Sport in the Dominican Republic
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Sports are a central part of the culture of the Dominican Republic, and have been practiced in the whole country since the native inhabitants were living in the island. Sports play a key role in the culture and makeup of Dominican Republic society.[1] Baseball is the most popular sport on the island country and Major League Baseball has been recruiting players from the Dominican Republic since the 1960s.[2] Basketball, football, volleyball, and boxing are other sports played in the country.
Baseball
Baseball is the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic today.[3][4] After the United States, the Dominican Republic has the second-highest number of baseball players in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Although the sport was first seen in Latin America in Cuba, baseball began to flourish in the Dominican Republic when the United States Marine Corps occupied the island from 1916 to 1924.[1] The first players of the game in the Dominican Republic were the upper-class Dominican boys who studied in the United States and played the game of baseball when they returned to the Dominican Republic. In the early 1900s, there were two baseball clubs named Nuevo Club and Ozama that were head and shoulders above the competition. However, a group called Licey emerged and it would become one of the finest sporting institutions in the Dominican Republic.[1] With the arrival of Licey in 1907 thousands of people showed up for their games with the other self-organized teams in the country. They became great entertainment for citizens from all economic backgrounds. In 1912, Nuevo Club won the first baseball championship in Santo Domingo. Between the years of 1907–1920, the sport of baseball was played in the Dominican Republic for fun and the players played for "the love of the game."[1] However, in 1921 the teams began to collect money from spectators and the championship game that year brought in over $7,000 and commercial pressures led to the sport becoming a semi-profession in the Dominican Republic.[1] Rafael Trujillo became president of the Dominican Republic in 1930 and he helped baseball soar in popularity as the sport gained a political connection.[1] By the end of the 1930s, many of the finest Negro league players from the United States and Cuban players played baseball in the summer in the Dominican Republic as they were paid a fortune in order to come play.[1] Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947 and soon after teams from the MLB began sending scouts to watch Dominican Republic players play.[1]
Between 1955 and 1980 there were 49 players from the
Historian Alan Klein wrote in his book Sugarball, "Nothing typifies the new direction of Dominican baseball as much as the baseball academy, an institution rooted in the increased presence and benevolent paternalism of North American baseball interests in the country."[2] The first baseball academy in the Dominican Republic was built in 1977 by Ralph Avila. In his description of baseball academies in the Dominican Republic, Klein wrote "What the academy does in working with the Dominican players goes beyond teaching baseball skills. They teach career preparation, socialization and how to cope with the cultural changes they will face in the United States."[2] Campo Las Palmas is the best is the best-run academy on the island and it is owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers.[2]
The Dominican Republic has its own baseball league, the
The Dominican Republic has participated in the Baseball World Cup, winning one Gold (1949), three Silver (1942, 1950, 1952), and two Bronze (1943, 1969), placing it seventh, right after Puerto Rico's one Gold, four Silver, and four Bronze. (Cuba holds a record twenty-five Gold, two Silver and two Bronze.)
The country also participated in the
Although thousands of players from the island have played in MLB, only 4 have been inducted into The National Baseball Hall of Fame. Those players are Juan Marichal, Vladimir Guerrero, David Ortiz and Pedro Martínez.[7]
Football
Recently, football has seen growing successes in the Dominican Republic, notably with the Dominican Republic national under-20 football team qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the country's first-ever major FIFA appearance. Dominican Republic will also compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics for the first time as well, thanked for the U-20 team's result in the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
Basketball
The Dominican Republic has had a quite successful
The National Federation of Basketball holds every year a professional league, the National Basketball League, LNB (Spanish: "Liga Nacional de Baloncesto"). The National Basketball Association (NBA) have some players who represent the Dominican Republic, such as:
- Francisco García, guard–forward for the Sacramento Kings; first round pick in the 2005 NBA draft
- power forward, third overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2007 NBA draft
- Karl-Anthony Towns, center, first overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2015 NBA draft.
- Ángel Delgado, center for the Los Angeles Clippers, went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft.
The country hosted 2005 FIBA Americas Championship.
Boxing
.Volleyball
Volleyball was introduced by U.S. Marines in 1916.[10][11] The first international competition came in 1934 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti with the Caribbean Volleyball Tournament. The most important goal for the women's team was winning the gold medal at the 2003 Panamerican Games. Starting from 2007, the
Many Dominicans play at international clubs in America, Europe and Asia, like Brenda Castillo, Bethania de la Cruz and Elvis Contreras.
Olympics
The first Olympic participation was in
Pan American Games
The Dominican Republic hosted the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. The United States finished with the most medals. The games featured 338 events in 35 sports.[citation needed]
Central American and Caribbean Games
Dominican Republic hosted two Central American and Caribbean Games, the editions of 1974 at Santo Domingo, and the 1986 at lshit.[citation needed]
Other sports
Luis Castillo, defensive end played in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers. Castillo was the cover athlete for the Spanish language version of Madden NFL 08.[16]
Rugby union is a minor sport, but there is a Dominican Republic side, which has played at least one international.
Other sports include combat sports of judo[3], and professional wrestlers Arcadio Brito, Jack Veneno [4] and Bronco # 1.
In 2014,
Historical sports
Though no longer played much,
Stadiums in the Dominican Republic
# | Stadium | Location | Country | Capacity | Tenants | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | 27,000 | Atlético Pantoja, Bauger FC, O&M FC | |
2 | Estadio La Barranquita | Santiago de los Caballeros | Dominican Republic | 20,000 | ||
3 | Estadio Cibao | Santiago de los Caballeros | Dominican Republic | 18,077 | Águilas Cibaeñas | |
4 | Estadio Quisqueya | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | 14,469 | Leones del Escogido, Tigres del Licey | |
5 | Estadio Julián Javier |
San Francisco de Macorís | Dominican Republic | 12,000 | Gigantes del Cibao | |
6 | Estadio Francisco Micheli | La Romana | Dominican Republic | 10,000 | Toros del Este | |
7 | Estadio Tetelo Vargas | San Pedro de Macorís | Dominican Republic | 8,000 | Estrellas Orientales |
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 0-88736-566-3.
- ^ )
- ^ "The Secrets Behind the Dominican Republic's Success in the World Baseball Classic and MLB". Forbes.
- ISBN 1-84353-497-5.
- ^ )
- ^ "Miami, WBC are big winners as Team USA, Dominicans set records for attendance ... and volume". miamiherald. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
- ^ "The Hall of Fame members". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ FIVB. "2008 World Grand Prix Dominican Republic Team Roster". Retrieved 2009-11-01.
- ^ Dominicana On Line. "Voleibol" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
- ^ FIVB. "FIVB World Ranking – Women". Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ FIVB. "FIVB World Ranking – Men". Retrieved 2014-11-15.
- ^ TOKYO 1964 Organizing Committee (November 1, 1964). "Official Olympic Report, 1964 Tokyo Volume 1 Part 1" (PDF). Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVIII Olympiad. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link] - ^ "Marileidy Paulino's Olympic run is a historic win for the Dominican Republic". NBC News. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ Shanahan, Tom (2007-03-24). "San Diego Hall of Champions – Sports at Lunch, Luis Castillo and Felix Sanchez". San Diego Hall of Champions. Archived from the original on 2007-05-05. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- ^ "Though no accurate accounts exist of cricket's history in the DR some speculate that West Indian immigrants brought cricket to the Dominican Republic in the late 19th century.""A very simple form of cricket was continued to be played and would morph into a street game played by children called "la plaquita." "