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Last week, the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice was asked a question in Spanish at the press conference after a game.
He answered in Spanish.
Rice grew up in Massachusetts and started learning Spanish in sixth grade. He continued studying the language at Dartmouth before professional baseball served up a different kind of classroom.
In the Yankees’ minor league system, Rice started out behind the plate as a catcher. And who was he catching?
A bunch of talented pitchers from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and other parts of Latin America. He heard Spanish every day and began picking up the words, phrases, and regional differences his teammates used.
Not only did this make him more likeable and a better teammate, but it also made him a better catcher. Effective communication wasn’t a nice-to-have; it was a must-have.
When Rice walked to the mound, he may have needed to talk about pitch selection, mechanics, strategy—or maybe even the steakhouse they were going to after the game, if the pitcher needed to relax.
Speaking Spanish meant those conversations didn’t have to stop because his pitcher wasn’t comfortable having them in English.
And while you may think “the five tools” are all what matters in reaching the Major Leagues—hit for average, hit for power, good glove, good arm, and speed—talent scouts, coaches, and General Managers will often tell you the sixth tool is most important: Makeup.
And by makeup they mean the intangibles: good teammate, good communicator, great attitude. In short, someone who helps build the culture and makes those around him better.
That certainly matters in Major League Baseball because, on Opening Day 2026 rosters, more than a quarter of MLB players were born outside the United States. The Dominican Republic alone accounted for 93 players, with another 60 from Venezuela.
Walk into a Major League clubhouse and you’re walking into a multilingual workplace.
Sound familiar?
After his recent interview in Spanish, Rice acknowledged how much concentration it took to get through a short exchange in his second language.
Think about that for a second.
Now imagine doing your job that way.
Sitting through the morning huddle.
Listening to safety instructions.
Talking with your supervisor.
Trying to explain a problem.
Getting feedback on your performance.
All in your second language.
For many Spanish-speaking employees in our industry, that’s just a random Tuesday morning.
There’s a leadership lesson here that has little to do with baseball.
The best leaders remove barriers to communication before those barriers become problems.
Ben Rice spent years practicing Spanish with his teammates and coaches. That investment gave him another way to build relationships, earn trust, and do his job better.
You don’t need to speak perfect Spanish to do the same.
Learn the names of the tools your crew uses.
Learn how to ask whether someone has a question.
Learn enough to start a conversation and be willing to make a mistake.
Because when communication affects trust, safety, and performance, removing the friction that exists between talented teammates is part of the leader’s job.
Ben Rice figured that out behind the plate.
The rest of us can learn something from him by getting out from behind the computer.
Thanks for reading.
We’ll see you back here in two weeks.
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