Why Dominicans have done so well in baseball?

Dolores1

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A friend is curious about the DR's strength in the area of baseball, calling it "disproportionate to its size, etc." Wonder what explains that?, he asks and inquires as to where to read more about it.

He speculates it could be a dream machine for thousands of kids that once it gets going...

Could there be parallels to the DR in general. That baseball has succeeded because the resources and not obstacles were there to develop the innate talent of the Dominicans? The channels were open, Dominicans saw the opportunity and took it. The obstacles were less, for instance the government did not tax the earnings, for instance, and on the contrary has encouraged the academies.

In other areas, for instance, tourism succeeded in its first years because the government did not get involved, ditto free zones.

Could a parallel be made that if Dominicans are given minimum resources there is a better to not chance they will succeed and out best others because they have this innate competitiveness and instinct to survive instilled in them?

The questions remain... why have Dominicans done so well, out of proportion for the size of the island, in baseball?
 

HOWMAR

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Jan 28, 2004
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Dolores said:
He speculates it could be a dream machine for thousands of kids that once it gets going...
Or a nightmare. Life in the minor leagues in the US is no dream life. Life in the Domnican training academies is much worse. Only a couple handfuls will realize a dream. The rest have ignored the possibility of gaining an education while persuing this dream.
 

Cleef

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I'd think it's far closer to a dream machine than a nightmare

Life in the Dominican training academies offers 3 squares a day, education (various forms) and a direction in life that offers very special opportunities for those that work the hardest (presumably they already have talent if they're in the academy to begin with).

For 99.9% of them (rough #, but certainly not far off), this is a far better opportunity in life then they would have been able to secure (or be even remotely viable for) on the island as it is presently constituted.

That certainly can be declared as just an opinion - an experienced one at that - but .....

Life in the minors is hard no matter what your lineage, but certainly moreso for Dominicans as the cultures are sure to clash. I could go on and on about assimilation, but to the OP I'd offer this.

Climate has a large part to play in all of this. On top of that is baseball is a sport that can be simplified; hitting, running, catching and throwing. You don't need a lot of equipment or coaches to get the ball rolling - so to speak.

There isn't a Dominican in play today that at some point wasn't swinging a broom stick at bottle tops, doll heads or coconuts. Or throwing/catching with anything more complicated than any round object and a milk carton glove.

Forgive me if this ruffles some racist feathers, but there has been discussion by many that chopping sugarcane (a kinesiologic arm motion closely tied with a few baseball skills; batting, throwing) may have had some tie-in with some outrageously hard throwing/swinging ballplayers. I only offer that as a remote possibility to consider in the grand scheme of things.

For a dream machine to happen, there have to have been those that lived the dream, and for others to have witnessed the ascension and found a model to follow. There is plenty of hard evidence to support that theory.

There aren't too many ways for the (majority of) natives to get off the island. Personally, it was always my dream to play and yet I ended up on the island chasing baseball. I got that part backwards didn't I? :paranoid:
 

rellosk

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Mar 18, 2002
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Cleef said:
For 99.9% of them (rough #, but certainly not far off), this is a far better opportunity in life then they would have been able to secure (or be even remotely viable for) on the island as it is presently constituted.
I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Cleef said:
Forgive me if this ruffles some racist feathers, but there has been discussion by many that chopping sugarcane (a kinesiologic arm motion closely tied with a few baseball skills; batting, throwing) may have had some tie-in with some outrageously hard throwing/swinging ballplayers. I only offer that as a remote possibility to consider in the grand scheme of things.
Rubbish. Not even a remote possibility.
 

miguel

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Why?

Dolores said:
The questions remain... why have Dominicans done so well, out of proportion for the size of the island, in baseball?
In a nutshell, because it's a "free" sport and the DR is a third world country. Can you imagine if poor people had to pay in order to learn how to play the sport?. Trust me, there would be much less players doing so well.
 
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Malibook

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First and foremost is that baseball is a very popular game in the DR that is not too expensive.
Plus they can play year-round and many kids have the time to play.

Why does Canada have a disproportionate number of players in the National Hockey League?
The percentage has been decreasing for a long time but there are still way more Canadian players in the NHL than any other nationality.
 

qgrande

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Dominicans are good at baseball because it's the dominating sport in terms of popularity and because of that it is the game all kids play in the streets. If Dominican kids would see soccer or cricket heroes on TV and billboards, they would play soccer or cricket in the street, and Dominicans would be 'good disproportionate to its size' in soccer or cricket.
 

PJT

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Jan 8, 2002
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Why Dominicans have done so well in baseball?


You can sum it up in one word: "desire".

Regards,
PJT
 

Larry

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A few reasons I believe Dominicans have done disproportionately well in baseball as opposed to lets say....Americans:

--- Climate....Dominicans can play year round


--- It is "the" sport.....American kids who have the TIME to play sports play baseball, basketball, football, etc. Many professional athletes were all state in 3 or 4 sports in high school but then had to select one to pursue. Alex Rodriguez (grew up in Miami) was such a great athlete in high school that he recieved a scholorship to the University of Miami to play quaterback for their football team. He must have been an awesome high school football player. Had he decided to pursue football instead of baseball....their would be no A-Rod for all of you A-Rod haters to pick on :). On the flip side, I believe many potential baseball stars select other sports to pursue because of their overall athletic prowess. In the DR, there is only baseball.

--- Opportunities for an American child....The majority of American children play sports for recreation and because it helps to round them ( well thats why their parents get them involved). They are actually on a path to some profession...unlike the vast majority of Dominican kids that wind up playing baseball. We, as Americans view making it as a pro athlete as a "shot in the dark" where getting an education and earning a living is a more concrete plan for your future. As a result, much more time and energy is devoted to school. The average American child cannot play baseball 6 days per week for 5 or 6 hours per day.


--- Responsibilities for an American child...Just about every American child has an after school job. There just isnt the time to concentrate on sports. Parents force their kids to work to learn responsibility and good work ethic from an early age. In the DR, the average Dominican who has become a pro baseball [player had no job as a child. He had nothing but time to kill. He killed it by playing baseball.

--- More forms of recreation...Does the average child from San Perdo De Macoris have internet/ 100+ cable tv channels/ an i-pod/ etc.?? No. Like I said above, he only has time. Lots and lots of time...to play baseball.


Larry
 
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Robert

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Why do Brazilians do so well at football?

They start from a very young age, 2-3 yrs old.
They often improvise, using tin cans and tennis balls, basically anything that can be kicked. When they are given a real ball, it becomes very natural and easy to control. It's no different from the skinny sticks and plastic water bottle tops here. Could you ever see a kid in the USA doing that?

They play it all the time, going to school, coming home, weekends.
It might be in the street, the house, the are always kicking and playing with anything that resembles a ball. I see kids here all the time in the poorer barrios throwing a ball, catching a ball, playing stick ball etc etc.

They have hero's and players to look up to. This creates the desire to be the next Ronaldo, or in baseball, Martinez, Sosa etc. Their parents watch it and talk about it. It's the national sport, almost a religion for some.

When you live, eat and breath something, you often become very good at it :)
 

mondongo

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Norway, a country of 4.5million poeple, has more winter olympics medals than the USA....and more than Russia.
 

AtlantaBob

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As Larry referred to the climate...you can play 365 days a year. I know when I was growing up in the DR I played about 360 days a year. And if you can field a ground ball on some of the so-called playing fields we had, it's a piece of cake when you play on a real field.
 

Cleef

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So True.

AtlantaBob said:
And if you can field a ground ball on some of the so-called playing fields we had, it's a piece of cake when you play on a real field.
How many plays have we seen where a Latin ballplayer makes a ridiculous play, something that could never be practiced?

I can recall so many plays up the middle where an Alomar, Guillen, Tejada or the like, make plays that only they make. That has to come from the experience of playing/practicing on "fields" that had "hops" that taught you to be prepared for anything.

Being able to throw or field the ball from a contorted or off-balanced position is a skill that make the Latins flashy and enjoyable to watch. You never know when you're going to witness something you've never seen before.
 

Larry

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Cleef said:
You never know when you're going to witness something you've never seen before.


Yeah, like when a fly ball bounced off Manny Ramirez head.


Larry
 

audboogie

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Larry said:
Yeah, like when a fly ball bounced off Manny Ramirez head.


Larry

could you elaborate and tell what happened? Your talking about the carribean world series right? What happened?
 

DRPAWA

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Climate and Genetics:

I would say that climate is a very minor influence on why there are so many good Dominican ball players. Remember, Mexico, Venezuela and other countries with similar climates and much larger populations still don't produce the number of quality ball players that DR does.

Wouldn't you agree that genetics plays a role in having the athletic ability to play good baseball? Even A-Rod (both parents from DR) although born and raised in DR shows these abilities. I think genetics plays a role in why such a disproportionate number of great big league players are from DR.
 
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DRPAWA

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DRPAWA said:
Climate and Genetics:

I would say that climate is a very minor influence on why there are so many good Dominican ball players. Remember, Mexico, Venezuela and other countries with similar climates and much larger populations still don't produce the number of quality ball players that DR does.

Wouldn't you agree that genetics plays a role in having the athletic ability to play good baseball? Even A-Rod (both parents from DR) although born and raised in DR shows these abilities. I think genetics plays a role in why such a disproportionate number of great big league players are from DR.

Ooops, I meant born and raised in the US not DR.
 

Potato_Salad

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A few years ago, Julio Franco of the NY Mets used to play one season in South Korea (where I am from).

Julio taught a lot of youngsters how to better hit and play better defense.

A lot of the youngsters who are now stars thank Julio for his help and guidance.
 

NALs

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DRPAWA said:
Climate and Genetics:

I would say that climate is a very minor influence on why there are so many good Dominican ball players. Remember, Mexico, Venezuela and other countries with similar climates and much larger populations still don't produce the number of quality ball players that DR does.

Wouldn't you agree that genetics plays a role in having the athletic ability to play good baseball? Even A-Rod (both parents from DR) although born and raised in DR shows these abilities. I think genetics plays a role in why such a disproportionate number of great big league players are from DR.
Perhaps,

But keep in mind that it's also a numbers game.

Every major league team has recruiting and training camps in the DR. It's expected that the DR will produce more than other places when Dominicans have more places to show their talent.

Additionally, many Dominicans treat baseball as a religion. One thing that is needed for success in anything is passion. Another thing is practice and they get plenty of that. And finally, a burning desire to make it without recognizing failure or quitting.

Genetics might be playing a role, but as is usually the case, it could very well be a minor role. What is probably of more importance are the traits that lead to success and expectations. People expect Dominicans to be great baseball players and many Dominicans know this.

Have you ever managed a business or reared any children? What have you noticed when you expect either high or low things from them? Very often, they live up to the expectations and when you instill in their minds that they must strive for perfection, that's when they go beyond your expectations and blow your mind away...!

-NALs