History of Baseball in Sosua, POP, Dominican Republic Best DR MLB Players Estadio Tony Fernandez

Pelota, beisbol o solo dice "El Juego Perfecto". Sosua has a rich baseball history and today we speak with local veteran pelotero Rafael Rodriguez. We also listen in on Total Bases Podcast as they break down the best ever Dominican players in the Major Leagues MLB as we take a HD flight from the baseball diamond all over one of the most beautiful beaches and tourist destinations on Earth.
Once again the Dominican Republic made its case as to its status as the most powerful baseball talent producing country in the world . For baseball fans, the talent held by and success of Dominican players is not news. Other than the United States, the Dominican Republic has supplied the greatest number of MLB players in history. However, the factors behind these players' rise to MLB success is a story few know and understand.
If you ask those whose lifeblood is the business of baseball, they'll tell you that Dominican players have found success in baseball because of the counterbalance between two factors: The country's lackluster economic conditions and its solid baseball infrastructure. Adam Katz is the co-managing executive director of Wasserman Media Group's baseball division. Katz has worked as an agent for 29 years and during that time, has represented some of MLB's best Dominican players, including Sammy Sosa and Hanley Ramirez. "With the Dominican Republic, you have a well-built baseball infrastructure and some challenging economic conditions. Those factors foster an environment for talent. From the infrastructure perspective, they have a rich tradition of ball players, fields and instructors, as baseball is their national game. When you put this infrastructure and history in a place with the economic conditions of the Dominican Republic, kids see baseball as hope. There are people they know who have made it in baseball and made it off of the island to do very well financially because of baseball," Katz explained.
The Dominican Republic's economy is notable when considering how impressive its players' rise to baseball dominance is. "Scouting in the Dominican Republic has exploded, because players from there are not subject to the draft. Because of this, teams can sign the players relatively cheaply. This ability is another reason why you see more Dominican players on MLB rosters."
Part of the reason why the Dominican Republic's weak economy hasn't prevented its youngsters from developing their baseball abilities is because of MLB's extensive investment into the country's baseball infrastructure. Presently, all 30 MLB clubs have baseball training academies in the Dominican Republic. These academies not only groom players' baseball skills, but oftentimes include an educational component with many players living on site in dormitories. MLB teams began investing in Dominican baseball academies in the 1980s and in recent years, a handful of teams have spent a significant amount of money upgrading or building new facilities. Most recently, the Seattle Mariners broke ground on a new $7 million, 24-acre baseball training academy. Given the Dominican Republic's economic stature, the willingness of every MLB club to invest significant amounts of money into Dominican training facilities plays a key role in the growing number of Dominican players in the league. Since 1956, at least 542 players from the Dominican Republic have found their names on MLB rosters. Currently, 25 percent of the players on minor league squads hail from the Dominican Republic. "In order to perform, you need desire, knowledge and skill. Desire is the want to do it. Knowledge is the what to do. Skill is the how to do it. For Dominican players, the desire is there because they want the opportunity to have the American dream. From a knowledge standpoint, Dominican players are so accessible to the point that even if the academies weren't there, the kids would have access to the knowledge of great Dominican players. When you combine those things, you get the skills. That's the reason why they are so successful," Stewart explained.
The influx of MLB players from the Dominican Republic shows no signs of slowing down. "From what I see, I don’t see any reason why it’s going to slow down. Baseball is intensely popular in the Dominican Republic. On top of that, the country's economic conditions paired with a strong baseball infrastructure will continue to create interest in the game among youngsters. Pair that with the fact that teams can sign their players for relatively cheap, and we will continue to see many Dominican players rise in MLB," Katz said.
-Alicia Jessop/Forbes

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