OKLAHOMA CITY – Junior outfielder and pitcher Leonel Bejaran-Specht from the Mid-America Christian baseball team received a once in a lifetime opportunity to share his journey with representatives from all 30 Major League Baseball teams at the MLB Winter Meetings in San Diego last week.
Bejaran-Specht was invited to the MLB Winter Meetings as a guest speaker to provide a testimonial to educators from all 30 Major League Baseball franchises about the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.), a grant program for current or former Major or Minor League Baseball players in need of assistance with nowhere else to turn.
"I got the chance to share my entire story as well as discussed what's helped me along the way," Bejaran-Specht said about speaking at the Winter Meetings. "I mostly wanted to inspire all of the MLB educators to let them know there are opportunities out there for players like me."
On the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 10, Bejaran-Specht discussed his entire journey, going through the step-by-step process of what led to him getting accepted at Mid-America Christian and how the B.A.T. greatly assisted him in becoming a student-athlete.
"I found out about B.A.T. before the start of the 2018 season at MACU and it has helped me tremendously, said Bejaran-Specht. "The program has helped pay for my full tuition and books here at MACU. Previously, the only help that I had came from my sponsor program. I am so thankful for everything B.A.T. has been able to help me with here."
The Santiago De Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic native's story began when he signed with the Dominican Republic's Summer League affiliate for the Kansas City Royals in 2014 when he was 17 years old. However, he found himself in a challenging predicament when he was cut from the team two years later in December of 2016, an all-too-common occurrence when it comes to MLB development teams.
Despite Bejaran-Specht's professional baseball prospects coming to an end, Jeff Diskin, the Director of Cultural Education for the Kansas City Royals believed Bejaran-Specht had a great future competing as a student-athlete in the United States, helping him develop a plan for attending college.
Bejaran-Specht received his break when he connected with Kyle Bradley, the Athletic Coordinator with Go Ministries in the Dominican Republic, who recommended the 5-10 outfielder and pitcher to MACU Head Baseball Coach Adrian Savedra. Diskin also reached out to Savedra to highly recommend bringing Bejaran-Specht on to MACU.
"Three years ago, Jeff, Leo and myself, we didn't know each other and this was kind of an experiment to see how this works," Savedra said. "But this school, this opportunity, it's really been a godsend for him."
Bejaran-Specht was accepted and joined the MACU baseball team, enrolling at Mid-America Christian University in the fall of 2017.
"I didn't know a whole lot of English when I started at Mid-America Christian, but the University was able to provide a lot of resources to help me not just learn English, but prepare me for student life," Bejaran-Specht said. "The Student Center has been such a valuable resource and the smaller class sizes has helped me form closer connections with my professors, who have helped greatly in my development."
"This has done a wonderful thing for Leo's life," Savedra added. "He found the Lord here in his first year, he accepted Christ as his Savior. He's found his wife here. He's excelled in the classroom and he's continued to get to play baseball, which is something he has loved since he was a kid."
Bejaran-Specht redshirted during his first season at MACU before seeing his first action with the Evangels during the 2019 campaign, appearing in 38 games and making 26 starts.
The speedy outfielder recorded a .346 on-base percentage, scoring 13 runs with six RBIs on a home run and a double. Bejaran-Specht's first collegiate hit was an RBI double against McPherson College on Feb. 2, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Bejaran-Specht also hit his first homer at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Apr. 27, 2019. On the mound, Bejaran-Specht made six appearances, recording a pair of strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work.
Bejaran-Specht has become a strong ambassador for Mid-America Christian since 2017, as the Business major isn't just a star on the MACU baseball team, but was also elected to the Student Government Association as the Senator for Athletics, representing MACU student-athletes within the student senate.
"It's been such an incredible journey," said Bejaran-Specht. "I've become a different person since coming to MACU and I feel like I've grown a lot. I've had so many life changing experiences here, which includes accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and also meeting my wife."
Prior to attending the MLB Winter Meetings, Bejaran-Specht was married on Nov. 27to the love of his life, Lauren Hope, a 2018 graduate at Mid-America Christian.
After Bejaran-Specht graduates from MACU, he wants to pursue a career assisting Major League Baseball with athletes that went through the same situation as him. The Dean's List Honor Roll student also desires to start his own athletic facility business after graduation.
"I'm interested in helping athletes finding opportunities to get an education here in the United States," Bejaran-Specht added. "There are a lot of players out there that don't know about the B.A.T. program and the opportunities available for them to get an education and continue playing baseball at the NAIA level."
"We hope to send Leo out into the world transformed, said Savedra. "He's going to be ready to tackle everything life throws at him when he leaves here."
Bejaran-Specht and the rest of the Mid-America Christian baseball team will be preparing to open the 2020 season with a doubleheader at home against Bethany College (Kan.) on Jan. 31. The opening game is slated for a noon first pitch at Jack Allen Field.
