run, you have to hit it in the air,” and casually mentioning how he hits 85-90 home runs in a season, though he’s still looking for a Major League contract.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">“How many of you are in a slump?” he asked the crowd.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">He looked around the room.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Everyone should have their hand raised. Your coaches should have their hands raised, too,” he told the youngsters in the front rows. The crowd laughed in response.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">Saturday’s show was an idea that Brett Sullivan – one of The Fieldhouse’s three owners – cooked up after seeing Ayala’s videos online.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Basically, it came from watching the Internet,” Sullivan said. “I happened to see some of his YouTube videos, and they’re pretty comical.”</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">He and his business partners, Dean Reid and Barry McDermott, decided to contact Ayala’s agent to see if they could book an appearance. </span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">And though much of his advice is for laughs, the man with the ‘70s-era mustache and fake Dominican accent is a talented individual, Reid said.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">“He used to play pro ball, so he has the skills and fundamentals,” he said.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ticket sales for the show went to benefit Harrisburg softball programs, Sullivan said.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">“All of the proceeds benefit Harrisburg softball. It’s not just the high school team, or one specific age group,” Sullivan said.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">When The Fieldhouse opened on Nov. 1, a dream of having a large baseball and softball training facility was realized, Sullivan said. Now, the business offers individual training and lessons, team rental and camps. Plus, the space also may be rented, he said.</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">“We’re not in this to make a bunch of money,” Sullivan said. “We would like to be able to expand our offerings in the future. But the big thing with us is having a facility like this available to the kids.”</span></span>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: medium;">For more information, call The Fieldhouse at (618) 841-9327. For information about Ayala, visit </span>www.domingobeisbol.com<span style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span>