Dennis Kasumba, an 18-year-old baseball catcher, caused ripples on the internet and quickly caught the attention of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft League. According to Africa News, Kasumba will play in a top-tier amateur baseball league in America this summer, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a young orphan reared in Uganda with dreams of becoming a professional baseball player.
After videos of his accomplishments went viral, the young athlete was discovered online. The 18-year-old is from Gayaza, which is about seven miles from Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
Kasumba developed and perfected his abilities before catching the attention of his scouts. Despite the fact that his worn-out catcher’s mitt and bat were taped together, he continued to practice drills at the neighborhood diamond.
In the lack of a professional gym, the 18-year-old resorted to utilizing concrete and abandoned vehicle tires as barbells, along with plastic bottles filled with water and taped to his legs for resistance.
Kasumba told Fox Sports that he started playing baseball because he wanted to throw a lot. He went on to say that, while there are other sports in Uganda, such as football and basketball, he selected baseball since it was difficult to get into and he like difficulties.
He revealed that he began practicing athletics at the age of eight, but had to stop because he needed to care for his grandmother. Kasumba had to drop out of school in order to work in an abattoir to support his family.
His mother abandoned him and his two siblings after his father, a military officer, was killed in the line of duty while fighting anti-government insurgents.Since then, he has been living with his grandmother.
When he was 14, he met John Bosco Sempa, his volunteer coach, who invited him to the neighborhood baseball field. Coach Sempa recognized the young protégé’s talent and asked him to demonstrate it on social media.
Kasumba claims that when he first started playing baseball, he had no idea what the equipment was. He hit with a tee as a bat and a stone as a ball until Coach Sempa taught him the proper equipment and how to use it.
The 18-year-old protégé stated that he began posting on social media while representing Uganda on the national team in Giza. Despite the fact that many people approached him, he was looking for new opportunities.
His efforts were not in vain; someone reached out to the president of baseball in Uganda via one of his posts.
Kasumba left for the U.S on May 28. Before his departure, Kasumba wrote on Twitter, “Today I’m starting my journey.” He said, “It started like a joke, but now I am going to [the] US for MLB. I am so excited.”
His coach, Sempa, expressed that “We want Kasumba to play in the highest league in the world, that’s our hope” and added, “As a coach, I’d love all our players to be successful. Kasumba’s news is not only for himself but for our country.”
Rene Rivera will be Kasumba’s coach in the United States. He aspires to be like Salvador Perez and Yadier Molina, and considers them mentors.
The Ugandan athlete claims he wants to be the first Ugandan player to play in Major League Baseball. To work hard to become an MVP so that MLB will choose him, and in turn, to support his brothers in Uganda who are also baseball players.
He attributes his diligence to his desire to assist his grandmother. Even after he had placed the films online, he would travel to the field to practice in hunger.
When Kasumba touched down in Atlanta, U.S., his first question was “When can I start?” the Frederick News Post reported. His motivation to set a standard and break records keeps him driven.
Axios noted that Kasumba holds great skill; his pop time – which is the time between catching the ball and getting it to the second baseman – is 1.89 seconds, which beats the MLB average of 2.00 seconds.