The Importance Of Baseball In The Dominican Republic

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.

Many Dominicans dream to make it to the big leagues to break free from the inevitable poverty of their country. The road is long and requires many stops, such as training academies and the minor leagues, in order to reach Major League Baseball. While very few will reach the pinnacle, signing a contract with the training academies or minor leagues in itself provides a higher

They provide temporary jobs during the construction of the facilities, and each academy employs around 30 non-baseball players regularly. In 2015, big league teams signed approximately 450-500 Dominican players a year. The average contract for last season was around $300,000, with some prospects getting paid a couple million dollars. This is substantially more than what players signed for fifteen ($29,272) and even ten years ago ($108,130). Currently, over 600 Dominican players have made it to Major League Baseball, the majority going through the academies. However, only 3-5 percent of players signed make it to the majors, compared to 11-17 percent of those from the United