As talented as some young locals players are, "when they sign [with] professional baseball, they still have a lot to learn, said Marquez, the Dodgers' scout whose organization has signed several players from Curacao in the last two years. The islanders have some built-in advantages there, too. The nation offers one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean, and state-funded education is compulsory from age 4 to 18. The country has three official languages — Dutch, English and Papiamento, a Portuguese-based Creole language. Many people speak Spanish as well, learned largely by listening to radio and TV broadcasts from Venezuela.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 26, 2018 18:00 UTC