Domingo Ayala, the self-proclaimed “best baseball player in the world”, visited Northern Virginia over the weekend and Monday to perform his signature comedy shows during the Northern Virginia Travel Baseball League’s meetings at Westfield High School.
Ayala has become an ambassador of the game of baseball and travels the world teaching kids the game he loves, with his own unique style. He posts instructional videos on his YouTube channel that has over 100,000 followers, and his most popular video, ‘How to Hit a Home Run’, has nearly 2.3 million views.
Our Josh Belanger sat down with Ayala after his autograph signing session on Sunday for what was an entertaining Q&A session with the 2-time Rookie of the Year, 7-time Infielder of the Year and 6-time Outfielder of the Year.
NOVA Baseball Magazine - How has your first trip to D.C. been so far? I heard you had some plane troubles.
Domingo Ayala - “It’s been pretty good. You know it’s a little difficult to get here, but once I am here it is nice. The plane didn’t want to take off.”
Mag - Have the Washington Nationals reached out to you about joining their team?
Ayala - “The Nationals no say nothing yet. They want to see because if they give Bryce Harper $500 million, they are going to have to give me at least $700-800 million. So, they got to see if it’s in their budget.”
Mag - You gave the kids a lot of information about baseball and the right way to play it. What was the most important thing you taught the kids today?
Domingo - “I end up with the three things: the hard work, the confidence, and the teamwork. That’s the most important part because that’s what’s going to make them a good player at the end of the day. And of course, they got to pop the chain.”
Mag - You also gave the kids a lot of drills to work on. What is your favorite drill you do every day to sharpen your skills?
Ayala - “I like to practice bat flip because you got to let the scout know you hit a home run all the time. And double play. I like to do the double play because that way you can do the double play quick and you can look at the whole crowd to say ‘every time.’
Mag - A lot of kids this spring will be hitting their very first home run. What is your advice to them as they round the bases?
Ayala - “My advice to them is to practice what to do after they hit a home run so even though it is their first time, everyone that is watching may not know it’s your first time, they may think you do it all the time. That’s the most important part is to let everyone else know you do it all the time.”
Mag - Who has the best batting stance in the MLB?
Ayala - “Man, that is a good question. If I was in the MLB, it would be me of course. I no look so much at the batting stance, I look at the finish because the finish is where you hit the home run. And that’s what matters, man. It don’t matter about your stance, it matters about the home run.”
Mag - Sunflower seeds or bubble gum?
Ayala - “I try to combine them. I do the the sunflower seed and the gum at the same time because they say if you can do that, you can do anything.”
Mag - What's your go-to flavor?
Ayala - “I like the regular Double Bubble. You can’t go wrong.”
Mag - From your brief time in the minor leagues, do you have some experience riding on buses?
Ayala - “I rode the bus a couple of times, but now I take a private jet around. But I know how to do it.”
Mag - Can you give some advice to the kids who will be riding the bus for the first time with their high school teams?
Ayala - “First of all, they have to be the first ones on the bus to pick their seat. If you the last one on the bus, you get the worst seat. You have to pick the best seat. You got to make sure you bring enough snack to last you the bus ride depending on how long the drive. And then make sure if you going to cross the border, don’t forget your passport or else you will get left at the border and you don’t want that to happen.”
Mag - In your opinion, what is the key to a championship team?
Ayala - “I like to tell all the Major League teams that are trying to get me, the key to the championship team is getting me on the team. But if you can’t get me on the team, it’s just making sure that you got teamwork. Because if you no play as a team, then it’s not going to matter unless you got me on the team.”
