English teacher helps Hot Rods on and off the field

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.-Playing baseball in the Minor Leagues is a tough feat to achieve in itself. 

But can you imagine speaking a different language than everyone else?

“It’s actually very tough, most of the players on the field we play speak English. Not knowing English makes it harder to learn the schedules,” said shortstop Osleivis Basabe. 

That’s where Erika Lawless steps in. She is the English Second Language teacher for the Hot Rods. 

“Just from interactions here at the stadium, I’ve heard several English speaking and American players that know some Spanish and can communicate with the players in Spanish, so really they’re working in both languages to have that,” said Lawless.

Lawless is a Spanish teacher for South Warren High School. When she heard about this opportunity, she jumped at the chance. 

Basabe is one of Lawless’s students. He’s from Venezuela. 

“Being from Venezuela, it helps me grind as a player, be a better person and get to the majors,” said Basabe. 

Learning English helps them communicate with their teammates better during games and practices. 

“We talk about baseball in class too, what happened in the previous game, who did what, how did that go, did they win, did they lose, they’re able to talk about those things and then talk about it with their teammates and coaches later,” said Lawless. 

And not only is it great for them to know on the field, it helps them off the field as well.

“Say not all of them make it to the big leagues, or they find a different path they want to go on outside of baseball, they now have this asset of speaking English that can help them in any career,” said Lawless. 

I asked Basabe why it’s important for him to learn English. 

“For baseball, for my family,” he said.