Baseball in the Dominican Republic

Many people know the Dominican Republic for its baseball due to the fact that hundreds of professionals are from there, but how did baseball there become so infamous in the first place? In the second half of the nineteenth century, Cuban foreigners who were fleeing the Ten Years’ War introduced baseball to the Dominican Republic. The first recorded game was on Sept. 25, 1886, in San Pedro de Macorís between the two Cuban teams Santiago de Cuba and Angelina. As the game continued to grow in popularity towards the beginning of the twentieth century, the country's most famous professional team to date, the Tigres del Licey, was founded. In fact, the Tigres were so dominant that multiple clubs formed together to combat this, forming Leones del Escogido. Despite many events such as this one happening in the early years of baseball’s existence in the Dominican Republic, professional baseball was primarily played in summer months in unorganized leagues. It wasn’t until 1955 that baseball officially switched to fall/winter schedules and the Dominican League (LIDOM) was established in its current form. It was around this time that scouting the country began to increase, especially after the debut of Osvaldo Virgil Sr. who was the first Dominican player to play in the MLB. This gave light to many eminent players such as Juan Marichal and the Rojas Alou brothers Felipe, Jesús, and Mateo who were scouted and signed straight out of the Dominican Republic, which are just a few of the huge 895 Dominican-born people who have played in the MLB. Nowadays, many of the Dominican MLB players are rich in talent with four Dominican players in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, seven Dominican MVPs, and four Cy Young Awards. Baseball is also the most played sport in the Dominican Republic by a long shot. The Dominican Republic is renowned for its vibrant baseball culture, which has developed through a remarkable journey to achieve its current status.