"We're letting you go."
Kumbufu didn't flinch. "Alright. Thank you for the opportunity." He hung up the phone and let out a deep sigh. He looked around his hotel in Indianapolis where he moved to earlier in the month after getting a minor league deal to join Yellow Springs' minor league team. The 29-year-old hadn't played in a game at that point in the 2056 season, and he was headed back to the free agent market. He's currently seen by the OSA as a "40" overall, decidedly below average, but certainly not out of the realm of being worthy on a BBA roster.
Kumbufu put on his best suit, spoke to his agent, and waited. This was Kumbufu's third team in the Brewster, having spent the past seven years toiling in the minor league systems of New Orleans. He'd signed a deal in April with Rocky Mountain that ended similarly before quickly re-signing with Yellow Springs. He never suited up for either org.
At age 29, Kumbufu should be in the prime of his baseball career, but instead, it feels like it has never started. While many others would've given up after toiling in the minors for so long, Kumbufu is playing for something other than himself.
As far as anyone knows, Shamseeden Kumbufu is one of the few players from the Central African Republic to suit up for a BBA organization. Tullu Kampibe was signed by the Tuscon Cactus in 2028, but his career fizzled out in the 2030's. There are no known records of players from this small country making their way to the game's highest level. It's this desire to represent his country and put it on the map play a role in pushing him forward.
Central African Republic is a land-locked state in, you guessed it, the central part of Africa.
With 2056 winding down, Kumbufu risks having his first season without any playing time since his career began in 2042 as a high schooler. We caught up with Shamseeden Kumbufu to hear more about his story and what keeps him going despite these setbacks.
"You want to prove people wrong, you know? You want to show you can belong," Kumbufu shared. "I've been given opportunities few others in my country have been given. I want to make good on that opportunity."
Central African Republic's lack of baseball prowess is no accident. When Kumbufu was born in 2027, CAR was among the poorest countries in the world, among the lowest on the human development index and GDP per capita. Its economy is predominantly centered around the export of rough wood, and is known for its gold and mineral deposits.
"When it comes to sports, most of us care about football. Or soccer, as the Americans call it. We've produced a few teams in the past that won tournaments in Africa. Baseball is virtually unknown."
Kumbufu, from the small region of Alindao, was always a bit unlike his peers. He showed an incredible ability to adapt to different situations, allowing him to pick up new topics quickly. As a youth, he played football and frequently switched positions, showing an ability to learn the nuances of the game and each role on the pitch. His proclivity to quickly pick up new things and excel earned the attention from teachers and administrators in Alindao and later the broader republic.
"I wouldn't say that thought I was, what's the word, a prodigy?" Kumbufu shared holding back a smirk. "But they felt I had potential."
Kumbufu would earn a scholarship to study abroad in the US for high school. While his scholarship was for academics, he also played football (now referred to as soccer by his peers).
"I initially struggled," Kumbufu shared. "I did not know English. I spoke Sango and French. I recall talking to another student on the soccer team about Sango, and I thought I was mispronouncing 'mango'. No one had any concept of my homeland or could point it out on the map. To most of the Americans, I may as well have been from outer space."
Nevertheless, Kumbufu adapted. He put in the work to improve his English and did his best to fit in. It was halfway through his first year in school that he discovered baseball.
"I remember sometime in January of that year, my first year at the school in the states," he reflected, "I saw boys wearing hats and high pants playing this game. I was immediately engrossed by it. I think I stood and watched for an hour, just trying to understand what I was seeing."
What he observed, of course, was baseball. When he described this to his teammates on the soccer team, they explained to him more about the sport.
"It was unlike anything I'd seen. I wanted to try it. So I tried out."
Kumbufu went to try outs. He'd never played baseball. He had no idea what was needed, just that he wanted to give it a try. His coaches were skeptical of the foreign youth with broken English, but were willing to give him a try. His first coach taught him the basics.
"I remember holding the bat the wrong way," he laughed. "My stance was all awkward, my swing looked like Charles' Barkley's golf swing. I was a mess! Pretty quickly they decided I should try pitching, but I think that was mostly because they were short players in the bullpen."
It was when Kumbufu first stepped on the mound that he felt something he hadn't felt before. There was a sense of calm. The physical distance he felt between him and the batter mirrored the distance he felt between himself and his peers. All eyes were on him, much like the stares he endured throughout the school and wherever he went. No one truly understood where he'd come from or his experience. Although the pressure was squarely on him, he never let it bother him.
"I love being on the mound," he said, speaking as though it was a friend he hadn't spoken to in years. "I spent most of my time trying to adapt. Trying to fit in. On the mound, I almost immediately felt it was okay to stand out. It was okay to be different. I'm the only one throwing the ball. I could be alone, standing there, and it was expected. I could put my own spin and flare, do my little leg kick. It was here where I felt for the first time in America that I belonged."
Baseball soon took over Kumbufu's life. While he played soccer in the fall, he'd focus on baseball in the spring. Despite his burgeoning love for the game, he didn't have illusions of grandeur. He wanted first and foremost to get a job and send money back to his family. While his baseball performance was decidedly below average throughout the league, he received an offer to play for Consol Energy, where he did for 3 years while earning his degree in agricultural science. It was during his collegiate years that baseball became his main passion. He never allowed his grades to slip, but he was increasingly drawn to the prospect of a career in America's premier baseball league -- the Brewster.
"In high school I thought baseball was a hobby, you know? It was something I did for fun. I knew a few guys who were drafted, but they were seriously good. Davenport Hinkle is a household name. I pitched to him my first season. Ray Johnson and I did long toss together quite a bit. I never really expected my career to go anywhere. Scouts didn't come to see me."
College was different. Scouts were everywhere and the seriousness with which other people took the game also increased. Kumbufu player a more central role on those Consol Energy teams as a starter. After his 3rd year, he received a call. New Orleans was taking him in the 12th round.
"It was an unreal experience. I finally felt seen." Kumbufu shared, reflecting on that moment. "It was a moment of validation for me. As an immigrant with limited support network, it was as though I was being told 'yes, Shamsedeen, you belong. You can do it.'"
Kumbufu toiled in the minors with New Orleans for 7 years, going as high as AAA Havana in 2055, but he never got the call to the majors. His parents have already pressured him to look for a "real job" before his visa expires. Kumbufu isn't ready to give up on his baseball dreams yet.
"After working on the mound for so long, the idea of doing anything else feels foreign," he laughed. "Maybe I have a chip on my shoulder. I know my road's not been easy, but I've had the opportunities to be here. I want to get on the big stage to inspire others from my country: You can do it too. But first, I need to do it myself."
The right hander's age 29 season is winding down. A soon-to-be 30 year old on the free agent market with no BBA experience is unlikely to get a look. But the ever-adaptable Kumbufu isn't going to stop trying to be the first from his country to do it.
