Baseball in the Dominican Republic
Baseball was first brought over to the Dominican Republic in the 1870's, when thousands of Cubans came fleeing to the island nation in refuge from the Ten Years' War. Along with baseball, Cubans also brought with sugar producing expertise that had made them the largest sugar producer in the Caribbean. Sugar immediately became the Dominican Republic's key money-making export, but baseball took a little longer to come around. At the turn of the century, many British of African descent came to the Dominican Republic from St. Martin, Nevis, Tortola and other islands whose sugar industry was collapsing as the Dominican cane fields were expanding. These Cocolos brought with them cricket and more organizational social discipline, which were inhereted from their British backgrounds. Cricket was an extremely popular sport in the Republic until baseball came to be the sport of choice in the late 1930s.
Why has baseball has long become the cultural centerpiece of the Dominican Republic? There are many factors to consider in answering this question. Because of the similarities to baseball, cricket can be seen as the launchpad for the what has truly became the Dominican nat1ional past-time. The popularity of cricket gave way to baseball which exploded by the mid-twentieth century.
A major element in the baseball evolution in the Dominican Republic is the socio-economic environment. The island consisteds of mostly workers of the sugar mills, which is completely seasonal harvest. During the winter months, also known as the Dead season, the workers did not have much to do. Baseball became the recreation of choice as practically every man and boy picked up a bat and ball to enjoy the game during their ...
... middle of paper ...
...te ownership deepened the divide between players and fans.
A rather simple answer is that baseball is their lives. Every boy grows up with a bat and a ball, and everyone gets a chance to play. Baseball in the Dominican Republic, in comparison to the United States, is baseball, basketball, football and nintendo rolled into one culture. I have to use the term culture, because baseball in the Dominican Republic has transcended the boundaries of sport. It has become an extraordinary part of their daily lives. Earlier in the century, the first championship games in Santo Domingo were attended by a crowd exceeding twenty thousand when the population of the city was slightly over thrity thousand. Baseball has evolved into a national culture in the Dominican Republic, with the enthusiasm and the passion for the sport in the Dominican Republic to only have grown since.
Baseball has been of the longest living sports in our world today. The game started with the idea of a stick and ball and now has become one of the most complex sports known in our society. Several rules and regulations have been added to help enhance the game for everyone. Although baseball has endured several issues during its history and development of the game the game has still been a success throughout the world.
Baseball to my way of thinking, is the greatest single force working for Americanization. No other game appeals so much to the foreign born youngsters and nothing, not even the schools, teaches the American spirit so quickly, or inculcates the idea of sportsmanship or fair play as thoroughly.
[3] Baseball then expanded itself and moved on to integrating young men of “means and social positions.” In the 1850’s, baseball had a tremendous power that engaged many people from the East Coast part of the country. It got artisans, tradesmen, and shipwrights to form teams and play against each other. These teams of working men played against other teams that were made up of socialites. Within these club teams, though, there was a lot of disagreement because the people who used to partake in these games were mainly from the New York and Massachusetts areas. There were many discrepancies between the New York rules and the Massachusetts rules. This then led to the founding of the National Association of Baseball Players on March 10, 1858.
I chose this topic because I thought that it was important to highlight the recent successes of the Latino baseball players to show how minority groups can prosper in America. Latino atheletes have gain notoriety and riches through the sport of baseball. These are things that they couldn’t have dreamed about achieving without Major League baseball. Major League Baseball has given Latin Americans the opportunity to better their economic and social situation.
Baseball was first introduced to Cuba in the 1860s by a few American sailors who were stationed in Cuba (Schur). During the beginning of the baseball age, Cuban citizens quickly accepted the game unto their culture and it became their most favored sport (McInnes). Prior to the acceptance of baseball, the Spanish had established bullfighting to be the leading sport of Cuba. During this time, Cuba was part of the Spanish colony which created conflicts between the natural-born Cubans and the Spanish authorities. Spain insisted on leaving the sport Bullfighting as the colonial sport because of their power over the island. Therefore, the Cuban people began to seek out baseball to initiate their process of gaining Independence from the Spanish. Baseball had been used as a significant source of revenue for the Cubans to afford to repel their relations with Spain (Wysocki). Eventually in the 1870s, they established an official baseball league in which they could formally compete (McInnes). There had only bee...
With about 83 players currently to in the MLB, 682 players since 1950, and so far 2 players in the Hall of Fame with much more to get inducted, it’s clear that the Dominican Republic dominates the game of baseball. In the Dominican Republic, baseball is the country’s pastime and official sport. Baseball doesn’t discriminate, regardless of gender, race, and economic status. In my personal view, baseball runs in the blood and embedded in the genetic coding of Dominicans. As a person whose mother and father are Dominican and born and raised in Miami, there seems to be little to nothing that connects me to their culture. Nonetheless, this Miami-born Dominican- American is proud to say that the sport I love the most can connect me to the Dominican
In terms of racial inequality in baseball there have been many eras of integration. Baseball originally is seen as America’s national game belonging to the white men of America. However, throughout history there have been steps taken in recognizing and integrating those groups deemed “less favorable” by the American community. These groups include German immigrants, Irish immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, Native Hawaiians, Native Americans, and Asians. America used the game of baseball as a tool to indoctrinate the American ideals and values of teamwork, working hard, and collaborating for the greater good into the cultures of the “uncivilized world.” These groups used baseball as a medium to gain acceptance into the American community as racially equal counterparts.
Most consider the sport of baseball to be America’s pastime. While many in the United States spend countless hours following or playing the sport, it is more than a diversion in the Dominican Republic; it can be the key to overcoming impoverishment. For most citizens of the island, poverty is the only known way of life. In 2015, 32.4% or 3.4 million lived at or below the national poverty line. The per capita income for the country in 2016 was $6,909.13, which is $45,285.76 less than that of the United States. In order to achieve their goal of creating a better life for themselves and their family, baseball provides Dominicans an opportunity for upward mobility. It is common for children in the Dominican Republic to grow up playing baseball, the country’s beloved sport, hoping to make their hobby a full-time job.
Professional baseball started in 1869 and developed into the game we know today as America?s past time. Baseball was a part of the American identity.
“America’s favorite pastime” is undisputedly baseball. Ever since the start of baseball in the United States in the late 1700s, baseball has been a game enjoyed by the majority of America. Baseball has not only had a profound effect on the United States but has spread its reach into foreign lands. Perhaps the most effected by baseball’s foreign outreach is the Caribbean. The Caribbean (mainly Cuba and the Dominican Republic) have embraced baseball as a way to a better life.
Baseball, America’s pastime, is embedded in the fabric of society. The players and teams have come and gone, but the thing that remains constant is baseball’s ability to unite people as well as families. My own personal experience of this came right after September 11th, 2001. Following the tragedy that was 9/11, the country needed something to help everyone return to normalcy. In our moment of weakness and uncertainty, baseball helped calm my nerves. Fifty three thousand three hundred and twelve brothers stood up in unison and took back their lives. The electricity of that game, the sense of regularity in my life, and the knowledge that millions of people were finding comfort together with me during such a hard time, helped me feel a sense of closure that the worst was behind us.
As a faithful follower and player of American Baseball, this topic was of extreme interest to me. The origins and history of a lifestyle that I have dedicated the overwhelming majority of my life to has always caught my attention. Baseball, being America’s national sport, is a crucial illustration to understand when discussing the overall societal circumstances at that time. One of baseball’s most important tasks was integrating the sport and allowing people of every ethnicity to have a chance to play the sport at an equal playing field. Although we now know that the efforts to desegregate baseball were ultimately a success, to what extent were the efforts a direct success during that time period? Did the unification of different ethnicities in America’s national sport have an effect on the amount of time desegregat...
Tygiel, Jules. 2001; 2000. Past time: Baseball as history. Oxford England; New York: Oxford University Press.
The Negro League was similar to the majors because they had an all-star game, league winners, a minor league structure, and a World Series. However, the conditions of players’ lives in the Negro League were very different than those from the white leagues. The players spent all day, every day to...
Baseball was first introduced into the American culture, by English immigrants in the early 18th century, and its popularity slow grew. It wasn’t until the Civil War the popularity of the game spread, and both Union and Confederate soldiers played baseball during lulls in the fighting. After Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, soldiers from both the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate) and the Army of the Potomac (Union) played baseball. (Schackelford Jul 4, 2009) This was the beginning of the American people love of Baseball began. It was also the first mention of baseball being the national game. During the bloodiest war in our countries history Baseball was there to help the two sides heal. It was another fourteen years till 1879 when Football would be invented.