DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Austin Kennethe Wells / Wikipedia

A baseball catcher holds a key strategic role in the game. The catcher acts as the “field general” or “quarterback” of the defense, responsible for calling pitches, framing strikes, blocking balls, throwing out baserunners, and managing the pitcher’s performance. Positioned behind home plate, he controls the game’s pace, aligns the infield, and offers leadership.

Team DR managers, Nelson Cruz and Adrian Beltre have chosen Austin Wells to be the catcher of the Dominican Dream Team to the World Baseball Classic. The 2026 World Baseball Classic is an international professional baseball tournament between 20 national baseball teams, planned to be the sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), and to be played from 5 to 17 March 2026.

Austin Wells was recently confirmed to be one of the assigned team catchers. The 26-year-old was born in...