The 2022 Major League Baseball season is underway. MLB reports that 99 Dominicans are on the opening rosters and inactive lists of Major League Baseball. This is 36% of the 275 foreign born players of 975 players. Venezuela follows with 67 (many who have trained in Dominican baseball academies), Cuba has 23, Puerto Rico has 16 and Mexico 13.
During the first few days of the MLB season, the Dominican players have proven their worth. Boston Red Sox third baseman, Rafael Devers hit a homerun at his first plate appearance of the 2022 season. Dominican pitcher Framber Valdez threw the first official pitch of the season for the Houston Astros, and there were two other Dominicans, Sandy Alcantara for Florida Marlins and Frankie Montas for the Oakland Athletics, that were chosen the opening day starters for their respective clubs.
Up in Toronto, Vladamir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez led the Blue Jays to a near historic comeback victory for opening day games. Greats like Albert Pujol and Robinson Cano were welcomed by the fans and responded with base hits. Except for the missing Fernando Tatis Jr, who broke his wrist riding a motorcycle in the offseason, the stars were shining. By erasing a 7-0 deficit, Toronto was the best comeback team on Opening Day in over forty years.
Throughout the games of the opening three days of baseball, the almost 100 Dominicans on the opening rosters have continued to shine, and the newspapers were filled with their stories. Framber Valdez won his game over 2021 MVP Shohai Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, and Julio Rodriguez, the number three prospect in major league baseball made his debut for the Seattle Mariners, making him the number 850 Dominican to play in the big leagues since Ozzie Virgil became the first to do so in 1956 with the Detroit Tigers.
On 10 April, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first home run of the season, a 117.9 mph blast that was described as the longest and hardest-hit homer in his career.
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11 April 2022