Libro Claro Baseball in Dominican Republic

VERIZON'S CULTURAL COLLECTION VOLUME VII (ENGLISH VERSION)

BASEBALL

IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC CHRONICLE OF A PASSION

Cover: Enrique Lantigua puts out Horacio Martínez

Page 140

Enrique Lantigua El Nacional, December 4th 1985, p 45

©2005

ISBN 99934-877-7-5

EDITORIAL COORDINATION

José Rafael Lantigua

SPECIAL COLLABORATION

Enrique Rojas

PHOTOGRAPHS

Mariano Hernández

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Lourdes Saleme y Asociados

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Dagmar A Romero

PRINTED IN Amigo del Hogar

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

July 2005

BASEBALL

IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC CHRONICLE OF A PASSION

INOA HÉCTOR J. CRUZ

ORLANDO

CONTENTS

PAGE 7

INTRODUCTION

PAGE 13

DOMINICAN BASEBALL:

70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

Orlando Inoa

PAGE 175

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

Héctor J. Cruz

PAGE 451

PICTURES' SOURCE

PAGE 455 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

INTRODUCTION

For nearly two decades, baseball has been the favorite pastime of the Dominican people. Its origins are traced to the end of the XIX century, even though there are many diferent opinions as to the exact date when it first appeared among us. Some, such as the most prolific Dominican historian, Mr. Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi, place it between the years 1894 and 1895, however other sports historians go even farther, and say that 1891 was probably the year of its birth.

At any rate, however, the truth is that for over a hundred years, baseball -which in the Dominican Republic is pronounced with an accent in the last syllable has established deep roots among us, thus becoming the king of sports in this half island.

As to how it originated, under which characteristics was this story construed, and who were the main characters in this sport activity, is what this book is all about. This is the seventh one in the important cultural collection which Verizon-first as Codetel- has been publishing since 1998. Our books are greatly appreciated by those clients and friends who receive, at the end of each year, this gift of undisputable cultural value.

The Dominican baseball bibliography is abundant and meaningful. In diferent periods, historians and journalists alike have written many pages about the development of this sport. All of them have made an important contribution in putting together the history of the game in our country. Perhaps, what was missing was a comprehensive book which would relate in detail how baseball started

among us, the facts surrounding its arrival to the Dominican Republic and how, step by step, it managed to build itself up until it has become, throughout the years, the principal and most passionate experience for the population. That history, however, was built on victories and failures, on fertile ground and steep mountains, on ups and downs It was bright for some periods, but soon thereafter came the stormy weather when the pastime was abandoned.

In its first years, it brought along the enthusiasm typical of most beginnings; then it became popular, created leaders and arose passions while at the same time giving up to diferent kinds of obstacles

As if it was meant to be a king who, in order to prove himself, first had to fight and win many diferent battles, baseball always came back, and back with it came the enthusiasm, and the crowds again flared up with the fuel of a great passion. In the South, East, and North, this pastime moved around frantically, and then the ballparks started to appear bringing right along with them the great performers and the sponsors. And so, baseball was advancing with firm steps.

At first it was, as it should have been, a beginner's baseball. The amateur starting to decipher its codes and make way In 1949, Mr Enrique Lantigua, one of its unforgettable pioneers, put down the first stone for professional baseball. That year he won the World Amateur Series in the capital city of Nicaragua. This was the big push. The sensation. The challenge. Horacio Martínez, another key figure in this awakening, strengthens college baseball, and the then Dean of the State's university, Mr. Julio Vega Battle -father of historian Bernardo Vega- puts this event into a category of its own by swearing-in, during a special ceremony, the Academic Baseball Manager, if this term was an appropriate denomination for such a position A short while later, in 1953, the first baseball teams arrive from the United States, specifically from the universities of Yale and Cornell, to play a series with local ballplayers. And so, little by

little, it became a professional activity. The baseball business started exactly 54 years ago, in December, 1950, according to the story told by this book, when a group of people formed the Dominican Baseball Federation.

At that time, baseball was already firmly established in the life of Dominican people. The initial teams disappeared with the years until they became just a reference point in the past. And then the new teams were created, among sustainable hopes and frequent disappointments, among deep enthusiasm and overwhelming passions. They have, however, played an important role, becoming the foundation on which relies the strength and prestige of one of the best baseballs in the world: The Dominican Republic's.

To arrive at the Cibao Eagles, Escogido Lions, Licey Tigers, and Oriental Stars of today-that is, those teams belonging to our traditional baseball- there were many roads to be built leaving behind a lot of frustrated or modified projects. In this history, baseball was a romantic, neighborly, regional, or even a small town afair, played by people who had a lot of great fans during the established seasons, but then, in their ordinary, every day life, became simple workmen, tailors or leather workers. A few became famous in the Antillean or Caribbean Baseball by participating in nearby series, but the majority helped to write this story without significant personal gains. It was a poor-people baseball during a good part of its development until the American professional baseball opened itself to the native talent and, little by little, this talent developed in the big leagues. And then began the great accomplishments we see today, with their outstanding economic results. It was a romantic baseball, as we used to say, and it was also a political baseball, for the longest while. The dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo took advantage of this sport as successfully as it had previously done with the music, particularly the merengue dance, to utilize it to promote itself. Baseball (Pelota) and Politics were, for many years, the two best known Ps of our life.

However, the Trujillo Era ended in 1961, but baseball -as described by one of the authors of this volume- continued on its way up, and from the romantic baseball we went to pro baseball, the one which is measured in terms of accomplishments and statistics, but also in dividends and salaries. The romantic ballplayers, those that had a chance to make a living from practicing this sport, inside and out of the country, perhaps never dreamed that, with the years, it would become such an important economic activity. This history and its objective chronicle of events, is the one contained in this book which Verizon puts in the hands of Dominican and foreign readers. A historian and a sports journalist were picked out to carry on the not so easy task of unveiling the roots of this great Dominican passion, from its origins until our days. The historian, Orlando Inoa, was in charge of the historical development, from he year of its possible beginning, 1891, until the end of the Trujillo Era in 1961: seventy years of history of what can be considered as the first part of the birth, growth and development of Dominican baseball. The sports journalist, Héctor J. Cruz, wrote the updated chronicle of this historical happening which undoubtedly is our baseball. Since the day games that saw the lighted ballparks arrive as a memorable event, passing through from the week-end series to the almost daily games, and then becoming a year-round afair. From the summer baseball to the winter one. And from the local baseball, which gave rise to immortal figures, to the American baseball, which every season witnesses the birth of new prospects.

Inoa and Cruz, from diferent angles which sometimes necessarily converge in fidelity to the historical facts, and from two diferent styles, write the history of this pastime, combining the chronicle of a passion: the great Dominican passion for a sport which is part of the national identity, of its finest assets, and, without exaggeration, of its own patriotic pride. This volume also relied on timely contributions made by another successful

INTRODUCTION

baseball journalist of our times, Enrique Rojas. It is an important book about the history of our baseball, a much needed one in the Dominican bibliography.

From some already forgotten sluggers such as Federico Ramírez Guerra, Juan Alejandro Ibarra or Ignacio Guerra, to Tetelo Vargas, Pajarito Perdomo, Vicente Scarpatte, Carlos Dore or Manolete Cáceres. From Pepe Lucas, Grillo A, and Enrique Lantigua to Juan Marichal, Felipe Alou, Guayubín Olivo, and Manuel Mota. From Bragañita García, Ventura Escalante, and Burrulote Rodríguez to the Pedro Martínez, Sammy Sosa, and Albert Pujols of our time, runs an impressive history that is good for everyone to know

This book is an open invitation to enjoy it in full detail: the story about its beginning and the development of its talented people; the anecdotes and the tragic notes; the illusions and the failures; and also the millionaire glory of its modern idols

From that remote day, not known with exactitude, in which someone first taught a Dominican how to use a bat, a glove and a baseball, until the days of this Twenty First Century when we are witnessing how firmly established the development of this sport is Enjoying prestige around the world, the Dominican baseball is an important part of the life of its natives: it brings an exceptional occasion for the fan to stand by his favorite team's color. These are true fans that let their emotions run, their hatreds, their relief, and their passion. That is exactly why this book is really the chronicle of a passion As such, we present it to our readers, in the hope that it fulfills an equally historically role in the evaluation of what is, without a doubt, the favorite pastime of the people of the Dominican Republic.

Jorge Iván Ramírez President Verizon Dominicana

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

July 2005

1891-1911

BASEBALL ARRIVES AT THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Baseball was introduced to the Dominican Republic in the midst of the last decade of the XIX Century when Cuban immigrants and American businessmen, together with a few Dominicans, started to play the game in this country. However, there is no news as to the first time it was actually played, for it was a mere casual event not considered important enough to be registered and documented. What is possible to trace is the foundation of the clubs formed to practice and develop baseball, which evidences a better organization and institutionalization of this sport. The historian Emilio Rodriguez Demorizi, quoting Luis E Alomar, states that «the first baseball team was organized in Santo Domingo around the years 1894 or 1895...> The note continues to say that baseball games took place in an improvised ballpark located at Sabana del Estado, in a plot of land next to the city wall, that the «first baseballs, wrapped in leather, were made by the players themselves, and the first mitts or gloves were made by Genaro Gautreau, who had recently arrived from Florida and Cuba.>

Mr. Rodriguez Demorizi says that on June 17th, 1898, a baseball club was formed in the city of Santo Domingo having Mr. William Orr as honorary president.

PINA, LICEY'S PITCHER

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

He was the manager of the local brewery. The executive president was Ignacio Guerra H., who was also the secretary. Other oficers were José Salazar, Vice President; Luis Miranda, Treasurer, and Juan Montero Emiliano, Arturo J. Pellerano Alfau, Sebastián Bertot C , Manuel de J Lovelace, Mario Abréu, J B Alfonseca, and Eduardo Meléndez.¹

The well-known sports journalist Julio C. Linval, in a brief note published in 1937, states that baseball arrived in the Dominican Republic in 1896, and was first introduced by the Cubans: «Baseball was introduced to this country by Cubans who had come to live here as a result of their independency war against Spain. This happened in 1896 and the first formal clubs were Ozama, made up by Dominicans (Federico Ramírez Guerra, Juan Alejandro Ibarra, Ignacio Guerra, Joaquín -photographer- Palau, George Pou, etc.), and the Cauto, named after the Cuban river, and formed exclusively by Cuban players. Of this latter club, he still remembers Salazar, Angulo, Fernández, Dimons and Almón. Mr Julio Pou was then one of the more notable promoters of baseball in this area.² These statements made by Linval were replied by Geo Pou, one of the biggest promoters of Dominican baseball, who was also one of the first people to ever practice the sport here. Pou remembers how the baseball games started in the city of Santo Domingo: «...baseball in our country was introduced by the Americans who built the first beer brewery in Santo Domingo, the CEO then was a Mr Ore Across the street from where the brewery was located, in the neighborhood of Ciudad Nueva, where the Public Works building is now, all the Americans working at the brewery started to play, and months later, the Aloma brothers (Cubans) who were mechanics, and whom I believe worked as such, together with some Dominicans and other Cubans, started to recruit people who enthusiastically formed two nine-men teams, one made just by Americas and the other one a mix of Americans, Cubans and Dominicans.> In the same newspaper article, Pou narrates the moment in which, for the first time, baseball was played in this country: One afternoon I was horseback

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 17

riding near the National Brewery and one of the Aloma brothers, I don't remember if it was Nilo, came near me and said: Listen Yoryito, do you know how to play ball? I answered no, but since I like all kinds of sports, if he taught me how to, I'd be willing to give it a try Get off the horse! -he said (and I remember well that one of the Yankees there took my horse and tied it somewhere nearby). Come on! You will stand there (and he put me where the batters stand) and placing a stick in my hands, he said, this is called a bat. That man standing there, and he pointed out to a man who had a baseball in his hands, will throw it to you; you will then try to hit it with the bat as hard as you can, and immediately start running and stand over there, and he pointed out to a man standing on top of a small piece of wood Once this was done, the man threw me the ball and I hit it well. I started running towards the small piece of wood, but once I got there, they signaled for me to keep on running towards the next piece of wood up ahead, and once I reached it (they told me) to go on running to the other wood and stop there Needless to say, by the time I arrived at the third wood I was weak and breathless. Here I rested for a while, and I just

SAMUEL MENDOZA PONCE DE LEÓN, PIONEER OF BASEBALL IN LA VEGA

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

heard both players and spectators alike yelling: Yoryito hit a triple! Then Aloma told me: wait there, I am going to bat now, and as soon as I hit the ball, you must start running until you get here, right where I'm standing, and step on this aluminum sheet, and that's exactly how it was done. Aloma hit the ball hard and I started running and stepped on the aluminum. When I got there they told me I had scored a run, and all the American players started to congratulate me, and treated me to a glass of beer from the small barrel that was placed in a window sill so they players could have a drink.³ Geo Pou, in the above interview, does not indicate the date that this event took place. He just said it was around the time that the brewery was working. To try and determine the exact date of the start of baseball in Santo Domingo was a risky task indeed, even for those who were the main actors. Federico Ramírez Guerra, one of the participants in those first baseball games, when he was 77 years old, told the following to a reporter named Tafneli, during an interview: «The year was 1890 A few Cuban revolutionaries lived here and with their help a team was formed with the following line-up: Nilo Aloma,

SAN PEDRO DE MACORÍS TEAM, 1912 CHAMPIONS

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 19

Vicente Portuondo, Ubaldo Aloma, Baron Durocher, Alfonso Fernández (Cubans), Federico Ramírez Guerra (these last two were the pitchers), Mr. Asthur and Mr. Gonder (Americans), Mario Abréu, Pepe Román, Manuel González Lamarche, Alcibíades Ramírez Guerra, Rogelio Rodríguez and Ubaldo Lluberes. At that time the brewery was managed by Americans where the Public Works Building is located today There they formed another team to play baseball, while the Americans brought in all the gear from the United States. Some good games were played between these two teams for the longest while, with Mr. Ricardo Hatton, then manager of the brewery, and Mr. Roll, another one of the executives, acting as umpires.4

OTHER EXPLANATIONS AS TO THE ORIGIN OF DOMINICAN BASEBALL

Other sports historians give even earlier dates than those indicated by Aloma, Linval and Pou, for the start of baseball in this country, being the year 1891 the most common one. This is particularly true after the book written by

N. D. Redondo: «Baseball in Santo Domingo» (1952) was published. 5) According to this source: <the origin of baseball in Santo Domingo is traced back to June, 1891, when the Aloma brothers (Ignacio and Ubaldo) who were iron workers and a few other Cubans (Salazar, Fernández, Branha, Angulo, Vicente Portuondo and Alfonso Martínez) helped by Mr. Old (sic), administrator of the old beer brewery, several of their American employees (Golder, Arthur), and also Mr Herman (a fellow from Germany) who was the bartender at the La Alhambra Restaurant, first taught us how to play this game. The brewery was a national industry that started operating around that time.>6

The 1891 date does not coincide with the existence of a baseball club named «<the Brewery» as Redondo stated, since this company started its operations in July 1893 and continued to do so until the end of 1897 when all talk about it stopped as if it had never existed.»? The last brewery manager was William J. Orr, who was a great baseball fan, so one can understand that it was at the beginning of his presence there, in mid-1894, when baseball really got promoted We have already learned, from the notes written by historian Rodriguez Demorizi, that during the 1898 summer, Mr. Orr was honorary president of the Santo Domingo Baseball Club.

A newspaper article about the diferent versions as to when baseball really started in the Dominican Republic, includes a document written by Felix Acosta Núñez wherein he, in fact, confirms that the year was 1889. He was based on the original of a book supposed to have been written by Manuel Henríquez, «which sole copy was in the hands of Mr. Acosta Núñez, however, he never took the trouble of showing it to the public or to circulate it among his colleagues.>8

SANTIAGO, SAN PEDRO DE MACORÍS AND LA VEGA, ALL CLAIM TO BE THE FIRST TOWNS WHERE BASEBALL WAS PLAYED.

Three important Dominican cities: Santiago, San Pedro de Macorís and La Vega, dispute (or at some time have so claimed) the honor of being the

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 21

birthplace of Dominican baseball. In the case of Santiago, a newspaper article celebrating the battle of March 30th, states: «Santiago de los Caballeros has the privilege of being the first place where baseball was played in the Dominican Republic. This pastime, which later would become the king of sports in our country, was practiced in Santiago in the year 1903, with the start of a sports society which was named New Jockey Club.>>

In the case of San Pedro de Macorís, three Venezuelan journalists wrote a book in which they state that this city was pioneer in the practice of baseball. They state that in 1886: «It was a bright sunny morning on September 25th when two teams called Santiago de Cuba and Angelina, both formed by sailors from the ship María Herrera, played in a field close to the dock, in San Pedro de Macorís, near the Pita Beach. The ship had arrived two days before and the sailors-ball players were coming from a Cuba obsessed with this game after eight professional series had been played in Havana, which led to their invitation to play ball.> 10

As far as La Vega is concerned, a newspaper article states that Dominican

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

baseball was born in the hands of Samuel Mendoza Ponce de León, who arrived there in 1893 at thirteen, accompanied by his step-father Abelardo Lago, and his mother, Mercedes Ponce de León. They fled from Cuba because of the independence war His step-father was in the construction business and he built, among other houses, Don Zoilo's palace. 11 These explanations situate the origin of baseball in the Dominican Republic in Santiago, San Pedro de Macorís or La Vega, but they are not sufficiently documented. In none of these cases is there a reliable source available to confirm the data.

An important sports journalist says that baseball started in the Dominican Republic «almost unnoticed to the great majority of people, establishing itself in a rudimentary form as far as the gear used and the rules under which it was played.» Another journalist shares this point of view when he states that since its start, back in 1911, baseball in the Dominican Republic did not have any organization at all 12

There is enough documentation though that as of 1900 «the youngsters that came back after having gone to school in the United States, awakened the passion for the game of baseball.» One of them was Luis E. Pérez Garcés (Lulú) who would become a key individual in the popularization of this game.»>13

THE LICEY TEAM

The Licey team was instrumental in the game becoming so popular in the Dominican Republic. It was born the night of November 7th, 1907 in El Conde Street, at house number 85, where Vicente Maria Vallejo lived He had called this meeting with the purpose of creating a team which could face the invincible Ozama. The name Licey was the idea of Francisco -Pancho- Fiallo, for this was the name of a river in the Cibao area of this country. opponents at that time, besides the Ozama, were the teams

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

Casino, Santo Domingo and Receptoría. Federico Fiallo was the manager, in addition to being their star pitcher

The Licey was greatly acclaimed by the common people. When a theater group put in scene the operetta «La Viuda Alegre» -The Merry Widow(Fran Lehar, Viena, 1905) at the La Republicana Theater in Santo Domingo, the public repeated a jingle that was soon chanted in the streets: «Oh, these girls from Paris, how pleased we are to see them here.» However, since the Licey team had been formed around that same time, people quickly changed the words for ones closer to the baseball spirit: «Oh, those Licey boys, how much pleasure they give us here at the ballpark.» That was not the only song that showed the enthusiasm for the game. Also at the same time, there was another one: «When Ibañez steals second, and the umpire yells safe, then Cuello brings him home, with a superb two base.>15

SCHOOL GYMNASIUM

Something important for the development of baseball in the Dominican Republic happened during 1911 when the School Gymnasium was built because it included a ball playing field. Before the School Gymnasium they used to play in another ballpark located at the Plaza Colombina. In 1904 the newspaper Oiga carried a piece of news titled «Balls,» in which it stated that several youngsters had organized a new ball game at the Plaza Colombina. It was in this same field that in 1908 the first shutout game was pitched by Federico Fiallo with the Licey, against the Ozama team. 16 The School Gymnasium was located in a wide piece of land bordered in the south by the Caribbean Sea cliffs, north by the José Gabriel García Street, east by the Pina Street, and west by the Cambronal. It was remodeled a few times until 1930 when Hurricane San Zenón completely destroyed it. The first big reconstruction took place in April, 1920. An article in the Listín Diario paper read: «Next Sunday afternoon the rival teams Licey and San Carlos will again face

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 24

each other in the wide playing field of the School Gymnasium, two days after its oficial inauguration by the competent Physical Education Inspector, Mr. Federico Ramírez Guerra > 17

Until the first decade of the XX Century, the city of Santo Domingo had few spaces s available to play baseball. As of 1910, the ballpark «Patio de los Báez» acquired some importance, but it was nothing but a bunch of empty lots which all together had the measurements required for a baseball field. 18 It was located near the Sánchez Street, between the Padre Billini and Arzobispo Portes Streets.

SCHOOL GYMNASIUM AND NEW CLUB TEAMS

The same year that the School Gymnasium was inaugurated, Lulú Pérez founded a baseball club with the same name It was made by players from diferent schools in the capital city. On September 17th, 1911, the teams Licey ad School Gymnasium started the first series in Dominican baseball with the latter winning 3 games to 2 (the other two games took place on

1913 LICEY TEAM

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

October 15th and 22nd). On November 19th, there was a game at the Plaza Colombina between the New Club and the School Gymnasium with the first one winning. Shortly after the game was over, the news spread that President Ramón Cáceres had been killed Before the end of 1911, the School Gymnasium disintegrated, with most of its members-including its founder Lulú Pérezbecoming part of the New Club, already under formation. As a result, everyone used to say that the members of the New Club were pupils of the School Gymnasium.19

The New Club had been founded on May 22nd, 1911, in the house of the Sánchez Lustrino family located at Arzobispo Nouel Street. In the summer of that same year, the New Club team visited Haina where it played and won two exhibition games against the Agricultural School team. On December 31st, there was a game between the New Club and the Licey reaching the ninth inning with a 13-11 score. Lulú Pérez with two men on base hit a homerun through the centerfield to give the victory to the New Club 14-11 20 Matos Díaz tells that whenever the New Club won, Juan Pablo Almonte, a funeral coach driver, used to run around the field imitating a horse and stepping on all the bases with such enthusiasm that he used to lie in the ground and turned around and around as if he was a roller. Also, whenever the New Club won, one could hear the crowd chanting loudly in the ballpark and throughout the city streets: «Uelica, uelica, simbomba / fusca, fusca, siscafu. / Ra, ra, ra / New Club, New Club. 21

Once the New Club disappeared, Juan Pablo became the most enthusiastic Licey fan, and during the games, wearing his wide red tie, he used to roll over his body all the way from the home plate to first base, to get the cheering Blue fans up on their feet.²²

On May 7th, 1911, there was a game at the Plaza Colombina between two teams from the American ship Petrel that was visiting the city of Santo Domingo; two days later, Julio Ortega Frier, with the school teachers Pedro

Pablo Bonilla Artiles and Salvador Sturla, organized a game between the school teams Trinitaria and Duarte 23

BASEBALL EXPANSION

Baseball arrived in La Vega before any other city in the country, with the exception of Santo Domingo. The journal La Prensa dated May 5th, 1897, in its section Loose Comments («Sueltos»), carries the following information: «The Baseball.» With great enthusiasm, the fun American game of baseball has found a home in La Vega To this efect, the Union Club has been formed, presided by Mr. Elías Brache. The Club has a sports, music and recreation section and started operations as of last Saturday. The game of baseball has been practiced here successfully for the past two months.>

First news of baseball practice in Santiago come out in the year 1903,24 but it isn't until 1912 when the teams Yaque and Inoa (names of rivers in this area) are formed. For many years these two teams were considered the eternal rivals in Santiago's baseball. Each Sunday afternoon «practically three quar-

EL INDIO BRAVO (THE BRAVE INDIAN)

ters of the population» gathered to watch the game in improvised stands which were moved around conveniently. In the city's parks, the most important plays of the games were the preferred conversation theme for several days after.25

On December 15th, 1910 in San Pedro de Macorís the team Macorís was founded, playing several games in 1911 including a participation in the National Championship of that same year, which they won. On Sunday, August 27th, 1911 a baseball team from the city of Santo Domingo, managed by Lulú Pérez (Captain Pérez's team) traveled to San Pedro de Macorís to face the team managed by Raul Carbucia (Captain Carbucia's team). Before the game, over a thousand people gathered in the Central Park from where they headed to Miramar, while an orchestra played «vibrant and loud songs.» The game ended 19 runs to 8 in favor of the visiting team. At 4 in the afternoon, the players met again at the headquarters of the Community Chief. The flag was raised while the national anthem was played and a cannon was fired by the Guards. This encounter was reciprocated by the Macorís team when they visited Santo Domingo at the beginning of November The newspaper Listin Diario of November 8th, 1911 informed that «tomorrow, aboard the ship Estrella, the team S.P. Macorís will part for Macorís.» In November, Licey again visited San Pedro de Macorís, traveling aboard the Estrella National Coast ship, to defeat the Macorís team in a game played on the 12th at the Miramar ballpark. 26

Just as this game became popular in the cities of Santo Domingo, La Vega, Santiago, and San Pedro de Macorís, it also started to expand to other cities.

In the year 1908 it was played in Baní, and in 1910 the team Unión was formed in Azua presided by Abelardo R. Nanita. Baseball came to San Juan de la Maguana also, in the year 1911, when Carlos Marranzini and Felipe Collado introduced it after coming in contact with this sport in the United States and Puerto Rico. 27

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

were given a splendid reception on the 24th when they arrived at San Pedro de Macorís aboard the coast guard ship that had transported them. There was music all over and a lot of fireworks at the pier. The first game, held the next day, was won by the Macorís team, however almost immediately the New Club protested their partial and incompetent umpires, and the next day they left the second game claiming that «the San Pedro team stays with the Trophy but not with the Championship Series.» In a press release sent to Listín Diario, the New Club demanded that the San Pedro team came to the capital city where they had impartial and competent umpires. The Listín Diario when publishing this news took sides with the New Club and offered a prize for the Championship series in Santo Domingo. Lulú Pérez, manager of the New Club was still in San Pedro de Macorís when he sent a letter to the President of the National Baseball League Court accusing Horacio Febles, chief umpire of the frustrated championship series, of incompetence, and demanding that the first game be declared null. The letter ended «<if the Dominican League does not take strong action in this regard, the matter will be referred to the Cuban National League

LULU PÉREZ

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 31

and also to the United States League.» Meanwhile, in Macorís, the San Pedro team was declared National Champion since the New Club team had abandoned the game.28

In the summer of 1912 there was a short series played between the Licey and the New Club for a Silver Cup donated by the French Business Attachè in the country. Licey won what would be their first Championship title since its foundation in 1907.

During the entire year 1912, a lot of passionate articles were written about the game of baseball. The magazine Mefistofeles carried an editorial warning on the dangers of «yankeezation» of the country, even though admitting that <baseball is a Yankee game which we like and are, therefore, hoping that it spreads nationwide » However, at the same time it also criticized <those who pretending to speak English, change their voices in such a comical tone that they appear to be suffering from some chronic throat illness.» They suggested -and added that it would only be fair- that the English terms used in the baseball language should be pronounced and writ-

GAME BETWEEN THE CAPITAL CITY'S LICEY TEAM AND THE AMERICAN MARINES FROM THE NASHVILLE WARSHIP

ten in Spanish The magazine «La Cuna de América» also said that <nothing is comparable to the passion shown by people in the capital city for the game of baseball.» To top it all, they also wrote that «a bat should be added to the Romantic City's emblem.> 29

FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

On August 16th, 1912 the National Championship series started, organized by the Baseball National League, presided by Ignacio Guerra. The participating teams were Licey, New Club and Ozama. The first prize would be $200.00 which had been donated by a local company for the winning team. The inaugural game between the Licey and Ozama teams, held at the School Gymnasium, was attended by Mr. Angel María Soler, Secretary of Justice and Public Instruction. He threw the first ball. At that time, baseball had already achieved great popularity in the city of Santo Domingo. The magazine La Cuna de América stated that «baseball has become the favorite sport in that big, inactive town.» 30 The inaugural game, with Fe-

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

derico Fiallo pitching, was won by Licey 15-6.31 The championship series went on til 1913.

On January 25th the Listín Diario informed that the New Club was ahead in the series after defeating Licey on Tuesday, January 21st, Day of Our Lady of High Grace, winning 6 games and losing 2; then came Licey with 6 wins and 3 losses; and, in the last position, was the Ozama with 1 game won and 8 losses, thereby eliminating itself from the Series. Six days after this information, the Listín Diario brought the news that the officers of the Licey Club traveled abroad to hire ballplayers and make their team a stronger one. Local press protested this decision particularly the New Club fans who were saying that «bringing almost professional players from Cuba to play with our boys from the local champion teams, is not only a matter of concern for the Dominican people but it also entails that there are monetary benefits derived for personal interests.>

On January 25th, aboard the vessel Julia, pitcher Pedro Quintana (Jabao) arrived, together with catcher Salvador Galindo, and second baseman Pedro Galindo. In an operation made by Ernesto and Armando Benítez, they brought

SAN CARLOS TEAM IN THE INAUGURATION PARADE OF THE FIRST DOMINICAN OLYMPIC GAMES

over players Anselmo Freites (third baseman), Antonio Camino (right fielder), and Isidoro García (pitcher), thus turning the Licey into an invincible machine which the New Club simply couldn't beat.32 A poem appearing at the Listín Diario on January 31st, 1913 read as follows: «With the three pros, brought by Licey, gentlemen that in their bats, flowers paint, and who have no rivals, we shouldn't expect, to see any plays, because they are running us over, they will eat us alive. Because they are professionals, they are giant players, and what are we? Gentlemen, but some sad amateurs.>

On February 16th, 1913 the first game was held between Licey and the New Club, after the first one had become so strong. Licey had 6 new imported players in the field. They won 8 runs to 4.33 The press used to call Licey <the combination Guantánamo-Licey-Pope» instead of their regular name «Yellow> for their uniform color.34 The series was never able to be completed since the game scheduled for February 19th wasn't played because the New Club didn't approve Licey's bringing in foreign ballplayers.

On September 14th a new series started consisting of 11 games between the New Club and Licey, ending on January 25th with each team winning 5 games and one tied. Just as it had done during the previous season, Licey again brought foreign players. In mid-summer, Federico Fiallo went to Puerto Rico to hire players and so Puerto Ricans Hermógenes Fernández (Queché) and Miguel Maldonado (Yayo) came to play for Licey.35 From Cuba he brought a pitcher named Paradas who first made his debut on September 28th in a game suspended for darkness. About this pitcher, La Cuna de América magazine wrote: «Lately, they brought a famous pitcher from Cuba, who has those nice, hard workers players of the New Club pretty worried.>36

In 1913, La Cuna de América narrates in detail a baseball game between the New Club and Licey in front of a crowd of over four thousand people, and in which Mr Bohr, Deputy Consul of the United States, was the umpire. Three months later, that same magazine, carried an editorial to the efect that <in every home, in the streets, in the parks, in the coffee shops, everywhere, people

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

are talking with great enthusiasm and overwhelming passion about the game of baseball. It's the kind of sport that makes city people fall in love with.»37 That same year the San Carlos team was formed by Geo Pou, Andrés Aquino and Eusebio Martínez. This team was built around the star pitcher Fellito Guerra, and also some well-known players such as Guaguá Vargas, Diógenes Lara, Mateo de la Rosa and Armando Aquino (Balito).

This was a real fighter team during the years it was active Its disappearance in 1921 gave rise to the Escogido team. At the end of that year, La Cuna de América published a pretty detailed article about the rules and history of baseball in the United States, and as part of the sport's boom, on May 30th, 1913 «The Baseball» magazine first saw the light. Its director was Luis Eduardo Betances.38

THE 1914 SEASON

The 1914 season was not as splendid as the previous one had been for Dominican baseball. The many crisis and misunderstandings that took place during 1913 had their repercussions so, during this year, only the lesser impor-

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

tant teams, such as the B series ones, participated: Herold, Columbia, San Carlos and Patria. Since there wasn't any professional baseball at that time, there wasn't any amateur baseball either. Reference was only made to Class B baseball to indicate a category inferior to the regular teams which played in the National Championship. 39

Mr. James Sullivan, the American Minister assigned to the Dominican Republic, did not allow this growing enthusiasm for the game of baseball to go by unnoticed. In a communication to the American State Department in 1913 he wrote about the great effect that this pastime had in the «animal spirit of the young Dominicans» who, if they weren't so immersed in practicing baseball, would «go back to their old habit of making revolutions.> Baseball then was a good substitute for the old custom of going up to the mountains, rifle in hand, according to said Minister. His letter concluded by saying that <baseball can be a salvation factor for this country.>40 Baseball tournaments were held in spite of the chaotic political situation in the country. For July 1914, there was a series scheduled between New Club

PACO SIRAGUSA, NEW CLUB'S CATCHER AND FEDERICO FIALLO, LICEY'S PITCHER IN 1912

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

and Licey and the Washington Destroyer team; however it never took place because the city was surrounded by then and the School Gymnasium had interrupted all activities.41 These games were played some months later for the glory of Dominican baseball On September 20th, in an exhibition game between the New Club and the sailors from the Washington Destroyer, pitcher Enrique Hernández (Indio Bravo - «Brave Indian») pitched the first no-hitter in the history of the country's baseball. He only allowed one sailor to reach first base on an error, and stroke out 21 hitters.42

THE LICEY PARK

From the onset of 1914, La Cuna de América kept insisting on the construction of a baseball park, saying: «The love that this city's residents feel for baseball, the importance of this sport, the undisputable progress of this city, urgently call for the construction of a playing field. For any hard working business, even a moderate exploit of such a popular game in Santo Domingo, would be a major accomplishment.» On October 4th of that same year, the Licey

Park was inaugurated in Villa Francisca, with a game attended by over a thousand fans that occupied every available seat, and resisted the burning sun just to watch the New Club play the Licey This last team won the first one out of a five-game series, 11 to 3, with a fabulous pitching performance by Enrique Hernández. The opening ceremony was held in the presence of the country's president, Dr. Ramon Báez, who also threw the first ball. The Licey Park owners hired 10 stage coaches and 2 automobiles to bring the fans over from the Colón Park to the Licey Park, charging 10 cents per seat.43 The crowd was active cheering its favorite team and booing the opponents. In that series held at the Licey Park, during the October 11th game: «When the umpire, by mistake, had made a wrong call on a ball for a strike, the hitter threw him the bat. Then Licey fans started to yell: Take him out! And then the Deputy Chief of the Municipal Police over reacted and jumped into the playing field followed by other cops and officers. Right away there were other armed people from the Republican Guard showing their weapons to both players and fans, to the extreme that we were very close to having serious fatal disgraces.>44

PRESIDENT JIMENES THROWS THE FIRST PITCH AT THE FIRST DOMINICAN OLYMPIC GAMES

BELOW: MR MUESES FROM THE NEW CLUB

Fifteen days after the inauguration of the Licey Park, baseball fans were demanding other amenities together with the game. A brief note appearing at the Listín Diario on October 20th read: «A band is needed to entertain at the game, for it is not possible that they expect us to simply stay there, sitting in those hard benches, without any music at all.>

NATIONAL OLYMPIC GAMES

In March, 1915, a sort of Olympic Games were held at this park which included baseball as one of the participating sports, in spite of the fact that baseball was not played in the World Olympics. The National Committee organizing these games was formed by Angel Mieses, president of the Licey and Lulú Pérez, manager of the New Club, both owners of the Licey Park, and also by Federico Ramírez Guerra, a physical education teacher who had been part of the first Dominican baseball team ever. Participating teams were Columbia, San Carlos, New Club, Licey and the San Pedro de Macorís, National Champion at that time, which would try to retain its title.» These games were inaugurated by the then president of the Republic, Mr. Juan Isidro Jimenes, and the teams' godmother was Celeste Woss y Gil. Two years later, in September 1916, a wire backstop was added to the park, «in order to avoid unnecessary risks to those fans sitting behind the catcher.>

Ballparks back then were sort of rudimentary structures. It's said that the one in use had a fence made only of string wire and the public used to stand up at both sides of the park in order to watch the games Only the Licey and New Club oficers had seats available for their use. The company in charge of the park (Licey Park Co., it was called) was the one to organize the first International Championship in the country, during October 1916, when they brought over the Ponce team from Puerto Rico.45

There were two baseball series in 1914. The first one for 15 games between New Club and Licey (12 April-15 July) was indisputably won by Licey 9 games

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

against 3, due mostly to the superiority afforded by imported players. Listín Diario used to print such headlines as «native players win big» whenever the New Club won a game, in direct reference to the fact that Licey had foreign players. Assuming that not all Dominican fans agreed to having imported players at the national championships, Listín Diario used to publish a hypothetical conversation between two Licey fans worried by the disparity in the participating teams: <-No doubt that Licey, as such, is twice as much stronger than New Club, but their accomplishments do not satisfy me: I would like to see a Queché, two Yeyos, and a Dominican Lynch. That would please me so much more than watching professional foreigners beating the New Club.>

-Ah! Queché and the rest of the players have sunk the New Club; and they cannot say anything about those foreigners, they better say something about our money being safe; for it's not Queché and his companions who are paying the New Club, instead, it's our abundant money...>

The New Club people did not wait too long to start importing players themselves. On September 2nd, 1914, Listín Diario published that on this same day a combined team, formed by New Club and Licey players, was facing a team from the American ship Praire, and catcher Freyre and another ballplayer named Celo, imported by the New Club, would make their debut in said game. The Washington Destroyer band played some music in that game.

Licey stood behind the formation of the Legalista team, which was put together in case the New Club disappeared «which is what Licey was after, with all their dirty tricks » For the New Club fans, Licey was acting as a business corporation: they imported players and built a ballpark for their presentations For all these reasons, they were known as «the rich Licey> or «tutumpote.»

The second series (November 22nd-December 27th) was played at the recently inaugurated Licey Park, and it included the new team Legalista, which had made its debut on November 15th against the Washington Destroyer

team, beating them 3-0. This series included celebrating two games each Sunday (morning and afternoon). It ended with 6 games won by Licey, 2 by New Club and 2 by the Legalista.47

On October 6th, 1914, two days after the inauguration of the Licey Park, Listín Diario announced a game between Licey and a team from the American Transport Hancock «with very low-priced tickets.» The year 1915 brings a sad note when, in the afternoon of March 28, Raul Abréu, Education Supervisor and President of the New Club, died while watching a game between his team and Licey at the School Gymnasium. During this year, an important event also took place, the celebration of the Olympic Games, already mentioned before, including baseball as one of its disciplines

1916-1924

THE AMERICAN INTERVENTION

BOOK ON BASEBALL'S RULES USED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

On Sunday, August 20th, there was a game at the School Gymnasium between a Dominican team and one from the American Destroyer Memphis, defined by the journalist covering the event as «the stronger team we have ever seen > Their skills in the playing field received a lot of applauses The game was won by the locals 7 to 6. The following Saturday, the newspaper Listín Diario announced a big game for the next day, Sunday, between a selection of local players and the strong Memphis team «who were barely defeated, not without a lot of difficulty, last Sunday, so they have been practicing all week surely with the purpose of winning this time around.» That game was postponed until the next weekend. Five days before, on Tuesday, August 29th, strong waves pushed the Memphis against the sea clifs of Santo Domingo killing at least 30 of its crew members For years, the ruins of that warship were stuck in front of the School Gymnasium ballpark as a reminder of the American intervention in the lives of Dominican people.

On September 26th, 1916, after a long pause, the New Club and Licey played again at the School Gymnasium, with the New Club winning. Pitching for them was Indio Bravo.48

VISIT FROM THE PONCE TEAM. ARRIVAL OF PEDRO MIGUEL CARATINI

The Puerto Rican team Ponce was the first foreign team ever to visit the Dominican Republic. Arrangements for this visit were made by the Licey Park Co. This company, owned by Angel Mieses Lajara and Lulú Pérez, managed the ballpark located at Villa Francisca. Before the Ponce team arrived, on October 10th, the Dominicans had chosen the best players from the teams

New Club, Licey and Columbia, to form a good team to represent the country in this series. This new team was named Dominican Escogido. The local press reported the following: «After this meeting took place, people are so pleased with the good news that they don't talk about anything else in parks, coffee shops and even in the streets » The Ponce team arrived on October 27th, 1916 aboard the national flag ship Santo Domingo. The next day they played against the Dominican Escogido, whose players were Lynch (ss), Manuel Grullón, (3b), Frank Hatton (21b), Velázquez (3b-ss), Sheets (1b), Burgos (cf), Paz (cf), Piñeyro (lf) Enrique Hernández (p), Manuel Henríquez (c) Fermín Suncar (c), Prado (lf) and Lulú Pérez (rf). They played three games, all of which were won by the visiting team, and a fourth one with the crew of the warship Praire, whom they also defeated in a shut out.

The Ponce team was managed by Felipe Maldonado (Pippo) and among the players who came to Santo Domingo were pitcher Pedro Faberllé, second baseman Yayo, and shortstop Pedro Miguel Caratini, who was their captain. Caratini also won a prize donated by a local jewelry to the best hitter in the series (11 turns at bat, 6 hits including three homeruns). The three Puerto Rican players mentioned above would have an important participation in Dominican baseball at diferent times, particularly Caratini. Pedro Faberllé came back to play in the country in the year 1920 to add force to the Central Romana team, and Yayo had come here for the first time in 1913, but the one person who had the most influence in Dominican baseball is Pedro Miguel Caratini. This player belonged to the Ponce team since 1911 when he was

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

still a high school student. He returned to this country in 1919 as a bookkeeper for the Public Works Department during the American Military Government. Before coming to Santo Domingo he had enlisted in the American Army on February 1st, 1918 as a first class soldier, reaching the rank of captain in less than five months. The armistice came a few days before he was to go to the battlefield, so on February 28th, 1919 he was released from the army. In Santo Domingo, he played for Licey as shortstop and was also the captain of the Dominican Stars, a team which several times defeated the American Marines or U.S.M.C. team. Caratini was nicknamed «the Puerto Rican Ty Cobb» by the local press. He was Licey's captain, and in the year 1922 he quit baseball to get married 49

In 1917, the New Club disintegrated. During its six years, this team played 90 games, winning 50: 2 to the Agricultural Farm team, 1 to Esperanza, 24 to Licey, 6 to Ozama, 1 to Colón, 1 to Petrel, 2 to Columbia, 2 to San Carlos, 4 to Nashville, 1 to Capital, 1 to Weeling, 1 to Washington, 1 to Herold, 2 to the Athletic Macorís, and 1 to School Gymnasium. They lost 40 games: 29 to Licey, 2 to Legalista, 2 to San Pedro de Macorís, 2 to Nashville and 1 each to Ozama, Capital, Columbia and School Gymnasium. They tied 2 games with Licey. 50

On Sunday, November 7th, 1919, the team Capital Stars visited Baní for some games with a local team called Escogido Banilejo, which was strengthened by players from San Carlos. Arrangements for these games were made by the promoters of Bani's baseball Wenceslao Guerrero, Miguel Logroño Battle and Sigfrido Objío. As this series was sort of unbalanced for the Baní team was still an amateur while the capital city team was an experienced one with famous players, the Baní team decided to balance the series at any rate, so they used the following trick: since there were no roads then, they had several donkeys ready to transport the players to the ballpark This task was assigned to Martín Báez, known as «Martín the lamp guy,» a nice character from Baní who was known for the loud noises he made during the games.

PEDRO MIGUEL

CARATINI

BELOW: JOAQUÍN

SUNCAR IN 1922

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

They asked Martín to assign to Pedro Miguel Caratini, the visiting team's manager and their most valuable player, the fastest and wildest donkey <hoping that by the time he got to Baní, he would be too tired to play well.>

This strategy did not work out, but the players from the capital city were so impressed with the enthusiasm shown by Martín, that once they brought him to San Pedro de Macorís to root for the Licey team while playing a trumpet, which was sort of his war weapon to liven up the games.51

In April 1920, in Santo Domingo they were offering live music and free tickets at the ballpark as a way to attract public to the ballgames. An article appearing at the Listín Diario said «this game will have live entertainment with a fine local orchestra...and admission will be completely free. > 52

On April 12th, 1920, the team Cuban Stars, passed by Santo Domingo in route to Puerto Rico, and played a single game with a Dominican team for which they charged $300. The local press then referred to that game as a duel between pitchers Fellito Guerra, the Dominican, and Lazaga, the Cuban The game ended 2-0 favoring the Cubans. During the summer, the Ponce team

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

from Puerto Rico also visited Santo Domingo. They had been here before in 1916. The vessel carrying the ballplayers was received by a «great crowd who applauded the Ponce boys.»> They played a 12-game series. 53

On October 7th, the Licey team visited the city of Baní. They left town riding in two automobiles, a Super and a Nash, at 5 o'clock in the morning, arriving there at 7:30 A.M. They relaxed for the rest of the day, and went for a swim at Piedra de Chivo, «we swam for an hour without wanting to leave the water for it was so pleasant.» After the swim, they came back to town and went for a walk. At some point, they were stopped by a mailman to hand Geo Pou a telegram simply addressed to Licey. It said that Messrs. Luis C. del Castillo and Rafael E. Sanabia had been released from jail. Then, «after several cheers and in the midst of a great celebration, we headed for the Cabaret owned by that nice guy Claudio, where we made several toasts in honor of those patriots, now out of jail, because today they had recuperated their freedom. >54

On October 10th, the first triple play registered in Dominican baseball was made at the School Gymnasium. Licey was in the field, their pitcher was

FRANCISCO A RODRÍGUEZ (NININ) THE DAY OF

LICEY TEAM BELOW:

LiCEY TEAM

LICEY'S QUEEN, ESPERANZA PEREYRA, WITH GEO POU, PRESIDENT OF LICEY IN 1922

EspeRANZA

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

Enrique Hernández (Indio Bravo) For the Los Muchachos team, the first baseman, Dominici was at bat. He connected a single and went to first base. «Velázquez, the shortstop, got to first on a base on balls, with Dominici moving over to second.» Castillo, the right fielder, «a tough and dangerous batter> hit a hard line drive which the Indio Bravo caught, immediately throwing to first base, from where Velázquez had separated while running towards second, so he was put out; then the throw came to Mono, who threw to Caratini to put Dominici, who had run to third base, out also. No scorekeeper has registered another triple play ever since that time.»>>

55

In November 1920, Licey traveled to La Romana invited by the Central Romana All expenses were paid by the sugar mill, including payment for transportation aboard the ship Unión which left from the Ozama River with the team's members. The Central Romana team had become a lot stronger by bringing in players from Puerto Rico, among which were pitcher Faberllé, who had an excellent performance with the Ponce team during their visit to Santo Domingo. They also had other players from the American Marines teams. The Central Romana defeated Licey in the two games played, by a one run margin. The first game went fourteen innings, all of which were pitched by Enrique Hernández. The Dominicans' settled the score for this defeat during another visit on December 5th, with Licey winning the two games played 11-5 and 6-4, in the presence of a large crowd of over one thousand people.56

Licey introduced its flag in a game against Central Romana on Sunday, December 5th, 1920 It was raised for the first time in Santo Domingo at La Primavera Stadium on December 12th of that same year, in a game against the U.S. Aviation team. The flag «in one of its sides has a beautiful Bengal tiger, a work of art by painter Obregón >57

The Licey team launched a modernization process in 1920. They purchased a lot of new things abroad <from a complete set of uniforms to a baseball reference book, a guide for the defense of field positions » Their purchase order was

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

placed by way of the American ship Algonquín at a cost of around one thousand pesos. 58 Their uniforms lasted two years. In view of the fact that they couldn't acquire a similar one in the local market, and since it took a long time to bring them in from overseas, Licey officers decided to use a temporary uniform: «cocoa-colored pants, with socks and T-shirts in another color.»> This was however a provisional measure, while the uniforms arrived from abroad, since they would be just like the old ones. They figured that by so doing they could save money, using the ones that were still in good shape.59

LA PRIMAVERA RACETRACK

The Primavera Racetrack was inaugurated on February 27th, 1919 outside the walls of Santo Domingo, in a wide piece of land in which «<its old limits, even today as we go into the XX Century, cover the huge area from Pasteur Avenue-nowadays- until the Socorro Sánchez Street. Above, it had Bolívar Avenue, and below, Independencia Avenue.» Its owner was Abad Henríquez de Castro, better known as Babá Henríquez, successor of Enrique Henríquez, owner of the land where La Primavera neighborhood was located in Gazcue

In the summer of 1920, an announcement was made to the effect that the racetrack would be adapted to a ballpark and by November of that same year, they were already playing baseball there in a game between Licey and a selection from the American teams «in addition to the races with horses from San Pedro de Macorís.»> The local press always mentioned a good turnout, for the people «<who did not come for the horses, came for the ballgames.» Entrance tickets were 50 and 25 cents and usually an orchestra would play to keep the public amused There was bus service then 60

DEFEATING THE MARINES

During the American Military intervention (1916-1924) the baseball field became a place where the national pride was at stake, against the Americans who invaded the Dominican Republic in 1916.

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

A sports journalist at that time wrote: <the field has become the only place where we could confront the Yankees and beating them was the best way to show our protest against those foreigners.» Half a century later, an American historian picks up this idea and writes that during the occupation, the baseball field was the area where «American and Dominican men put aside their regular identities and competed as equals.»61 The confrontations between Yankees and Dominican ballplayers were tense because, as one American intelligence officer working out of Santo Domingo during the occupation, put it: <the Marines do not accept challenges. They couldn't allow them because it didn't add to their prestige to give the locals an opportunity to laugh at them >62

The star Dominican catcher Guaguá Vargas told of the emotion experienced by them whenever they defeated the American Marines. In an important game, in which the Dominicans were one run over the Americans in the 8th inning, the Americans hit a line drive with a man running in second «Balito picked up the ball in centerfield in the first bound. Everything seemed to indicate that Bambowry would score the tying run for he was already running fast from third base towards the home plate. I saw when Balito came up with the ball, and when he threw it to Caratini in short, and I also saw when the latter threw home. Then, I was watching, at the same time, both the perfect throw Caratini had made, and Bambowry closing in at the plate. But the ball arrived before the Yankee and went directly into my mitt. I remember when I took the ball and ran into that huge mountain of a man that was the Yankee Bambowry, a blonde 6'3" guy, weighing over 200 lbs. When I touched him, we rolled down to the ground like one single package. A deafening noise came from the crowd present at the School Gymnasium. I was still on the ground when I heard the chief umpire's call: «out», and also felt when Juan Pablo, a Dominican fan we all remember so well, wrapped me in the Dominican flag. >63

Many Dominican players sympathized with the nationalist ideas then. In

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

the 1920 summer, Licey and San Carlos «collaborated with the Ladies Patriotic Board;> and on August 28th, 1920, Licey and Restauración played at the Santiago Racetrack on behalf of the Nationalistic Board.64

On March 2nd 1920, Listín Diario published an article about a game in which Dominicans had «gotten a tremendous victory over the Americans with a 6-3 score.» Next week, the sports chronicle of the Listín complained that they did not carry any baseball information because «even though there was a game scheduled between the teams U.S.M.C. and the Stars, the first team had excused itself claiming that two of their players were sick, or perhaps their fear was so strong that instead this game was played against a team from the Submarine docked in our pier The game took place in front of a large and elegant crowd and it was a good practice for our boys since they had no trouble winning.65 That same article confirmed the rivalry with the Marines for it added that the management of the Dominican Stars had seen in the press that the «<local team San Pedro de Macorís was unable to beat the Americans in that city, contrary to what happened here, where arrangements

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

are being made to see if it is possible to play two games with the Americans. These two games would be on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in order to severely punish them, the way we do here. Then the boys from Macorís will be able to see how well advanced we are around here, as far as the king of sports is concerned.>

Among the games played with the American Marines, there was no other incident greater than the «tremendous line drive» hit by Ninín Francisco A Rodríguez (Ninín Pescao) was batting «with two outs and two strikes,> his team was losing, one run down against the Americans. A report appearing at the local press said that at this precise moment, Ninín «had the bright look of those predestined for big things, and the glory caressed his forehead when, with formidable athlete power, resulting from being a man as well as a Dominican, he furiously attacked the baseball thrown by the Yankee pitcher. It was a terrible, violent collision, one which moved Mother Earth deep inside, shook the Memphis in its rock jail and ended up by making the heart of the mountains tremble > The author of this article brought Ninín to the category of a national hero, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND, 1919

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

savior of the country's honor soiled by the invading forces: «Ninín Pescao is 19 years old, his stature is that of a hero for he has to his credit the greatest sports achievement of this century. He was the heroic soul of this race, which, transformed into muscle and nerves, moved this strong and healthy kid's arms so that he, with a gesture such as the one used by the Roman gladiators, stopped, right at the border of the abyss, the flag of our Physical Culture and the National Dignity.»>66

The articled ended by saying that Naval Chief Robison, in person, came down to the field to shake Ninín's hand and congratulate him. At the beginning of December 1921, Dominicans again beat the Marines and the newspaper Listín Diario printed the information in a big display over 8 columns.67 According to the article published, that game was watched by Chief Robison who came to support and motivate the boys before the start of the game. About the game scheduled for the end of the year against Licey, the Marines informed that «winning, for them, was a matter of honor, therefore, they shall win it.» The Marines' team combined the best players from Santiago, Macorís and all the ships moored in the docks.68 The rivalry among baseball players went even further than the sports activity The newspaper The Globe Anchor, which circulated among the Third Marine Company in Santo Domingo, announced that <they were going to make monkeys out of Licey's players.» In another article, the Marines declared that <they had to be the champions because of their ethnic and intellectual superiority, and because the Dominicans could not be champions of anything.»69 In view of this situation, the report on the Licey's victory against the Marines read: «The U.S.M.C. teams will not win a single baseball game here simply because they are so inferior to our players. The physique of our poorly-fed boys is superior to that of the white, red and fat ones.>70

The games played against the Americans sometimes seemed like a military brawl. In a game held at the end of August 1922, the press pointed out that: «Guaguá, the oldest member of the legendary Vargas family, was the biggest

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

hero of the battle. In the last inning, when the match seemed hopelessly lost for our local boys, the patriotic blood inside that boy palpitated frenetically in his veins and, heroic and dedicated, he offered the sacrifice of his bleeding skin as ransom for the defeat.»71 With the reference to «bleeding skin> the press was referring to the fact that during the last inning, with the Marines winning the game, the bases were loaded for the local team, Guaguá, who was the hitter at home plate, had been exposed to a strong pitch which hit him, and so, as a result of a dead ball, he was awarded the first base, bringing in the tying run which would pave the way for a Dominican victory. The sports journalists talked about Guaguá «fearless, never vacillating, with the heroic bravery of a soldier who sacrifices himself for the honor of his flag, offered his young skin, generous and vibrant, to be hit by the ball thrown, or better said, shot, by the Yankee pitcher. Guaguá fell down under the tremendous impact, but the frenetic and enthusiastic shouts from the thousands of voices present, brought him back to reality and he went to first base carried in the arms of his teammates...>

At the beginning of 1921 no baseball was played because <several of the Licey boys were down and others in pain as a result of the mass vaccinations.>72

THE ESCOGIDO TEAM, 1921 SEASON

During the American occupation, a lot of important baseball teams were formed. One of them was «The Boys» (Los Muchachos), also known as «Muninch and Pou» being Carlos A. Pou and Luis Muninch the owners of the store of the same name which sponsored the team. Their captain was Alfau, and Velázquez was their star player.73 The most important team from that period was the one that came out of the triple alliance between the teams Delco Light, Los Muchachos and San Carlos They were then looking for a new team capable of playing against Licey, so on February 17th, 1921, Carlos Manuel (Pilindo) Bonetti and Geo Pou imposed the name Escogido (Chosen) for it was put together with players chosen from several

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

teams. Their first manager was the Venezuelan Numa Parra, who was soon afterwards replaced by Luis Alfau Among its founders were also Andrés Aquino and José A. Sabino. Some reporters thought that the Escogido was going to be short-lived. Centauro, a sports journalist for the newspaper Listín Diario, wrote that: «since the Escogido is formed by the best players from other teams, it should be good enough for one single exhibition, and nothing else.74

On February 16th Listín Diario printed the following note signed by «Bate,> announcing that the Teaching Ministry had facilitated the School Gymnasium field for a challenging series between the teams Licey and Escogido, with a fifty pesos prize for the winning team. This educational institution had only one condition: «only a very small amount should be charged at the entrance and the money thus collected would be for the benefit of the Teacher's Association, who would be in control of the economic aspect of this series » The paper supported this idea «because it agrees with the public's general criteria of celebrating the games at the School Gymnasium, but not for speculative purposes, as was the wish of two or three interested parties, but for a beneficent and altruistic cause.» The article ended with a warning that read: «We know, however, that there are certain tricks behind the scene to get the teachers to secretly violate the good-natured resolution of the Minister, to profit some personal ambitions and in detriment of the public interest. Look out for Christ! 75 That was the only year that the games were non-profitable

The next season would bring radical changes. The first game of the 1922 season, won by Licey 5-1, took place on February 20th and was said to be a <duel between the two colossal players Enrique Hernández and Fellito Guerra.»76 The seven games series was won by Licey, 4 games to 3. Licey immediately decided not to play the Escogido again for the rest of the season and enjoy instead its National Champion title. The Escogido officers, headed by Ernesto Bonetti Burgos, with the mediation of Listín Diario's Deputy Direc-

tor, and Father Pérez, were all favoring another series that year. Their argument was that the public had asked for it, in addition to both teams needing new gear which could only be afforded if they kept on playing during the entire week Licey not only rejected this proposal but they signed a contract for a Saturday series for the rest of the year, and part of the next, with the U.S. Marine Corps team so that the new team Escogido «disappeared for lack of play since the Escogido Lions wouldn't be able to play on Sundays either because the Gymnasium had a previous commitment with the long series played by the Class B teams.77

In March, the Escogido traveled to Santiago to play three games with the Cibao Stars. In spite of the difficulties of the trip Santo Domingo-Santiago in which the ballplayers «had to walk long hours in the mud,» they won the three games. 78 At the end of July, Licey decided to start a seven games series

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 62

with the Escogido (from July 31st to October 16th) for the benefit of the Public Assistance Committee. Licey won 4 games to 3.

On May 6th, 1921, Burrulote Rodríguez made his debut in the league. He would become one of the most prestigious managers of the country and a great promoter of amateur baseball. His first game was against Fellito Guerra of the Escogido. His performance was so spectacular that he was carried all the way to the Independence Park 79

Pedro Alejandro San made his debut with Licey on July 31st 1921, and in that game took place what in Dominican baseball is known as <the little grass homerun.» José Sabino was at bat, he hit a single to centerfield which Néstor Lambertus from Licey tried to field, but the ball could not be seen because the grass was overgrown at the School Gymnasium field, therefore Sabino kept on running towards second base, then to third, and he finally reached home, turning a single into a homerun.

In August 1921, Licey traveled to the Cibao, playing 5 games in Santiago against the Resturación team and three in La Vega, winning them all. The team left the city of Santo Domingo in several cars until they came to the end of the 60 kilometers in the Duarte Highway, to continue in donkeys, on foot, and even swimming, until they reached the city of Santiago. The trip lasted an entire month with most of the time spent either traveling or recuperating from the fatigue.80

On October 30th, 1921, the series B championship started. It ended on January 28th, 1922. Participating teams were Licey B, Patria, Marina and Capotillo, winner of the series. From those teams came excellent ballplayers that were then incorporated to the traditional teams. Carlos Rosis (Caquín), Joaquín Suncar, and Tetelo Vargas, who used to play for the Capotillo, later became very well known in Dominican baseball.

At the end of 1921 play writer Rafael Damirón put in scene at the Independencia Theater a three-scene play titled «Queché at Bat, Yayo at Second Base.» The local press reported that it was a «comic, lyric, dramatic, patriotic

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

and political baseball play which brings to scene several current situations > It added that <in the course of this play the Licey and New Club teams would appear and the tiger would roar.>81

At the beginning of 1922, Licey went on recess, and the Escogido fans thought this was a strategy to avoid facing their team. A note published in the Listín Diario explained it: «Licey has recently had a hard season, for all during 1921, and so far in 1922, it has not ceased to play and win over all the other teams, both nationals and foreigners. It has fought with honor and has destroyed all its rivals. It has had to play even with selected teams put together by the best Dominican players The team is tired; it has suffered in its battles, now it has to be prepared again.>82

THE 1922 SEASON

Escogido, however, had started a series with the Marines.83 In February, they went to La Vega to play three games with the Cibao Stars, a team which also had players from Santiago. Even though Escogido won all the games, at least Cibao was able to demonstrate that they also have a classy baseball with good players such as Pajarito Perdomo, Mero, Sijo Gómez and the brothers Pedro Augusto and Luis Tomás Saillant.

In July 1922, Luis Castillo became the new Licey manager while Frank Hatton was the trainer and chief of players 84 Charles Dore came over to Licey in 1922 as assistant manager under Pedro Miguel Caratini, and substituted him the next year. He remained in this position until 1936.

In the year 1922, the Racetrack La Primavera stopped all horseracing activities; however the teams Licey and Escogido started their baseball season there. The Championship Series opened on April 9th, 1922, with an inaugural speech by Arturo J. Pellerano Alfau, director of the newspaper Listín Diario.85 The owners of La Primavera advertised their stadium as <the best one in the Antilles.» An agreement between both clubs resulted in a strict policy to regulate free admissions to watch the games, allowing only the fol-

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 64

lowing free tickets: 6 for City Hall and the Civil Governor; 6 for Licey's oficers and 6 for Escogido's; 6 for the Health Station; 3 each for the newspapers Listín Diario and El Siglo, 1 for the Cosmopolita magazine, 1 for the Cuna de América magazine, 1 for the sports magazine El Rolin and 1 for the Voz del Deporte.86

The Listín Diario of June 10th, 1922, announced the first of a series of 21 games between Licey and Escogido to decide the championship of the city of Santo Domingo that year. It is worth mentioning that the umpires, named by both teams, were Captain Swinnerton, Provost Marshall, and Lieutenant Loring, from the American Marine Corps then invading the country The series -called <to the Queen,» was dedicated to Esperanza Pereyra, La Vega's beauty queen who afterwards became Licey's first queen- was won by Escogido, 13 games against 8. The last game was won by Escogido on a hard line drive hit by Mateo de la Rosa, which came to be one of the great highlights in Dominican baseball. On Sunday, May 14th, 1922, with a full house at La Primavera Racetrack, Escogido and Licey again played what was to be the

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

last game to end the series for that year. The pitchers were known baseball stars Fellito Guerra and Pedro Alejandro San. To make the game more colorful, Geo Pou had traveled to La Vega to pick up the queen, and her entrance to the city was quite a social event. Geo Pou took the precautionary measure of not bringing her into the ballpark until the Tigers were ahead 3-0. The streets near the stadium were covered with flowers and the queen made quite an entrance, sitting in the place of honor with her court members. In the 8th inning, with the score favoring Licey 3-1, the team started celebrating the victory with plenty of champagne. Then the Escogido came to bat, with two men out they loaded the bases, at that time manager Luis Alfau came into the playing field and changed the batter, bringing in Mateo de la Rosa to pinch hit. He had been hurt and was out of play for a week. San's first pitch was a strike, the second one was a ball, the third one, another strike. As this duel took place, the fans were getting really excited. Then came San's pitch and Mateo connected a tremendous line drive thru the centerfield which has gone down in Dominican's baseball history as one of the longest hits ever remembered.» Mateo brought in three runs to tie the game and then he himself scored the winning run. Licey fans in the crowd were so frustrated, and their queen <started to cry.» This gave rise to a popular saying: «Mateo's hit was such that even the queen cried.» This expression inspired several poets, and there was even a merengue written about this episode that has forever been remembered as one of the great moments in Dominican baseball.87

That was the first Championship ever won by Escogido, on the following year after it was founded The team then had to wait for 33 years to get another national title, which they did by winning again in 1955.

FIRST TRIP ABROAD EVER MADE BY DOMINICAN BALLPLAYERS

In August 1922, it was announced that Licey, reinforced with players from other teams, would travel to Puerto Rico for six weeks, under the name Dominican Stars As part of this team were Fellito Guerra, Pedro Alejandro

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 66

San, Mateo de la Rosa, Ninín Rodríguez, Guaguá Vargas, Piñao Acosta, Pedro Augusto Saillant, Baldomero Ureña, Sijo Gómez, Pajarito Perdomo, Diógenes Lara, René Velásquez and Pedro Miguel Caratini, their captain Yiyito Pou and Manuel Henríquez were in charge of the team. It was the very first time that a Dominican team traveled outside the country, and the local fans were understandably excited by this idea. The information on the welcoming ceremony in Puerto Rico was certainly very good news: «There has never been such a nice welcome given to any team, not even the Cubans. Upon their arrival at San Juan, the dock was full of people. San Juan's team headed for Ponce in luxury automobiles, and waited by the roadside with fireworks, while a huge crowd of over two thousand souls was cheering The players rode through Ponce as if they were royalty.> 88 The Dominican team's participation in the inaugural game was indeed a very emotional one. All the ballplayers paraded by with the Dominican flag while the Firemen's band played the National Anthem This was very meaningful since the Dominican Republic at that time was occupied by American Marines and Puerto

SAN CARLOS TEAM

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

Rico was a colonial territory. Details of the games were transmitted to Santo Domingo by way of the French cable, and shown at the Colón and Independencia theatres. The Dominicans' performance was a good one. They won six games out of eleven played 89 The individual performances of some of our team's members later allowed them to sign contracts to play in Puerto Rico.

THE CARIBBEAN TEAM

Once the selection of Dominican Stars came back from Puerto Rico, Mr Abad Henríquez, owner of the La Primavera Racetrack, decided to bring a baseball team called Caribbean, which would be their official team, putting José A. Sabino in charge Sabino, one of the original members of the Escogido, had ever since been their captain. He quit this position in August, 1922, a few days before the end of the Championship Series won by the Escogido. The Caribbean team made its debut on February 17th at La Primavera, in a game which they lost to Licey. The press announced it as the first encounter between Tigers and Leopards.» Playing for the Caribbean team were: Gueba, Gugú, Caquín, Memphis, Sijo, Pato, Juanico, Camarena and Sabino, who was the captain.⁹0 Abad Henríquez changed his strategy and during February, 1923, made a move to have Sabino appointed captain of the Licey by signing a contract with them which was extremely favorable to the racetrack's interests. Henríquez then became as powerful as to be appointed president of the baseball jury for the Championship that started on April, 1923.

As we conclude this account for 1922, and in order to leave here a testimony of one of the most relevant events in Dominican baseball during that year, we will just mention the fact that Mr. Heriberto Payams, a song writer from La Romana, wrote the waltz Licey, the Champion.>91

THE 1923 SEASON

In mid-February, 1923 the Escogido elected a new board of directors with the purpose of preparing its participation for the next season. P. E. Marchena

became the President, the manager was Luis A. Alfau, founder of the New Club in 1911 and of the Escogido in 1921 (he had also put together the teams Los Muchachos and Capotillo); and Francisco Siragusa, a former catcher of the New Club, was the captain Besides the Escogido, other teams were also getting ready for the season, such as Licey, San Pedro de Macorís (they hadn't played against a team from the capital city since 1911) and another one from Santiago which would be taking part in a national championship for the first time. All the games were to be held at the La Primavera Racetrack which meant that teams from other cities had to travel to Santo Domingo. They were able to do so because new paved roads had recently been inaugurated.⁹2

Before the start of the 1923 Championship, a brief series was held against the Marines On April 21st, 1923 there was a game between Licey and the strong American U.S.M.C. team, after defeating the Escogido 8-5 the week before. The American team announced the acquisition of Joe, a terrific pitcher named who was known as «Guantánamo,» and other players also from Santiago. They also informed that a music band would play during the game and that General Lee, provisional president, as well as the commissioner of the American Government for the evacuation, Summer Welles, would be attending as special guests 93

The Championship started on April 22nd with a double header between Leones and Santiago, both games were won by the Champs. Escogido's opening pitcher was San, and Fellito Cabrera pitched the afternoon game. The seventh game was on a Sunday, May 13th, between the teams Santiago (which had the Puerto Rican Willy Thompson playing for them) and Licey, who had only one imported player, Benito -Juey- Torrens, from Puerto Rico, making his debut The tenth game was on a Sunday afternoon, May 20th, between the teams Santiago and Macorís, Puerto Rican José -Pepe- Santana, playing for Macorís, hit the first homerun of the series (Macorís had other Puerto Ricans players such as Ramón Guilfucci, Anselmo Freyre and Marcelino Freyre).

As the games went on, the baseball fever increased. For the May 27th

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 69

The teams Santiago and Macorís Athletic Club did not have the level required for this series, so both had few chances to win, even though Macorís, whom the press used to call the Panthers, had 4 Puerto Ricans playing for them. They withdrew from the tournament on Sunday, June 95 game between Licey and Escogido, Mr. Nemén N. Terc, a local businessman, donated a record player (brand name: Play Ola) to the batter with most hits in the two games; the store Santo Domingo Elegant offered a suit (brand name: Royal) which cost was $31.25 to the slugger who hit an over the fence homerun; the rum factories Bou & Guerrero and Martínez Cibrán & Co., offered boxes of their rums Horacista and Peynado for the winning team, and Senior Photo Studio donated a large print picture of the Champion team. With less than two months in this series, an article published by Listín Diario stated that, finally, the decaying nationalism of the Escogido officers had been forgotten when they decided to bring in the Puerto Rican player Agustín -Tingo- Daviú, thus breaking their promise -which was their pride and joyof playing only with natives." 94

24th, before completing the third quarter of the series, when their team did not show up for games 20 and 21 against Santiago. The remaining clubs agreed to play between themselves those games scheduled for the quitting team.

On Sunday morning, July 1st, 1923 there was a game between Escogido and Licey which would have negative repercussions for Dominican baseball. Diómedes Lara, with the Escogido, was on third base with two outs in the eight inning when Licey's pitcher Baldomero Ureña was in the box, Augustín

Daviú was at bat for Escogido. At the exact moment when the runner left to steal home, the pitcher went to third base, ball in hand, and Diógenes was put out The Chief Umpire Pindú Miranda called a balk which allowed Diógenes Lara to come in with the run from third. Therefore, Escogido won the game 4 runs to 3. Licey quickly protested this play.

The Jury's decision to declare the game null was made public on the 14th.

The Listín Diario, in its August 15th edition announced: «sensational games> to be held on August 16th, a national holiday, between the <eternal rivals>

Licey and Escogido. That very same afternoon, Escogido officials decided not to bring their team to play «because of the jury's verdict to nullify a game they had won but was protested by Licey, a matter that had been pending for a while but was settled only last Tuesday.» According to the National Championship's schedule, there were only two days of play remaining in August and three in September, to end the series on the 16th. At the time the series was suspended, Escogido was in the first place winning13 games out of 17; then came Licey, winning 12 out of 17; Santiago with 5 out of 18, and Macorís with 1 win out of 10 games played.97

Just as this series was interrupted, the local press informed that the first ballplayer hired to play abroad was leaving the country. He had been contracted after the Dominican Stars visited Puerto Rico. Baldomero Ureña, one of Licey's pitchers, left for Puerto Rico on board the ship Romanita. He'd been hired by the team Ponce. This information also said that Ninín, Ernesto

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

Sánchez, Mateo de la Rosa and Guaguá Vargas would be leaving soon. Later on, they informed that Mateo de la Rosa, Ninín and Fellito Guerra had in fact gone.

In 1923, with only 17 years of age, Tetelo Vargas is hired by the Humacao Stars in Puerto Rico Contracting Dominican players in Puerto Rico, specifically by the Ponce team, was made possible thanks to Pedro Miguel Caratini who became their captain in 1923. In 1925, Mero again was in the news when he became the first Dominican signed to play with the Allentown team in the United States, not only because he was an excellent pitcher, but also because he was white, as the newspaper Listín Diario stated."

98

On December 11th, 1923, the Cuban team Havana Giants came from Puerto Rico under contract with Abad Henríquez. They arrived aboard the vessel Catherine, and with them came the Dominican players who participated in the Championship Series there. Once back home, these players joined the selection of Dominican Stars who faced the Havana Giants. The first game was won by the Giants for one run, but in the second one they were defeated

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

in a shutout pitched by Fellito Guerra. The original plan had called for this team to play here before traveling to Puerto Rico, and not afterwards, as it actually happened.

On Friday, September 21st, Listín Diario had announced that <the famous baseball team Cuban Stars will arrive next Monday at this pier on their way to Puerto Rico » The article also said that La Primavera's administrator was making arrangements for this team to play an exhibition game in this country. The next day, the same newspaper informed that «this game will be promoted with large posters and music coaches around the city,» and that the «entrance price will be increased in order to cover the expenses incurred. > 99

THE 1924 SEASON

In 1924, there was a championship series between Escogido and Licey, won by the latter. 100 Once it was over, Tetelo, Ninín and San went to Puerto Rico to play ball. Manuel A. Salazar says that the emigration of players during that year brought about a collapse which lasted until 1928.101

OLD BASEBALL STADIUM IN 1920 BELOW: SANTIAGO'S RACETRACK WHERE BASEBALL USED TO BE PLAYED

1925-1929

TOWARDS THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF BASEBALL

The 1925 championship was won by Licey despite the fact that the Escogido had brought in players from the Central Romana 102 That year Dominican ballplayers were pretty active abroad. Pedro Alejandro San traveled to the United States and Ninín Rodríguez played with the Barbudos de la Casa de David. The next year, Néstor Lambertus played with the Havana Stars, and then with the Cuban Stars with Tetelo Vargas.103

At the beginning of November, 1927, Licey went to Puerto Rico to play with the Ponce for the President Vásquez's Cup, donated by the Dominican Consul in Mayaguez. The sports writer for the newspaper La Opinión, who signed his articles as «Generoso,» was against this series because <no one ignores, no matter how big a fan he may be, that the current Licey team cannot perform well in Puerto Rico.» The reality turned out to be worse than the prediction. Fifteen days after having left the country, Antonio García (Nonito) and Manuel Henríquez, the Dominican promoters of the trip, came back aboard the ship Coamo with hopeless news Licey players started to act as an «<undisciplined bunch, whose life was questionable and full of vices. Nina, Chivo, Sonlley and Grillo are using up their young energy by staying up til dawn, hanging out at the most despicable Ponce bars.> The Puerto

TETELO

MARTIN DIHIGO, PLAYER AND MANAGER IN THE 1937 SANTIAGO TEAM

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

Rican promoter of the trip, Tonny Luciano, then «decided to finish out the Horacio Vásquez Cup series utilizing only those Dominican players who wished to stay to play for the Puerto Rican teams, and ship out, probably Friday or next Tuesday, those players who wanted to go back home. 104 Luciano had been very enthusiastic about this series. He even asked the Dominican team to participate in a series with the Yankee team from the ship that had brought them to Puerto Rico.

THE 1928 SEASON

At the end of May 1928, the series between the Municipal team from Santiago and the La Vega Escogido was over with a game held at the new ballpark. This ballpark had been built recently, in January of that year, in the same place where the Santiago Expo was held That game was attended by the Dominican Republic's president, Mr. Horacio Vásquez, who was accompanied by some of his Ministers. The game was, of course, dedicated to them. The ballpark was crowded and the President was greeted with a fireworks show 10

ALEJANDRO OMS

ERNESTICO

At the beginning of 1928, Mr. Virgilio Alvarez Pina and José Dolores Alfonseca, both members of the Government's party, proposed that a game between Escogido and Licey be held on Saturday 14th as part of the July 12th celebration. This day marked the fourth anniversary that the invading American troops had left the country. They ofered a prize of 200.00 Dominican pesos for the winning team. The American Minister, Mr. Young, donated, in addition to the other prizes, an official ball of the American National League signed by Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Bucky Harris, Goose Gosling and Lou Gehrig. This souvenir was on exhibition for several days at the windows of La Marina hardware store. The game started with the School Gymnasium filled to capacity, and the crowd, besides the seats, also filled <the roofs of nearby buildings and even the run-down, far away remainings of the old Memphis Destroyer.» The newspaper coverage stated that every single

1925Licty TEAM

BELOW: DoMINICAN Stars TEAM

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 79

place available was insufficient to accommodate the enthusiastic large crowd who was cheering Tigers and Lions with deafening noises, and applauding wildly the good plays made.» The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Rafael Espaillat, threw the first ball in representation of President Vásquez. José Dolores Alfonseca, then Minister of Interior and Police, was also present. He had been one of the promoters of this event The game was declared tied by Umpire Martínez and postponed until next week at the Primavera Racetrack ballpark because they had scheduled a reopening party on July 21st. 106

place available was insufficient to accommodate the enthusiastic large crowd who was cheering Tigers and Lions with deafening noises, and applauding wildly the good plays made » The Minister of Agriculture, MrRafael Espaillat, threw the first ball in representation of President Vasquez. José Dolores Alfonseca, then Minister of Interior and Police, was also present. He had been one of the promoters of this event. The game was declared tied by Umpire Martinez and postponed until next week at the Primavera Racetrack ballpark because they had scheduled a reopening party on July 21°t.!%

Once the series President's Cup was over, a «period of nationwide baseball started > Licey played with Sandino, and the Escogido against Santiago The Sandino team owed its name to the Nicaraguan hero, César Augusto Sandino, who had resisted American invading troops in his country. He was very popular in the city of Santiago. The team used an eagle as their symbol and they placed it over the left shoulder. They were also known as Chipote Eagles, in reference to the place where Sandino's guerrilla operated. 107 During those weekends that the Escogido did not come to Santiago, Hostos Fiallo took his boys to the southern part of the country to play at the Sabana de Paya, and also in Azua.108

THE 1929SEASON

THE 1929 SEASON

In August, the Ponce team visited us once again for a short series.!°? On March 9', 1929 the Championship started when Licey accepted the challengewhich severalmonthstheEscogidohadmadethruthe ofthe

Once the series President’s Cup was over, a «period of nationwide baseball started.» Licey played with Sandino, and the Escogido against Santiago. The Sandino team owed its name to the Nicaraguan hero, César Augusto Sandifor Listin Diario. This no, who had resisted American time, the Sandino city’s invading team, troops from Santiago, in his country pages was also particiHe was very

popular in the city of Santiago The team used an eagle as their symbol and they placed it over the left shoulder. They were also known as Chipote Eagles, in reference to the place where Sandino’s guerrilla operated.!©” During those weekends that the Escogido did not come to Santiago, Hostos Fiallo took his boys to the southern part of the country to play at the Sabana de Paya, and also .in Azua.!°aS

In August, the Ponce team visited us once again for a short series. 109 On March 9th, 1929 the Championship started when Licey accepted the challenge which for several months the Escogido had made thru the pages of the Listín Diario. This time, the Sandino team, from Santiago, was also participating The capital city's press had started to nickname them Cibao Eagles The ads talked about a «Championship series that will go on record in the history of the game, because the teams are so well-prepared, the management is very efficient, and the excellent cooperation received from renowned foreign players.»>110 The Licey team, presided by José E. Aybar, had $12,000 available to hire imported players and form a «team by far superior to all their

pating. The capital presshad started to nickname them Cibao Eagles. The ads talked about a «Championship series that will go on record in the history of the game, because the teams are so well-prepared, the management isvery efficient, and the excellent cooperation received fromrenowned foreign players.»!!° The Licey team, presided by José E. Aybar, had $12,000 available to hire imported players and form a «team by far superior to all their

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

other teams ever.» Licey went to the Cuban team Almendares and hired their star players Isidro Fabré, Mauricio Funes and Ramón Bragaña. Escogido was not left behind and also hired Martín Dihigo (the most complete Latin ballplayer at that time), Bernardo Baró and Basilio Rossell in Cuba. The Sandino team imported Puerto Rican ballplayers Pancho Coimbre and Menchín Pesante. There was a lot of criticism because of the high salaries paid to Cuban ballplayers. A journalist used to refer to Escogido as «a Cuban team where the wonderful Tetelo Vargas played.»>111 The truth is that only a few Dominican players had a significant role in that series. The press used to mention, besides Tetelo Vargas, the participation of players Pedro Báez (Grillo), Alejandro Pedro San, Guaguá Vargas, Nonito Garcia, Ninín Rodríguez, Sijo Gómez, Ernestico Sánchez and two or three more in the «best baseball right now besides the United States one.> 112 The Listín Diario announced in April 16th, that Manuel García (Cocaína) was arriving by way of Puerto Plata. He was a famous player who had started out in the Cuban league with Almen-

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 81

dares in the season 1926-1927, and was quite sensational. The announcement also mentioned that traveling with him would be Calderón and Arango, and that pretty soon other players would come

The Cuban players' achievements were chanted by the townsfolk. A popular song by the Matamoros, «Mariposita de Primavera» (Little Spring Butterfly) inspired Sergio Vicioso (Meusel) for an eulogy to the skills of Licey's Cuban players: «I'm coming from the Primavera ballpark / watching a thrilling game / in which the arm of the king Bragaña / making noble and tremendous play/put down the Escogido.

To the Escogido officials / only three things will make cry / the nine zeroes by Cocaína / divine labor by Don Pelayo / and the extraordinary hitting by Oms./

Run Pilindo, look for Dihigo / to Bejerano, Moncho and Baró / so they cry right along with you / this Escogido defeat / in the hands of the great champion./

It's a glory for Titico, / Arango, Funes and Calderón, / and the Bambino

PEDRO BAEZ (GRILLO A) IN 1929

FRANCISCO (PANCHO) COIMBRE

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

since they could/beat the team Escogido, / cry over a thousand times: Licey is the Champ.>113

By importing Cuban players, participation of Dominicans was even more significantly reduced. At the end of April, a sportscaster complained that «a lot of good Dominican players were wasting their talent sitting at the benches because we preferred to graciously give the foreigners a chance to win big money here.> All this -said the same sportscaster- happened in spite of the fact that «Calderón is not better than Nonito, or Correa than Fiol, or Arango than Ninín, or Fune than Cabo Sonlley.» 114 The case of Alejandro Oms was a strongly criticized one. In thirteen turns at bat he had 4 hits, and since they paid him $1,000 for the season, the local press bitterly complained that every hit had cost us $250 00 115

The Sandino team had the worse performance of all, which coupled to the weird uniform they wore, became a favorite target for the sports journalists. One of them, from Listín Diario, used to say in March that the Sandino <made a very bad impression in the sports scenery, not only because of their old fashioned «carpenter» uniform, but also for the lousy exhibition they made that day.» Next month, the same criticism continued, only bitter this time: <They need to get a nice uniform to make them look like ballplayers, and get rid of those male bloomers with which they have shown up at the championship series.» 116 They ended up by retiring from the series, in spite of the fact that they had some good imported players: Coimbre, Menchín Pesante, and Gacho Torres.

The end of the series was nothing short of dramatic. Escogido was ahead 9 games over Licey, needing only one more to win the series. This game was played in Santiago, where Cuban pitcher Basilio Rossell had worked in two games, losing both. These losses made the difference for Escogido because next week their best Cuban players, Martín Dihigo, Bejerano and Baró, had to return home. Licey won seven games in a row to win the Champion title on June 16th 117 For good many years this 1929 series was referred to as the

MARTIN DIHIGO AND EUSTAQUIO PEDROSO IN THE 1929 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES BELOW: THE VARGAS BROTHERS, FROM THE LEFT GUAGUA, TETELO AND JUAN

THE PUBLIC IN SANTO DOMINGO RECEIVING INFORMATION ABOUT A GAME HELD IN SANTIAGO BETWEEN THE LICEY AND SANDINO TEAMS IN 1928 BELOW: SANDINO TEAM

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 85

«Luxury championship». After this one, no more series were celebrated over the next seven year period

During this recess, many Dominican ballplayers were hired abroad. Ernesto Sánchez, Tetelo Vargas, and Pedro Alejandro San went to Venezuela in 1931. Details of their accomplishments were known here for the games were transmitted by the radio station Almacén de América in Caracas, heard in Santo Domingo.118 Tetelo Vargas already had a long career abroad, one which started in 1925. Once the 1929 Series was over, he went to New York to play with Alejandro Pompez; from there he went to the Havana Red Sox owned by Adolfo Luque, and to the Havana Stars which belonged to Mike González.119 Enrique Lantigua, a young catcher who had started that series with the Sandino team, went to Venezuela in 1932 for nine months to play with the Magallanes team, winners of that year's Championship. Lantigua was their catcher in this series. In 1933 he played with the Ponce team from Puerto Rico. 120

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 88

In August 1931, almost a year after the hurricane, the magazine La Cuna de América reported: «Our sports are in crisis because there are no installations where to practice. When the School Gymnasium was open, our sports never reached that deplorable state in which they are today. Our athletes have no where to train, much less where to compete... The ballpark at the former Gymnasium could be put in use for a minimal or no expense at all, since the only problem is the garbage which, we do not know why, was placed there during the post-hurricane days. Twenty five inmates would be enough to put it in working condition in just a couple of days.>

In November 1931, the same magazine again insisted on the subject: «For more than two years, Dominican fans have been hungering for a baseball game... The lack of an adequate ballpark is the only obstacle which baseball now faces in order to return to its old status. We have two playing fields, one is owned by the government, and the other one by a private company; one is a garbage dump, and the other one, a horse stable

In January 1932, this magazine still complained about the indifferent attitude of the Government, in view of the abandoned state of the School Gymnasium, which now was «a garbage dump.>12

GENERAL TRUJILLO'S TEAM TRAVELS AROUND AMERICA

Since no baseball could be played here, the only alternative was to go abroad. In 1931, the General Trujillo team was formed, and they went to Puerto Rico.

The manager was Manuel Henríquez and the players were Nonito García, Bobó Benítez, Sijo Gómez, Joaquín Suncar, Abejita Ruiz, Laitico Mieses, Titico Guzmán, Pedro Báez -Grillo A-, Horacio Martínez, Pato Lluberes, Sonlly Alvarado, and Pedro Nina. They played the Junco Stara team twice, losing both games Then they shut out the Caguas City team Upon their return, Nonito García and Bobó Benítez arranged for a continuation to the baseball tour, this time visiting several countries in Latin America. The tour started at the end of the year when the team left for Venezuela with $200 that President Trujillo had

ESCOGIDO TEAM AFTER DEFEATING THE CONCORDIA IN JANUARY, 1934 BELOW: ESCOGIDO IN THE 40s given them.124 Horacio Martínez did not participate in this second tour being replaced by Negro Durán. 125 In February 1932, the Listín Diario informed that in Colombia the Dominican players «were treacherously and wickedly robbed by a local promoter,» and when they found themselves penniless, they accepted a trip to Colón, Panamá, where they are playing for only 35% of the admission tickets, <what is barely enough to pay for their personal expenses,» and did not allow them to purchase the tickets to return to Santo Domingo. The information added that «Ninín, that formidable Bambino of all diamonds and Titithe sensational second baseman from the Champion Licey team, find themselves in a less desperate situation than that of their teammates, having found a job in the city of Cartagena This is the reason why they did not travel to Panamá with the rest of the team.» Titico said that <between the two of them, they are trying to save whatever money is possible, to purchase their return tickets. > CO,

After a month went by without any information about the Dominican players, the Listín Diario published an article stating that in Panamá City <the small crowd that came to watch the game, held at the National Stadium, applauded wildly » After describing details of the game, the sports chronicle written in Panamá but signed by «a Dominican» ended by saying that Dominican ballplayers «are in Panamá in the saddest situation, lacking in those vital needs and unable to return to their country because they do not have the money to do so.» From Panamá, they went to Nicaragua, where they played against the San Fernando team, winning 6-4, in spite of the «<poverty and misery they have suffered since they were robbed in Colombia,» as was published by La Opinión on July 1st. Over the following days they played four games with a team from the American Marines then occupying Nicaragua, winning three of these games, including the one played on the 4th of July, American's Independence Day

From Nicaragua they headed towards Guatemala, and from there on to Mexico. According to a report appearing on the daily paper El Universal, and

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 92

reproduced in Santo Domingo, they made their debut on August 27th, and would stay for an entire month «when they will travel to Cuba where this tour will end.>126 The ballplayers finally returned at the beginning of December 1932, and one of them, Negro Durán, a pitcher belonging to the Sandino team from Santiago, died «suddenly and without apparent cause»> a month after their arrival. 127

MUNICIPAL SPORTS CHAMPION

By mid-1932, the Santo Domingo City Hall had ordered the reconstruction of the School Gymnasium. A proposal made by Councilman Juan Barón Fajardo allocated some funds to build a three-level concrete grand stand at the old School Gymnasium, which would then be known as the Municipal Sports Field. The construction was assigned to engineer José Ramón Báez López-Penha. 128 It ended up as a building with a two-level grandstand which also allowed the use of the roof for people to watch the games, but exposed to the sun. Manuel A. Salazar, in his publication «Brief history of sports in the

TETELO VARGAS STADIUM IN 1936

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

Dominican Republic,» defines this facility as «not very apt for baseball, which is the most widely practiced game here, because the land was of such poor quality and the architecture inadequate, (however) it has the advantage of being near, and people were used to this location.»> This structure was always considered as a poor-quality baseball park even to the point that people used to say < it was such a disastrous construction that there are not even 200 seats from which one can watch the game comfortably » 129 The ballpark was inaugurated on January 7th, 1933 when the Cuban team Almendares, traveling throughout the country, played with Licey and Escogido. During those games, the local press criticized the Dominican players. The Diario del Comercio published that the game against Escogido «was weak on our part because so few good players were there,» and the Bahoruco magazine questioned the lack of professionalism shown by the Licey team when it stated: <The Almendares came, tired and drowsy, but defeated the Licey anyway. We still have a lot to learn »> 130

REACTIVATION OF BASEBALL

At the start of 1933, there was talk of reactivating the traditional teams Licey and Escogido. A front page article appearing in the newspaper El Esfuerzo dated January 5th, 1933, said the following: «We have been informed that the team Escogido will reappear on the 14th of this month, to play against Mr. Charles' boys. The Escogido will probably be strengthened by known players from the Cibao area: Papín, Chaguín, Güeba, Bragaña, and Blanquito. We assume that this piece of news will help to uplift the otherwise depressed baseball spirit in the capital city.>

Two teams were organized that same year: the Good Year, which had Escogido fans, and the Goodrich, which, in spite of being managed by Arturo (Pichulí) Manzueta, a raving Escogido fan (the most enthusiastic one of all Dominican baseball fans, with the sole exception of Juan Pablo Almonte) relied on the Licey fans. These teams were formed «while there was still some loose dirt at the School Gymnasium,» for it was used as a garbage dump at the time.

In September, the Ponce team came over from Puerto Rico when Charles Dore arranged for a series starting on the 16th and ending on October 8th. There were five games against the Licey with a dividend of $1,974.50 from admission tickets, five with the Escogido which left $1,028 75; and two (Sunday, October 1st, morning and afternoon) with Santiago which collected $214.131 with such bad luck in this last game that the Ponce catcher, Cándido Hoyos, broke a leg when he collided with Dominican player Pajarito Perdomo at the home plate. Many people believed Pajarito did it on purpose which was not unusual at that time. Historian Antonio Lluberes remembers that his father, ballplayer Pato Lluberes, used to tell him that previous to the start of a game, a lot of time was spent «working on the spikes until they became almost as sharp as knives to use them in case of arguable plays;> and no less meaningful was the case of Diógenes Lara (who was known for <carrying his spikes over his shoulders on his way to the ballpark, so that they were still sharp at the start of the game») who played for Escogido, when in 1921,

PAIGE, GRIFFIN, RODOLFO FERNÁNDEZ AND MATLOCK PITCHERS OF THE 1937 TRUJILLO CITY TEAM BELOW: SIJO GOMEZ AND MILLITO NAVARRO WHEN THEY WERE PLAYING FOR THE SANTA MARTA TEAM, IN LA GUAIRA, VENEZUELA

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

sliding at first base, he «brutally cut Mono Ozuma with the spikes and he had to be taken directly to the hospital.» In spite of this, the umpire still called the play as «<safe.»> 132

The Puerto Rican player Hoyos had to remain in the country several days more than was planned by his team, whose members left the country on October 11th On October 12th, a national holiday, was the celebration of Race Day, so Licey and Escogido held a game to raise funds for this player. 133

On November 3rd, passing through on their way to Puerto Rico, the Cuban team Almendares, also called Cuban Stars, came over to play three exhibition games The first one was against Escogido, who won Two other two games against Licey and Escogido were won by the Cubans. 134 The Cuban team had the <best nine-man team feasible in Marti's country.>

On November 18th, the American team Richmond visited us, coming from Puerto Rico They stayed for two weekends to play six games against Escogido and Licey. In the morning game, held at the Municipal Sports Ballpark, Escogido won 6 runs to 3, and in the afternoon, Richmond defeated Licey 4-2.1

GAME HELD ON MAY 23RD, 1937

SCORE BOARD AT THE ENRIQUILLO PARK, IN SANTIAGO

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

On December 30th, another American team, the Hazletonw, came over for a visit. This team was actually a selection from Richmond, Pennsylvania, and played a series of four games (one on Saturday afternoon, two on Sunday and one on Monday).

In Santiago, the situation was critical for baseball. On Sunday, February 12th, 1933 the teams Sandino and Tuxedo played «in the presence of a small crowd.» Three days later, the City Hall disintegrated the teams Sandino, Tuxedo and Municipal, to form only two teams which they called Caribe and Gigante. Players from the old Sandino team immediately sent a letter to the newspaper El Diario asking for a restitution of the name Sandino «to honor that great Nicaraguan hero, Augusto César Sandino.> 136

FOREIGN TEAMS ARRIVE AT THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

On January 21st, 1934, the Venezuelan team Concordia visited Santo Domingo. Along with them came Dominican players Tetelo Vargas and Alejan-

COCAINA GARCIA (LEFT) WITH RAMÓN BRAGANA IN THE 1936 PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

SANTIAGO TEAM, 1937 CHAMPIONSHIP

BELOW LEFT: JOHNNY MIZE

FROM THE CONCORDIA AND TETELO VARGAS

FROM THE ESCOGIDO

RIGHT: PAJARITO PERDOMO

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

dro Pedro San (Musié Candelú); the Cubans Dihigo and Quevedo, and the Puerto Rican, Moncho.137

On June 9th, 1934, a series called «Dominican Tobacco> started in Santo Domingo, organized by Sergio Vicioso, Manuel A. Salazar and Julio Linval, all members of the Sports Journalist Association. The tobacco company, then managed by Amadeo Barleta, donated the Cup, a certificate, and cash prizes for this series, since they were interested in «promoting baseball, now facing one of its most critical periods.» 138 Around this same time, the Compañía

Anónima Tabacalera also sponsored a series in Santiago between the teams Sandino and Municipal. 139 The Dominican Tobacco series ended with a victory for Licey, team which, in fact, was the Champion in 1934. When the series ended, on Tuesday, October 16th, 1934, Licey went to Puerto Rico where they played against the Ponce, a local team; the Norfolk, from the United States; and the Concordia, from Venezuela. 140 At the end of this contract in Puerto Rico, players Horacio Martínez, Ernesto Sánchez and Enrique Lantigua stayed there to reinforce the team Guayama Stars. 141

In 1935, the Venezuelan team Concordia returned to this country. That year the magazine Bahoruco was complaining about the small amount of publicity ads paid by baseball promoters and to justify their argument they claimed that <fans are not motivated by a small program thrown in the streets. Neither do they go for a small sign hanged in El Conde Street, and another one placed in Villa Francisca.» What is needed -according to this magazine- is some paid advertisement exactly as they do in Cuba and Puerto Rico.142

The year 1935 was also characterized by the great amount of Dominican players who went to play overseas. In Venezuela were Juan Ballista (Sonora), Miguel García (Nonito), Juan Esteban Vargas (Tetelo), Pedro Báez, Suncar, San, Chaguín, Ernesto Sánchez, Ninín, and Mellizo. While Horario Martínez and Enrique Lantigua went to the New York Cubans, a Black League team in New York."

The year 1936 started well for Dominican baseball when they announced

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

the visit of a big league team from the United States, the Cincinnati Reds, from the National League. This was the first time that a professional team from the United States left their country to train overseas. They had scheduled a series in Puerto Rico with the Almendares Spiders and the Brooklyn Eagles at the Escambrón Park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a modern stadium considered to be <one of the best in Central America and the Antilles,» which had been remodeled to accommodate the visiting team. Alfredo Nadal, a Dominican sports promoter, hired them for two exhibition games in the Dominican Republic. He did the same with the team Los Aztecas, from Mexico, which had also participated in this Puerto Rican event

An old problem came out with the announcement of the visit of a professional baseball team from the big leagues. Since Hurricane San Zenón had devastated the country, there were no adequate ballparks in Santo Domingo to practice the game, much less to accommodate a big league team For the three years, baseball games were being played at the Municipal Sports past

Field, which was not the best facility. A sports journalist referred to this problem and even proposed an alternative, when he wrote « to be able to hold this big sports event here, it is absolutely necessary that we have a good stadium. Unless the Honorable President of the Republic and Benefactor of the Country intervenes, we will not have even the slightest hope of seen international or national competitions here We are again taking this opportunity to point out the need for a ballpark in our city, and suggest a very inexpensive and reasonable way of doing it, a terrific opportunity for Trujillo City to have a good stadium. In the city of Ponce, known as the Southern Pearl of Puerto Rico, there is a Grand Stand made out of steel that even if not new, is not in use. It's made from removable pieces and costs around $19,000.00. According to what we've been told, the Dominican Government or even a private businessman could very well get if for less than $2,300.00.» 144

The Cincinnati Reds asked Mr. Nadal for $1,500 dollars plus 65% of the entrance tickets, amount which was paid for with his own money, plus a do-

nation of $500 made by president Trujillo when the sports promoter convinced him that «with the Major League team are traveling around 8 or 10 journalists, and surely there will be a lot of publicity for the Government.»

In February 1936, the Almendares team came to the country, under contract by the Nadal Company, to play three games with Licey and Escogido. Almendares, as it was mentioned earlier, had scheduled a series in Puerto Rico to play with the Cincinnati Reds, Aztecas and Brooklyn Eagles. The team arrived to Montecristi by boat on Saturday 10th, from where they traveled, by land, to Trujillo City. Their presentation was scheduled to take place on the afternoon of that same day, and the next day, Sunday, so they could leave for Puerto Rico on Monday. 145

The publicity appearing in the local press announced the first game against

Licey, emphasizing that the big attraction would be the debut of that outstanding Dominican player, Horacio Martínez, who had just come to the country after a successful ten-month season in Cuba playing with the champion team Santa Clara, as well as with the New York Cubans Upon his arrival, Martínez was declared the «Most Distinguished Dominican Athlete in 1935.> In the exhibition games against the Almendares, Escogido won. 146

On February 13th, the Mexican team Los Aztecas also visited Trujillo City, for an exhibition game with a selection from Licey and Escogido called Dominican Stars. The game ended in a 3-3 tie when it had to be stopped because the ballplayers were only allowed by the ship's captain to stay inland for one hour. The public's immediate reaction was a violent one: <the protests were such that if the Police had not been present, maybe they would have turned into bloody fights.» 147 For the Aztecas team the pitcher was Cuban Basilio Rossell, who had played with the Escogido in the 1929 season, and for the Dominican team Gustavo Lluberes started, with the Venezuelan Narciso Díaz (Chingo Cañón) ending the game

The first exhibition game played by the Cincinnati Reds was with a «full house,» on March 3, 1936. «Hundreds of fans from nearby towns came,» as was informed by the press The government declared a holiday that afternoon so that baseball fans could go to the ballpark. The first ball was thrown by His Excellency, the Ambassador of the United States of America in the Dominican Republic, Mr Arthur Shoenfeld, who was accompanied by Mr Virgilio Alvarez Pina, president of the Administrative Council. In this game, Cincinnati beat Escogido 7 runs to 1, among other things, because the Escogido players evidenced, from the very beginning, <fear to the fame (of the Cincinnati) which put them in the way to a sure defeat.>

However, on the second game, held on the 4th, the situation was different because Licey was near the victory, arriving at the last inning with the game tied at one run with a great pitching performance by Gustavo Lluberes. He was so good that George Kelly, Cincinnati's manager, several weeks after his

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

visit to the country, wrote a letter to Charles Dore telling him of his favorable impression of this Dominican pitcher. The letter read that he personally was making arrangements for Lluberes to become the first Dominican player hired by a Minor League team in the United States. 148 Lluberes played for Licey and the year before had been «Champion-pitcher» in Venezuela. The second game was lost by Licey on a fielding error by Pepe Lucas (nicknamed ever since and for good many years: Pepe Cincinnati Lucas) which allowed the tie-breaking run to be scored.

BASEBALL COMES TO THE RADIO

Both games were transmitted by Frank Hatton from the radio station HIG as a courtesy of the National Motors Company, concessionary for the Ford vehicles in the Dominican Republic. Hatton was a pioneer in Dominican radio transmissions. In October 2nd, 1924, he had started the HIH radio station, the first one in the country, which came on the air precisely with the transmission of a big league game between the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals. The inaugural ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic, Horacio Vásquez. 149

The first Dominican baseball game ever to be transmitted by radio was the benefit series of the Firemen's Corps of Santo Domingo, in 1928, between Licey and Escogido. This game was narrated by Sergio Vicioso Peguero on HIJK, a radio station owned by Tuto Báez. In Santiago, baseball was transmitted on April 2nd, 1933, when radio station HIIA (La Voz del Yaque) brought all its gear over to the Enriquillo Stadium, creating «an overwhelming sports enthusiasm in Santiago and also in the rest of the country.> 150

In fact, the first baseball game ever transmitted in the country was not exactly over the radio, the telephone wires were used instead. On October 21st, 1917, in La Vega, the Santiago team, Yaque, was playing with a local team. The game was transmitted by telephone to Santiago where, in a corner of the Yaque Cabaret, a big blackboard was placed and the results were writ-

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

ten. El Diario newspaper reported that in front of the above mentioned Cabaret there was a great crowd, eagerly awaiting the telephone information and how happy they were, applauding and shouting, when there were news of runs scored. 151 The same thing happened on Sunday, November 7th, 1919, when the team Capital City Stars visited Baní. Since the national telephone lines passed right across the ballpark, a phone was connected to transmit to the capital city the results of each complete inning. This information was immediately brought over to the Independencia Park, and copied in a big board where it could be seen by the public. 152

This was done for many years In the 1937 Championship series, a store called «La Viking» located across the Duarte Park in San Pedro de Macorís, received the details of the games held in Santiago, and wrote them in a blackboard placed in front of the crowd who followed with great interest. 153

The radio transmission of baseball games also brought along some problems Frequently the announcer had a personal sympathy for one of the teams, which reflected itself in his account of the game. The aggravated fans were naturally upset about this. This was the case with a radio transmission from San Pedro de Macorís in 1936. «The listeners were not fans of the current champion team, so we spent Sunday in the middle of a heat worse than the afternoon atmosphere. The excited HIIJ sportscaster, transmitting from the ballpark owned by Don Tetelo the fierce games between the «<selected» teams versus the «champions,> was intolerably biased, exaggerating at will even the smallest plays made by the champions. On the contrary, the accomplishments of the selection were seen and transmitted by him with underrated comments. That is not the proper way to transmit games. The radio announcers, just like the umpires, are judging the plays, so they cannot allow their natural sympathies to become so evident, rather they should work with neutral eyes and tongues The radio listener does not want him to become a critic. He just wants the announcer to have a good eye and to transmit accurately through the microphone what he has seen, leaving the judgment of the plays to the audience.>154

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

106

THE 1936 SEASON

Since the start of 1936, steps are being taken to renew the celebration of the National Baseball Championship, interrupted since 1929. On February 3rd, there was a meeting called by Mr Virgilio Álvarez Pina, president of the Administrative Council of Santo Domingo. The meeting was headed by sports promoter Alfredo Nadal, to work out the details of the baseball championship that year. The meeting was also attended by Dominican's Army Major José Arismendi Trujillo Molina, who offered to donate the Julia Molina Cup (in honor of his mother who was known as the «Honored Matron») plus $300 to the winning team. At that meeting the teams' delegates for Licey (Mr. Hostos Fiallo) and Escogido (Messrs Manuel A Salazar, Leopoldo Espaillat and Rodolfo Bonetti) proposed to leave out the Macorís team «because it was such an inferior club to participate in a series such as this one, and also because they did not have an adequate stadium, which would only slow down the schedule.» Mr. Virgilio Dalmau, delegate for the Macorís team, informed that the team was retiring <because it was not ready yet to participate in the national championship.>

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 107

This decision left the championship with only three teams (Licey, Escogido and Santiago) since Army Major Antonio Leyba Pou had informed that the Army's baseball team was not yet ready to compete. The Escogido also proposed that they appoint a Jury integrated by Abad Henríquez, Carlos Sánchez y Sánchez and Manuel A. Peña Battle. (The latter was substituted by Manuel Vicente Feliú in a meeting held on February 25th ) This decision was approved by all those present. An important subject dealt in this meeting was the way they would divide the benefits derived from the games, and the following was agreed: 35% for promoter Alfredo Nadal, 32.5% for Licey and the same for Escogido. At last, they agreed to start playing on a holiday, February 27th, which was National Independence Day. On the 17th they held the second preparatory meeting for the National Championship series. At this time they were informed that the Macorís team had decided to participate in the series using the name Oriental Stars. They approved to call the series <Major Trujillo> in honor of its main sponsor, upon request made on Febru8th by Rafael V. Meyreles, delegate of the Santiago Baseball Club. On the

GUSTAVO LLUBERES

JOSH GIBSON AND COOL PAPA BELL

TETELO VARGAS, MANUEL -COCAÍNA-GARCÍA, LÁZARO

SALAZAR AND SANTOS AMARO

25th, the third and last meeting was held which basically dealt with allowing Licey to play without their uniform because they had still not received it, so as not to delay the inauguration. 155

Licey hired three foreign ballplayers: Cubans Cando López and Rodolfo Fernández, and the Puerto Rican, Francisco-Pancho- Coimbre. When Horacio Martínez left the country in March 1936 to play abroad, he was substituted by Venezuelan Luis Aparicio The Escogido hired Venezuelan Narciso Díaz (Chingo Cañón), the Cuban Silvino Ruiz, and Puerto Rican Perucho Cepeda. At that time, Francisco Martínez Alba, brother of Dictator Trujillo's wife, was the President of the Escogido B.B.C.

To organize the participation of the Santiago team, at the beginning of February, the Santiago Baseball Club was reactivated. They had been inactive since 1929 when they sponsored the Sandino team in that year's series. The new board of directors was formed by distinguished members from the Santiago society It included Augusto Vega, Domingo Bermúdez, José Cabral Bermúdez, José Antonio Hungría, Marco Cabral, Aquiles

Bermúdez, Jacinto Dumit, Moisés Franco y Franco, Herminio León Jiménes, Juan Antonio Bisonó and Gustavo Tavares. 156 With the financial support received from Augusto Vega, Marco Cabral, René Moscoso, Luis R. Mercado, and Juan Antonio Bisonó, the Santiago team hired Cuban players Emilio Sardá, a pitcher; Pepín Pérez, a catcher; and Antonio Mirabal, an outfielder. 157

Members of the Santiago Baseball Club at that time used to live only on their salaries as regular workmen, and were only paid a small amount per game, which amount depended on the number of admission tickets paid for by the fans. Most of the time this small profit was bet against the opposing team, so that if their team lost, they had no pay. In these teams played Santiago-Chaguín- Gómez, the shortstop, who worked as a mechanic; Edilio Viloria, right fielder, an iron worker; Pepe García, utility, was a film camera operator at the Colón Cinema; Polanco Rodríguez, the catcher, was a carpenter;

Bobo el sordo, leftfielder, was a construction worker; and Cheché Jorge, centerfielder, was a shoe repairman. 158

The San Pedro de Macorís team had been reorganized in 1936 by a group of notable people from Macoris, headed by Federico Nina Nina had been born in Santo Domingo in the year 1900 and there he had played baseball, he was manager of the team Los Muchachos, and was also founder of the Escogido in 1921. When he graduated from Law school in the year 1924, he was appointed judge in San Pedro de Macorís.

The Oriental Stars hired players like the Cubans Ramón Bragaña, Cocaína García, Javier Pérez and Pedro Arango. This team made a great acquisition when they hired Tetelo Vargas who had always played for the Escogido The inaugural game of this series was held on February 27th and Major General José García, Trujillo's brother in law, threw the first ball. He was Secretary of Interior, Police, War and Navy. He then went to the VIP location accompanied by R. Paino Pichardo, Inspector of Foreign Legacies and Consulates; Virgilio Alvarez Pina, President of the Administrative Council; Alfredo Nadal, sports promoter; and Dr. Francisco Benzo, Director of the Padre Billini Hospital. The game was won by Escogido 4 runs to 3.159 As of April 5th, radio stations HIG and HIZ informed «in a joint transmission made by direct cable» the incidents of the series. 160

In San Pedro de Macorís they started immediately to build a ballpark in a piece of land donated by Onofre Ferrés. For its construction they took up a collection between José Armenteros ($800), Onofre Ferrés ($750), Federico Nina, Geo Dellis, J. W. Taten, César Iglesias and Pompilio Santana ($100 each), plus other contributions made by the people which amounted to $2,905 00 The inauguration of this stadium, called Oriente Park, took place on May 10th with games 18 and 19 of the championship series. There was a crowd of over 5 thousand people attending each game. It was the first time since Lulú Pérez took the New Club to Macorís a quarter of a century ago, that first class baseball was played in San Pedro de Macorís. In the morning,

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

during the inaugural game, Professor Gabriel del Castillo, director of the Municipal Band, played the song «Oriente Stars» for the first time. This event was attended by Petán Trujillo, and there he was named «First Dominican Sportsman » Both games were won by the Stars On May 22nd an announcement was made that, sponsored by Casa Armenteros and supported by Macorís fans, <in a supreme desire to recognize the physical and moral virtues of Juan Esteban Vargas, they decided to put a bronze plaque that read as follows: «Sports Field Tetelo Vargas, May 10th, 1936» thus changing the name Oriente Park. 161

On May 12th, 1936 newspaper Listín Diario started a campaign to raise some funds in order to alleviate the extreme poverty situation of former player Indio Bravo In the six weeks that they kept the public subscription, they collected $27. When they gave him the money, Indio Bravo was grateful for the gesture since he could «no longer win his bread, for he was suffering from an illness which caused him a lot of pain.» He died in poverty on July 23rd, 1936, at 41 years of age. No news of his death appeared in the local press. 162

The Championship ended on May 24th, 1936 after the teams Licey and Escogido chose to retire because they felt that even if they won the remaining games, they would not classify for the first place The Oriental Stars won 163 An important fact of the 1936 baseball season is that local ballplayers that used to play abroad could stay in the country. Some of the players who took this opportunity were Tetelo Vargas, Horacio Martínez, Enrique Lantigua, Chaguín Gómez, Gustavo Lluberes, Pedro Báez (Grillo), Pajarito Perdomo, Sonlley Alvarado, Pedro A. San, Sijo Gómez, Ernesto Sánchez and Ninín Rodríguez, all of whom had gained a lot of experience while playing in Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Horacio Martínez, who played for Licey, did not end the season because on March 14th he went to the United States to play shortstop for the New York Cubans in the Black League.

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

THE 1937 SEASON

The 1936 experience was traumatic for both Licey and Escogido fans and they were sad to see the National Champion Trophy leave the walled city for the first time. To make matters worse, their teams couldn't even reach the second place, which belonged to the Santiago team. This defeat originated such a crisis among these two teams that, particularly in the case of the Escogido, was devastating, and so, for the 1937 season <this team was in such a deep recess that if there are any reactivation plans they are so secret that it seems as though not even their oficials, if they still exist, are aware of them »> 164 At last, in order to participate in the Championship series, the two teams from the capital city joined efforts and formed one single team which they called Trujillo City Dragons. This team was created in March 4th, 1937 in the office of lawyer Julio A Cuello, and the Board of Directors was made up by Federico Gerardino, President; José Enrique Aybar, first Vice President; Francisco Martínez Alba, second Vice President; Virgilio Abreu, third Vice President; Humberto Gómez Olivier, Treasurer; Julio A. Cuello, Hostos Fiallo

TRUJILLO CITY TEAM, 1937 CHAMPIONS

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 113

and Carlos Manuel Bonetti Burgos, delegates; Rodolfo Bonetti Burgos, Secretary; and a list of members which included several outstanding businessmen General Trujillo was proclaimed Honorary President and Protective Member «unanimously, with everyone standing up to show respect and consideration for his election, which was followed by enthusiastic applause.>

They immediately announced the first donations for the new team: Virgilio Álvarez Pina $50, Rialto Circuit $50, Lolón Guerrero Pharmacy $20, Luis E. Rodríguez Abréu $10, and Julio Santos $25. In their second meeting they decided to appeal directly to those people chosen to financially support the new team: Ramón Saviñon Lluberes, of the National Lottery; Félix Benítez Rexach, Port contractor; National Brewery Company, and the business community <to ask for an effective cooperation to these games under the patronage of Honorable President Trujillo.» 165

In Santiago, Rafael V. Meyreles, a representative of their team, wrote an article in the local press about the rumors there on the merging of Licey and Escogido into a single team called «Trujillo City». The writer disqualified

SATCHEL PAIGE, JOSH GIBSON AND BILL PERKINS

this name because <this illustrious name that the capital city bears today should be respected more and more every day, and should never be put in the public's mouth so that it could be laughed at and joked about, which were the arms normally used by baseball fans.» He ended up by saying that «the bestfitting name for this new team would be Capital City Escogido or Capital City Stars.» A sports journalist from the Listín Diario newspaper, in a humorous tone, made the following comment: «With the name Trujillo City, who does not win?»> Arrangements for the series were made in the middle of disputes. Listín Diario made an appeal for composure and calmness in an editorial, which was commented by J. B. Lamarche. 166

On March 12th the list of players who would be brought from overseas to play with the Trujillo City team was announced: Lázaro Salazar, Miguel Solís, Silvio García, Rodolfo Fernández, Cuco Correa, Francisco Coimbre, Quintana and Perucho Cepeda. The note ended saying that this «eight giant Antillean players, together with our best men, will result in a team capable of defeating the best ones, therefore this championship should be a lot more thrilling than last year's, won by the Oriental Stars.167

The Oriental Stars, defending National Champions, started to get ready very early. On February 22nd, arrived to San Pedro de Macorís, from Puerto Rico, Manuel -Cocaína- García, who together with Tetelo Vargas, Bragaña, Javier Pérez and Arango were the main ballplayers for the Stars that year.

When they learned who would be playing for Trujillo City, Federico Nina, from the Oriental Stars, went to Pittsburgh accompanied by Luis Méndez, a Dominican employed by the Consulate in New York, and they contacted several players at Forbes Field Stadium, offering them attractive contracts to play in the Dominican Republic.

Nina and Méndez were incarcerated under the accusation of trying to rob ballplayers from the American teams Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays. Since a consular employee was involved in this dispute, the situation reached the level of a diplomatic problem. Several telegrams were sent be-

tween Trujillo City, the American State Department, and the city of Pittsburgh. Nina and Méndez's were in prison for an entire weekend, and were finally freed on a US$500 bail The intervention of Cordel Hull and the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs got the charges dropped, but the news that in the Dominican Republic were paying a higher salary than in the United States to play baseball soon spread like gunpowder. Those American players who had been contacted originally, agreed to accept Nina's proposal. But when they arrived to the San Pedro de Macorís' port, they were greeted by General Federico Fiallo, chief of the Army and former Licey pitcher, who decided that these ballplayers were going to play with the team Dragons of Trujillo City. Nina had to return for more players and not through small difficulties was he able to hire some for his team. 168

The Championship called «President Trujillo's Re-election,» started on March 28th, 1937 at the Tetelo Vargas Stadium in San Pedro de Macorís, home of last year's Champion, with a record-breaking attendance. The first ball was thrown by Raúl Carbuccia but there were no public officials at the game. The teams presented the following line-up: Trujillo City Dragons: Ninín, first baseman; Quintana on second; Solís at third; Silvio García, pitcher; Lantigua, catcher; Correa, ss; Coimbre, rf; Sonlley lf; and Salazar, cf. Oriental Stars: Blanco at first; Arango on third; Bragaña, pitcher; Rojo, catcher; Aladino, ss; Tetelo, cf; Oms, rf; and Cocaína, lf.

Reports on the first game called «Trujillanos» the members of the Trujillo City team. The first two games were won by the Oriental Stars 4 to 1 and 7 to 6. In the first game played in Santo Domingo at the Municipal Sports Field, Her Majesty Lina the First, the Carnival's queen, threw the first ball. It was between the Oriente Stars and Trujillo City teams. This game was transmitted simultaneously by radio stations HIN, HIZ and HIT, <this being the first time in the history of national sports that three radio stations simultaneously transmit a game.»> 169

Contrary to what had happened last year, no restrictions were placed for

hiring foreign players, and «every time a team lost for whatever reason, on Monday the cable was already out and in the course of that same week a new bunch of players arrived in Macorís by plane». The sports journalist Fernando A. Concha P., who used to sign his articles as Conchita, in February had warned about the dangers of this practice. He used to say that <until recently, all our money used to go abroad either because of the sugar mills, or for the purchase of badly needed articles» concluding that now the economy was bleeding from importing ballplayers He ended his comment by saying that it was <a scandal and should be a strongly criticized action that while a foreigner used to make around $150 a month and was living like a king, a Dominican made only $24.» 170 In the case of Dihigo and Gibson, they won $2,500.00 for five weeks, playing two games per week, salaries just like those paid at the Major Leagues. 171

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

On Sunday, April 11th, there was a game between the Cuban players and a team formed by locals, whose captain was Sonlley, for the purpose of raising funds for the native players that have not gotten a contract with the Trujillo City team. The amount of Cubans was so large that the Cuban radio station CMQ used to refer to the Dominican tournament as «<the Cuban series. > 172

As if this was not enough, in April, umpire Eustaquio Gutiérrez, a very experienced one in his country, was also imported from Cuba. 173

In the games held at the Enriquillo Park in Santiago, the orchestra Lira del Yaque directed by Luis Alberti used to entertain the public. It was a tradition to play the merengue «Compadre Pedro Juan» during the seventh inning break. At that time this song was considered sort of an anthem for the Santiago team. Years later it was substituted by the merengue <Leña.>

In the first two months of the Championship one would not pay a penny for the City Dragons victory, they ended up in the last place at the end of the first round. By mid-April, José E. Aybar went to New Orleans, where the Pittsburgh Crawfords team was practicing. The owner of the team, Gus Greenlee, was in the middle of a financial crisis due to the recent elections in Pittsburgh which brought changes in the municipal authorities, and the police hold of his altered accounting books. The first sign of trouble came when Gus announced that the players had to cover their own expenses during spring training in New Orleans. When Aybar came over to see star pitcher Leroy -Satchel- Paige, he told him: «I manage the team Trujillo City and am interested in your services. President Trujillo has given me instructions to hire the best pitchers and my agent has recommended you a lot.» Aybar's offer was $30 thousand dollars for him and another 8 players, to be distributed at Paige's will. In view of this tempting ofer, Paige's reply was «I want to see that money.» The next day the money was deposited in his bank account, and he immediately got under way to Trujillo City. 174

In the early days of May, an evaluation of the first two months of the series gave as sure winner the Champions, Oriental Stars, who were then ahead of

1936 SANTIAGO TEAM

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

the Santiago team. Several weeks before they were dominating the series after having paid a fortune for player Martín Dihigo who, on April 11th, became the team's manager. Word was out about the financial losses incurred by the team Trujillo City, which had incorporated some players whose behavior was not proper. Paige himself was not having the desired results so they brought in from Haiti a voodoo priest who prepared a «caprelata» and a <wanga> to help them win 175 Some fans rejected these black players and used to refer to them in racist and insulting terms, such as the journalist from the Listín Diario who used to sign his sports column «Cuartillas» as Siul. He once wrote: <There is a very meaningful trilogy of monkeys: Paige, Andrew and Perkins »> 176

By mid-May a violent reaction took place in front of the Trujillo City B.B.C. as a result of the last defeats suffered by this team. On May 18th, the <New United Front» was created, organized in an almost military manner, if we take into account the fact that it was directed by José E Aybar, who, only a short time later would be heading the University Guard. Miguel Angel Paulino, founder of a much feared gang at the start of the dictatorship, called <The 42,» was designated to head the organization committee of this team.

«Some hours later after having been appointed, the new Executive Committee of the Trujillo City team carried out the most efficient deals to get four American players who arrived here on Thursday, the day before yesterday. They left on Wednesday night, flying from Pittsburgh to Miami in a plane chartered by the new Committee. No expense was spared to sign these players and thanks to the dynamic and absolute lack of negligence among the members of the Committee, said players will be wearing the uniform of the Dragons as of this very same afternoon. Harry Willams, Leroy Madlock, James Bell, and Sammy Bankhead will make their debut this afternoon in the Trujillo City's line up > 177

At the time of these negotiations to import foreign players for the Dragons, Josh Gibson was playing winter ball in Puerto Rico. The team Grays

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

was negotiating to purchase his contract for $2,500 dollars, when Paige sent him a telegram making him a better offer Josh immediately came to the Dominican Republic. This was the last season that Josh and Paige played together. 178

Satchel Paige and the group of Afro-American players participating in this season lived like kings in the Dominican Republic. Paige and Bell used to play golf in the golf course at the Consuelo Sugar Mill, and were the only blacks allowed there. 179 Their life-style, full of pleasures, had forced the Trujillo

City Dragons to put them under domicile arrest the night before the final game, to make sure that they got enough sleep to be in good shape for the game Paige kept his winning record (8-2), followed by Martín Dihigo (64). Gibson was batting champ with 453, some hundred points above his nearest rival, besides being leader in triples with 5.

The Dominican Republic had hired the best players from the United States Black League and they came to play at the best baseball league outside of the United States. This last statement was confirmed when the names of Satchel Paige, George Scales, Martín Dihigo, Clyde Spearman, David Thomas, Láza-

ro Salazar, Santos Amaro, Cocaína García, Ramón Bragaña, William Perkins, Silvio García, Rodolfo Fernández, Chester Brewer, Ernest Carter, Lantigua, Sonlley and Horacio Martínez are mentioned.

The victory celebrations for the Trujillo City Dragons were magnificent. Colonel Ramfis Trujillo, then only 8 years old, was host to the formal going away party held at the Balneario La Toma in San Cristóbal, owned by his father, president Trujillo They were there until 3 o'clock in the afternoon when Gibson, Williams, Bankhead, Madlock and Griffin left for Azua, where they would go aboard the vessel San Juan, on their way to the United States 181

When they returned to the United States, Paige, Bell and the other AfroAmerican players were accused of abandoning their teams, and were punished with expulsion from the Black Baseball League Paige then formed his

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

own team called Trujillo All-Stars. They started to go on tours competing with the Black League teams, and they even won the Denver Post Championship. 182

A lot has been speculated about Trujillo's hand in the final outcome of the 1937 championship. Baseball experts saw, even more than his interference, team superiority At the end of the third month of this series, Julio C Linval, sports journalist for La Opinión paper, on June 26th wrote: «It would not be surprising then if the victory in the President Trujillo's Re-election championship belonged to the perfect machinery of Trujillo City when it is quite evident that they have the best team. This is the most expensive team ever put together, not only in the entire history of Dominican baseball but also, after reviewing some pertinent documentation, in any other country with the sole exception of the United States > The 1937 season «left empty the pockets of the baseball executives of those cities which had a baseball team representing them, (with the results) so a period of 14 years started without the country having professional ball. Only amateur teams played then, and the names Licey and Escogido never appeared.»> 183

In the year 1937 professional baseball ceased to exist in the Dominican Republic until it came back in 1951 Again, as it happened after the 1929 championship, the best Dominican players started to negotiate contracts to play out of the country. Enrique Lantigua and Tetelo Vargas left to play at the Zulia championship series in Venezuela, with the team Gavilanes. From there, they went on to Colombia with Gustavo Lluberes to play with the Atlas in Cartagena, a team managed by Lantigua, the Dominican player. In 1939 Tetelo Vargas and Enrique Lantigua went to play in Puerto Rico. 184

1938-1950

DAWN OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL... PINNACLE OF AMATEUR BASEBALL

VARGAS AND VENTURA (LORO) ESCALANTE, 1942

According to sports journalist Tirso Valdez, in the period immediately following the 1937 championship, and until 1951, there was some sporadic baseball in the Dominican Republic, mostly in short series that were not too interesting. 185 The 1938 season was put together with only local ballplayers. That's how it appeared in the Listín Diario's headlines on February 7th, in an article about the championship series between the teams Osos Blancos (White Bears) and Escogido Lions, which marked the debut of pitcher Loro Escalante, winning 6 runs to 5. The team White Bears, also known as Soto and Linval, was considered to be «a mix of new pine and old mahogany.> 186

The most important Dominican ballplayers were all overseas. On June 5th, 1938 Andrés Julio Báez (Grillo B), pitching with the Pastora team in Venezuela, won a game that went for a total of 20 innings against Lázaro Salazar, who was pitching for the Gavilanes. Also participating in that game were Dominicans Tetelo Vargas, for the Gavilanes, and Grillo A and Horacio Martínez for the Pastora.

During the months of June-July 1939, there was a series called Dominican-Puerto Rican between Licey, Escogido, and the Ponce-Cofresí Pirates, which Licey won.

HORACIO MARTÍNEZ, TETELO

VENTURA ESCALANTE (LORO) FROM THE SAN RAFAEL TEAM, IN THE 1942 GENERAL TRUJILLO CHAMPIONSHIP

In 1940, Licey and Escogido started a series named Pedro José Trujillo Nicolás in honor of Pedro Trujillo's son, brother of the Dictator. On March 29th, 1941 at the Tetelo Vargas Stadium in San Pedro de Macorís, the series «Restauración Financiera» started between the Oriental Stars and the Puerto Rican team Guayama This series had been arranged by sports promoter Federico Nina. The Dominican team was made stronger by Cuban Javier Pérez, called the Marimanta, and the Puerto Rican player Rafael Ortiz. The Puerto Ricans brought the Americans Tom Young, Chester Brewer and super star Satchel Paige, who had been in the country during 1937. Dominican Tetelo Vargas came with the Puerto Rican team but once here, preferred to play with the Dominicans. The pitchers for the first game were Chester Brewer and Loro Escalante, and it ended with a 4-2 victory for the Dominicans. In the fourth game, held on April 5th, Loro Escalante defeated Satchel Paige, 9 runs to 6

In 1942 the series «Pro-Election President Trujillo» was held, with the team San Rafael B.B.C. winning with a great performance by pitcher Loro Escalante, on Sunday, May 17th, 1942. The teams Presidente Beer and Nika also participated

The year 1943 was a very active one for baseball for there were several tournaments held, such as the «Presidente Trujillo,» the «Victory's V Tournament»>, the «Pro-Century» series and also a Dominican team participated at the VI Amateur World Series The series Victory's V started on March 7th, 1943 and was a continuation of the President Trujillo series, but only with the participation of Santiago and La Vega. The games were played at the Enriquillo Park in Santiago and Guarionex Park in La Vega. The Santiago team was managed by Luis Tomas Saillant, and La Vega by Bragañita García from Moca. The series ended on April 11th with a victory for the Santiago.

In November of that same year, 1943, Licey went to Puerto Rico to play against Ponce, but there was hardly any enthusiasm, and the attendance was

JACKIE ROBINSON AT THE NORMAL HIGH SCHOOL BALLPARK IN 1948

BELOW: LUIS BAEZ, GRILLO C , READS IN THE NEWSPAPER LA NACIÓN DETAILS OF THE RÍO VERDE PLANE CRASH, WHERE HIS BROTHER, PEDRO A BAEZ, MANAGER OF THE CIBAO EAGLES, DIED

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

scarce, perhaps because they «anticipated that the Dominican team would be a disaster.> They lost both games, 11 to 5 and 3 to 1. Upon their return to Santo Domingo, Charles Dore, Licey's manager, admitted that the host team was a superior one.187

The only important achievement for baseball during that time was in the amateur level. In the capital city alone there were weekly games on Saturdays and Sundays, sometimes up to 15 games which involved at least 30 teams and over 350 ballplayers. The Santiago paper La Información published an editorial to this effect, stating that if Dominican sports did not want to be left behind, its renovation should rely in the expansion of amateur baseball to avoid having to send the same players to international series. 188

LACK OF STADIUMS

At the start of the forties, one of the greatest dificulties for the practice of baseball was the lack of stadiums. The Municipal Sports Field, former School Gymnasium, had been demolished In October 1943, the Molinuevo Park

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

was inaugurated in Villa Duarte. There was a series «Pre-Century> held between the teams Presidente, Nika and San Rafael, managed by Jaime Gronau, Manuel Henríquez and Charles Dore. In February 1944, the Perla Antillana Racetrack was inaugurated, over at the Duarte Highway, some three and a half kilometers from the center of the city. More than 10 thousand people attended At that time it was considered an architectonic jewel built by several associated engineers and architects Guillermo González, Bienvenido Martínez Brea, José Antonio Caro Álvarez and Alfredo González. It included a sports field for the practice of baseball. Abad Henríquez, former owner of the Racetrack La Primavera, was the administrator On February 25th, 1944, at the Perla Antillana the series «1944 Inter-Antillean Baseball Century> started between a Dominican selection and a Cuban one, with the Dominicans winning 5 out of the 7 games played. There was an excellent performance by Dominican pitcher Grillo B. The Cuban team was managed by Rodolfo Fernández and the Dominican one by Horacio Martínez. Amateur sports continued to grow in the provinces. In August 1945, Baní

MOLINUEVO PARK, IN VILLA DUARTE

BELOW: SANTIAGO

B B T TEAM IN 1943

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

held the Regional Championship of Southern Amateur Baseball with a winner's trophy donated by Casa Ricart. The popular merengue «La batola> written by Enriquillo Sánchez, then director of the Municipal Band, became very popular at that time. It was chanted by everyone at the ballpark: «To the visiting teams / we give them Coca Cola / then we beat them/ and make them wear La batola.»></

With Oscar Mir as the catcher / and Fello throwing the ball/ there are sure nine zeros / and we make them wear La batola.»> 189

At the end of 1945, Juan Bautista Lamarche, through the Pro-Sports Society, organized an opinion poll among 205 sports journalist and fans to select the best Dominican baseball team of all times The results were as follows:

Rafael A. Guerra (Fellito), pitcher (191 votes); Juan Esteban Vargas (Tetelo), outfielder (186); Horacio Martínez (Rabbitt), shortstop (179); Enrique Hernández (Indio Bravo), pitcher (168); Pedro Alejandro San (Mesié Candelú), pitcher (164); Rafael A Alvarado (Sonlley), outfielder (124); Pedro A. Báez (Grillo A), third baseman, (113); Luis E. Rodríguez (Burrulote), utility (112); Luis Saint Claire (Guiguí Lucas), catcher (103); Francisco Rodríguez (Ninín), first baseman (92); Baldomero Ureña (Mero), pitcher (81); Fernando A. Miranda (Pindú), outfielder (69); Juan B. Guzmán (Titico), second baseman (61); Mateo de la Rosa, utility (42).

On Sunday, August 17th, 1947 there was a game in Santiago between the Cibao Eagles and the Escogido Lions, as part of the celebrations for the swearing-in ceremony of Héctor B. Trujillo as president of the country.

On September 28th, 1947 Dominican baseball covered itself with glory when Guayubín Olivo, pitching for the Escogido at the La Normal Presidente Stadium defeated the Licey 3-0, in a no hit-no run game.

BASEBALL IN 1948

1948 marks a diference from the rest of the period analyzed in this chapter for the important events that took place in Dominican baseball. The year

started with a tragic note. On Sunday, January 11th, the members of the amateur team were returning to Santiago after having played a team from the south, in the city of Barahona Participating in this series were the teams War and Navy managed by Burrulote Rodríguez; the Oriental Stars, the Papagayo, and an Escogido from Moca. At six o'clock on Sunday, January 11th, after an unsuccessful attempt to land at the Santiago airport, and while trying to reach Santo Domingo, the plane fell down in Rio Verde, Yamasá. This plane was from the National Aviation Company and was transporting 16 ballplayers to Santiago from their own team, including Pedro Báez (Grillo A), Ventura «Loro» Escalante, Aquiles Martínez and Bombo Ramos, who just hours before had won the last game he pitched. These players' funeral was <one of the greatest massive events that ever took place in Santiago»> and the Catholic mass was «the most solemn religious event ever celebrated in this town.> The deep sorrow brought about by this tragedy completely moved the Dominican society. The memorial service included poems written by Messrs. Paco Escribano and Hugo Tolentino Dipp.

When this tragic event took place, the Escogido team, from Moca, changed its name to Cibao, to remember the fallen baseball players and as a symbolic way of representing them in the Championship. They finally won the series. When the final victory took place «the streets in Moca became filled with crazed fans, holding and embracing each other, and just barely able to repeat: We are the Champs!190

On February 29th, 1948 the Dominican Republic was visited by the teams Brooklyn Dodgers and Montreal Royals during their spring training. Jackie Robinson was the main attraction. When they came to practice at the Normal Presidente Trujillo Stadium, a «great amount of fans applauded enthusiastically.> Years later, Robinson would tell that while in Trujillo City, manager Durocher held against him that after being suspended for a year, the team almost wins the World Series without him. He again wanted to impose his authority. He used to tell Jackie that <he looked like an old lady with lots of

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

fat around the belly» and that he could not bend down. Such insults humiliated Jackie, particularly when the American reporters accompanying the team came over to check him out «as if he was in the Army.>

The first training game was held between the two visiting teams, and president Trujillo threw the first ball with over ten thousand fans present. Trujillo did not overlook the fact that, together with the American ballplayers, there was also a great amount of reporters covering this event. The game with the Dominican team was held on March 11th and was won by the visitors 4 x 3, but the performance of the local team was highly praised. Pitcher Oscar Mir Flores worked the first eight innings, and when he was relieved by Achín Matos, a multitude of over 12 thousand fans sent him away with a standing ovation

The Dodgers went to Santiago for an exhibition game at the Trujillo Stadium against the Moca Cibao team who two weeks before had won the Amateur Baseball National Championship. The team from Moca was assisted by veteran Horacio Martínez who not only helped to manage the team together with its manager Pajarito Perdomo, but he also played in the game. 192

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

FEMALE BASEBALL

At the beginning of 1948 the newspaper La Nación informed that «<a few days ago, a group of distinguished ladies from Moca have been training in the practice of baseball, to play against other similar teams in the country.» The article confirmed that the women, trained by Zoilo Rosario, were good at fielding and batting, but particularly <for being extraordinarily fast.» Baseball sportscaster Manuel Neftali Martínez Tejeda (Tafneli) agreed to feminine baseball, or «skirts baseball»> as he used to call it, and he said that even though he still hadn't had a chance to see them play, he was pleased to learn about female baseball abroad because he had seen the news at the local cinema, as well as pictures in magazines and newspapers from Cuba and Mexico. 193 A month later, La Nación published a short «<article> on Bethania <Feller» Peláez, from Barahona -who, at 17 years of age, 120 lbs., and 5'7" was a great base stealer, besides being a pitcher- and went on to state that during a game on March 14th she stroke out fourteen batters leaving the opposing team with only two hits. For this action, her manager Carlos -the American-

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

McKinney had nicknamed her «<the Dominican Bob Feller.» Bethania was the star pitcher for the female team Normal who played against another such team from Barahona, called Partido Dominicano (Dominican Party) managed by Manolo Hernández.

In Moca, female baseball was expanding rapidly. In El Caimito alone, a small town located two kilometers from the city, there were over 100 women playing this sport «which before used to be exclusively for the ugly people> and they had such good organization that they were hired by Domingo Pichardo, manager of the Trujillo Stadium, to play an exhibition game for the first time in Santiago.194

In Trujillo City, female baseball had another angle: public debate. Sportscaster Bebé Ripley was opposed to this practice because it was not a very feminine activity and «altered the female body's curves.> 195 Arguments on the positive and negative aspects of women playing baseball started right away. Tomás Casals Pastoriza joined the debate and, in agreement with Bebé Ripley, said that sports should not only be segregated with respect to sex, but also to education: «Baseball played by the girls is not a good sport, and will never be, because it represents a threat to the opposite sex, which is not weak or strong, it is simply different from the masculine body, and also quite different is their education 196

Journalist Neftalí Martínez wrote a strong article in favor of this practice, arguing that women had all the right to play baseball. He compared this fight to the one they carried out to defend their social rights, stating that <one has to be more sensitive than a Chinese synthetic fabric to think that baseball is harder than all the piles of inconveniences that women have had to deal with in their struggle for equal rights.» 197 La Nación brought out this debate to their readers in a poll which not only considered male opinions: <I strongly object to any activity within the female element which tends to change the fundamental functions for which women were created,» said one of the men interviewed. 198

SAN RAFAEL TEAM, WINNER OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP "PRO-ELECTION PRESIDENT TRUJILLO " 1942

BRAGANA GARCÍA IS SAFE

Little by little, the practice of female baseball has been extending in this country and it has reached San Francisco de Macorís and Montecristi. 199

Carlos -the American- McKinney, promoter of female baseball in the year 1948 in Barahona, interviewed by this author, referred that «<the negative comments made by journalist Ripley, as well as the marriages of some of the girls, ended up female baseball in Barahona, and also in the rest of the country.»>200

TOWARDS PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL

In March 1949, the specialized sports magazine Mundo Deportivo comes out using the Editora El Caribe facilities The director was Rafael Martorell, and Tirso A. Valdez was the writer. Later on, it changed its format to that of a newspaper, and on April 20th, 1951 started circulating weekly. The most important event in international baseball in 1948 took place when the Dominican team, managed by Enrique Lantigua, won the World Amateur Series in Managua, Nicaragua.

College baseball also had a great development during this period. The famous player Horacio Martínez was appointed trainer of the baseball team of the state college, and was sworn-in by its Dean Julio Vega Battle In 1953, the university baseball team was visited by two other teams from Yale and Cornell universities for a series of games which took place between March 28th and April 5th, at the Normal President Trujillo Stadium. 201

In 1949, the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League agreed to allow Dominican players to play as locals (that is, they would not be considered foreigners). This decision favored fourteen Dominican players: Luis (Guiguí) Saint-Claire, Enrique Lantigua and Vicente Scarpatte, catchers; Diómedes (Guayubín) Olivo and Jose (Achín) Matos, pitchers; infielders Horacio Martínez and José (Pepe Lucas) Saint-Claire; outfielder Luis (Grillo) Báez. The amateurs were Tomás Gómez Checo, Manolo Cáceres, Sijo del Monte y Consuegra, Miguel Payano, Enrique Reynoso, pitchers; and outfilder Miguel

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 138

(Tiant) Tineo. Other Dominican players whose parents were Puerto Ricans were also considered locals That was the case of Oscar Mir Flores, Gallego Muñoz, and Machín Vélez, 202

On December 27th, 1950, Tirso A. Valdez, Rafael Heureaux (Fallón), Enrique Lantigua, Horacio Martínez, Rafael Martorrell, Enrique J. Villano, Mari-

no Pérez Matos and Francisco Suárez (Fiquito) got together and created the Dominican Baseball Federation, which would become an important step towards the professionalization of baseball in the Dominican Republic.

DOMINICAN

GENERAL TRUJILLO GIVES THE BALL TO CATCHER

RITCHEY INAUGURAL GAME OF THE TRUJILLO STADIUM BETWEEN

LICEY & STARS IN OCTOBER 23RD, 1955

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

series was a pretext to generate the much needed enthusiasm for the celebration of the National Championship, interrupted since 1937. The spark was ignited that March 17th afternoon when, shortly before the game started with a full house, the great Pichulí Manzueta came into the ballpark wearing a bright red t-shirt with a circle in the chest surrounding the letter E, the Escogido symbol, and waving a great big red flag. Everybody went crazy. The next day, after Pitchulí had shown his giant Escogido flag, Licey's eternal queen, Maricusa Mercado de Gautier, walked into the grandstands with an even bigger flag with the name Licey written across. The noise was absolutely deafening and the cheering only stopped after several exciting minutes. Right away, Pichuli Manzueta started to run with his great big red flag, and embraced his eternal rival to join both flags together in the air while the fans were crazed with enthusiasm. The success of these two games was such that many Dominican ballplayers abroad expressed their desire to come back here. The series ended on March 24th with the victory going to the Diplomatic team.

The immediate reaction to the enthusiasm created by this series was a meeting called by the Sports General Direction with the participation of the Baseball National Commission and the officers from the Federation of Professional Ballplayers At this meeting they agreed to send some commissioners to Santiago and also to San Pedro de Macorís to get the support of these two teams, and April 14th was set as the tentative date to start the Championship. As a result of this meting, Licey's board of directors was renewed in a meeting held on the 29th of that month, called by Enrique Lantigua and Horacio Martínez. The very next day, the Diplomatic team started a tour to Santiago as part of the celebrations of the March 30th Battle, playing tw games with the Cibao Eagles, who won both They immediately confirmed that they wanted to participate in the Championship series. At that time, Federico Nina informed the local press his desire to have the Oriental Stars team participate in the series too. On April 1st, there was a new board of directors chosen for the Escogido Lions, presided by Francisco Martínez Alba. They appointed Rafael L. Trujillo as honorary member.204

Also on April 1st, a short three-game series ended between the teams Diplomatic and Dominicana to raise funds for the church La Altagracia

Arrangements previous to the championship included that the event was to be a modest one for «incurring into a big expense such as the 1937 series would drown the stable rebirth of our rented baseball because it would take so much money to put the series together » Steps were being taken to reactivate the National Championship paralyzed since 1937, as was then written by a sports journalist: «Our professional baseball is taking its first convalescent steps, after having been paralyzed for over thirteen years.»>

The Diplomatic team won. On the 6th of that same month, the arrival of a team formed by baseball stars in Puerto Rico took place and they played with the Diplomatic and La Dominicana teams, with the visitors winning Tetelo Vargas was part of this team and he received a warm welcome from his fans. Another two game series was held on the 14th, but this time the Dominicans won 205 206

On April 17th it was announced that Martín Dihigo, the Cuban player, would come to the country to manage the Cibao Eagles team. He arrived on May 24th and that very same afternoon he came into the ballpark still wearing the suit and hat he had worn during the trip. The Eagles won their first game 8-0 to Licey Dihigo resigned as manager of the team on September 5th, upset because the Cibao Eagles officers accused him of selling himself. 207 He was replaced by another Cuban, Pedro Fomental. Upon his return to Cuba, Dihigo declared to the press that: «He had noticed a lack of organization in the Dominican tournament but this was due to the fact that there hadn't been any professional baseball in the country since 1937 for only amateur series were played. 208

The series called Pro-Election General Trujillo started on May 5th, 1951 when Ramfis Trujillo handed the ball to Chief Umpire Lorenzo Martínez and inaugurated the game. A total of 8,225 people paid tickets when sale booths closed at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Licey won the inaugural game 1-0 over the Escogido.

TRUJILLO STADIUM BELOW: THE NORMAL STADIUM'S GRASS IS BURNED WITH GASOLINE AFTER A HEAVY RAINFALL, IN ORDER TO GET IT READY FOR THE GAME

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 147

Alonzo Perry made his debut with Licey on June 11th, 1951 against the Escogido. His presence went by unnoticed for all the fans had their eyes on William Brown, who had reached the most fantastic averages in Puerto Rico. The final game of that season was decided in the fifth inning by a homerun hit by Alonzo Perry against Enrique Reynoso, which was described by Vicioso and Álvarez Dugan as «undoubtedly the longest and most dramatic homer remembered in Dominican baseball.»209 «The fifth inning started with catcher Enrique Lantigua receiving a base on balls, José Luis Velásquez also got a free base from pitcher Roy Partlow, who, until that moment, had dominated his rivals. After the bases were loaded when Luis Báez got the third free passport of the inning, Alcibíades Colón was put out with a line drive to left, and Othelo Renfroe stroke out. It was at that point, with two men out that, breaking all the tension, His Royal Highness Alonso Perry hit his homerun over the left field fence against a pitch made by Enrique Reynoso, who had come in to relief the American Partlow in the middle of this inning. As soon as the last inning closed, thousands of wild

PAJARITO PERDOMO AND THE ROOKIE DANIEL RODRÍGUEZ LUIS RODRÍGUEZ OLMO, ALONZO PERRY AND BERT HAAS

Licey fans poured onto the field and carried Alonzo Perry on their shoulders, surrounded by thousands of admirers, along the Trujillo Valdez Avenue

During the 1952 series the best plays were filmed and, starting on June, they were shown at the Rialto Cinema narrated by Max Reynoso. 211 The 1953 Championship was inaugurated on April 25th with a game between Eagles and Licey at the Trujillo Stadium in Santiago, home club of last year's winning team. In 1953 the Eagle players Miguel -TiantTineo (outfielder), and Octavio Blanco, Tomás Gómez Checo and Luis Martínez (pitchers) did not play in the series because their salary increase petition was denied. Tineo and Checo were asking for a raise to $100 per week, and $60 for Blanco. Martínez did not talk about the amount he was asking for 212 The series ended with victory for Licey Tetelo Vargas, from the Oriental Stars, became the batting champ when he was already 46 years old, with a .350 average which was better than the super star Ray Dandridge. 213

On May 29th 1954, while Olivo was pitching for Licey, he threw the Escogido a no hit-no run game, the second one in his career, winning 3 to 0. That year the Oriental Stars won the championship Also during that year, the famous painter Nidia Sierra started to draw the baseball comic strips for the newspaper El Caribe.

At the onset of 1955, sports entrepreneur Manuel Fernández Mármol announced a visit from the Havana Sugar Kings team, which represented a $28,000 investment, a considerable amount at that time. Fernández Mármol had started out in the baseball business back in 1953 when he first brought a Cuban team to the country to play with a national selection. This new business adventure turned out to be a big economic failure for ticket sales were low. However, this loss did not prevent him from trying again the next year, when he brought, with more success this time, the Cuban team Almendares. The national selection was made stronger

FIRST TELEVISION TRANSMISSION OF A BASEBALL GAME IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC LA NORMAL STADIUM IN 1952

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 150

by hiring Puerto Rican players Victor Pellot, Canena Márquez and Tite Arroyo 214

Between 1951 and 1954, four championship series were held in the summer, won by Licey, Cibao Eagles, Licey and Oriental Stars in each one of those years. As of the following year, Dominican baseball would start to be played during the winter time

MARTIN DIHIGO TALKS WITH RAFAEL VALDEZ, INFIELDER AND FORMER MANAGER OF THE CIBAO EAGLES ON MAY 24, 1951 HAVING ARRIVED LATE IN THE COUNTRY, DIHIGO DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TIME TO PUT ON HIS UNIFORM BELOW: GUAYUBIN OLIVO, V MCDANIELS AND CHICHI OLIVO IN 1951

VICENTE ESCARPATE, DANILO MUÑOZ AND PEPE LUCAS IN 1951

LIGHTED BASEBALL

1955-1959 PARADE CELEBRATING LICEY'S VICTORY 1959 A REPRESENTATION OF THE

1955 brings a radical change for professional baseball with the inauguration of the President Trujillo Stadium and the season switching to the winter. Sports journalists usually refer to this period as <the era of the lights> because that year baseball started to be played at night in the Trujillo Stadium This ballpark was built at a cost of over three and a half million pesos. The design was the work of an American firm, Marr & Holman, and the actual construction was assigned to a Dominican engineer, Bienvenido Martínez Brea, the same person that built the Normal School President Trujillo Stadium.

The new ballpark had a capacity of 14,000 people comfortably seated, a presidential lounge with air conditioning, a press room, and eight 135 ft. tall towers with 60 potent lights each, plus a drainage system to allow playing after heavy rainfalls The grass was imported from the United States. 215 It was inaugurated on October 23rd with Rafael L. Trujillo attending. Joaquín Balaguer, then Secretary of State for Education, gave the inaugural speech in front of a crowd estimated by the press to be around 20 thousand people. A picture of the ballpark appeared four years later in a Dominican mailing stamp promoting the III Pan American Games held

CIBAO EAGLES

in Chicago. This stamp, printed by Ferrúa Hermanos, first came out in August 27th, 1959, in green and gray colors and was worth 9 cents. Half a million copies were made. It was the first Dominican postal stamp ever related to baseball.216

The ticket sales at the ballpark were monopolized by the administration An <oficial report» appearing in El Caribe on November 22nd, 1955 informed that «as per orders from our superiors, the admission tickets for baseball games will only be sold at the doors of the ballpark, five hours before the start of each game.> That same day El Caribe also published another piece of news related to this matter: «Eleven people caught for selling overpriced baseball tickets.> This article informed that thirteen people were caught around the ballpark and were fined with $20 each. Two of them were released, an underage boy and a guy from Higuey known as «La Verónica» who had two preferential tickets This fellow «told the court as any lawyer would have, that this was insufficient proof in which to base a fine.» «These two tickets were given to me by a friend so that I would meet him at the main entrance,» -he said-

MATEO ROJAS ALOU

FELIPE ROJAS ALOU

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961 155

and «<explained his arguments with all the dramatic effects possible, to the point that everyone near the court house came over to hear him talk.>

For the 1955 series, called «Benefactor» in Trujillo's honor, Licey imported from Cuba the manager Rodolfo Fernández who stayed for six weeks, until he was replaced by Alonzo Perry on November 16th, 1955. This was the day after they had lost 5-3 to Escogido because of a three-run rally in the eight inning, before a crowd of 14,819, a national record. 217

Osvaldo Virgil came to play pro ball to the Dominican Republic for the first time during that 1955 season. Originally, he had been signed by the Cibao Eagles but soon the Escogido claimed him as theirs, causing the Eagles' threat to withdraw from the series. 218 The following year he became the first Dominican ever to play in the Major Leagues when he made his debut on September 27th, 1956 with the New York Giants. Virgil was well-positioned in his career, which was also true of baseball within the Dominican society. However, that social acceptance that the elite groups reserve only for the traditional upper-class, and the closed circle of political power, was still de-

JOSÉ ARISMENDI

TRUJILLO MOLINA TALKS WITH FELIPE ROJAS ALOU FEBRUARY 13TH, 1959

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

nied to most. Osvaldo Virgil was taken out of the exclusive and aristocratic Night Club La Voz Dominicana «because this is not a place for ballplayers.>

Petán Trujillo, owner of the club, warned the manager that if another ballplayer got in, he would kill him, adding the following statement: <Do you believe that after I spent so much money in this place, I am going to turn it into a ballpark?> 219

As a finishing note for that year, it's worth mentioning that the first record ever produced by Radhamés Aracena was titled: «Trujillo, Fairgrounds, and Baseball.» This was the work of a famous merengue writer, Luis Kalaff, and his band, the Alegres Dominicanos. The record was produced in the country during 1955, but recorded in the United States 220

1956-1959 CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 1956-957 championship was called «President Trujillo's Re-election,> won by the Escogido.

The 1958-1959 series was denominated «Trujillo's Era » In that championship a modern ballpark was inaugurated in Santiago. Construction was again assigned to Bienvenido Martínez Brea, the same engineer that had built the Trujillo Stadium in Santo Domingo. He used the same blueprints of this latter one but on a smaller scale, to accommodate 8 thousand people. The cost was a million and a half pesos. It was called Radhamés Stadium, in honor of the dictator's son, who inaugurated it on October 21st, 1958. The following year, in February, another modern ballpark was inaugurated in San Pedro de Macorís, also built by Bienvenido Martínez Brea, with a capacity and cost similar to the Santiago one.

On February 14th, 1959 the last game of the Championship series was held and Licey won. General Trujillo attended this game and the local press carried this news the next day. Trujillo was surrounded by strict security by then. Among those accompanying him were Johnny Abes Gracia, then Director of Migration, the Army's Chief of Intelligence, the Police

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

Chief, the Navy Chief, and the Chief of his Military Aides. The winner's parade took place on the next day, a Sunday. At 3:15 p.m. parked across the street from the Voz Dominicana were hundreds of cars, the first one occupied by Marina Trujillo de García, sister of the dictator, and Honorary President of Licey's Ladies Group. The parade would go around the city in a caravan which ended at the George Washington Avenue There were a lot of replicas of tigers in all sizes, blue flags and pennants in allusion to the winning team

On Saturday, October 24th, 1959 the professional 1959-1960 Winter Championship started between Licey and Escogido. The Escogido won, five to two.

Juan Marichal got his first win as a pitcher in Dominican pro ball.

1960-1961

THE DAWN OF AN ERA, BUT NOT OF BASEBALL

PRESIDENT JOAQUÍN BALAGUER HANDS OUT THE BALL TO RENÉ MARTE, FROM THE ESCOGIDO TEAM, TO INAUGURATE THE "MAY 16 CHAMPIONSHIP ON OCTOBER 22ND, 1960

The 1960 season was greatly influenced by the political situation in the Trujillo regime, and particularly by his relationship with the United States. On Friday, October 20th, two days before the championship started, El Caribe newspaper informed that the government was donating $100,000 to the Dominican Baseball League, money which, according to the League's officials, was <necessary for the celebration of the May 16th championship.» This was customary since 1955. The following day, the same newspaper published in the front page: «Local teams start the National Baseball Championship today.» Since 1955, when the country joined the United States Minor League National Association, it was the first time that the series was played only with local ballplayers During his inaugural speech, the president of the Dominican League, Mr. Hipólito Herrera Billini said that the fact that only Dominicans would play did not mean that there was a separation from organized baseball,» and then he added: <if we decided to forego the imported players this year, we did it persuaded that, in view of the present circumstances, this is the correct attitude demanded by the dignity, patriotism and loyalty to the politics and the person of our prestigious leader, General Trujillo.> All the hopes for this series' success were placed in the performance of the

JUAN MARICHAL

DOMINICAN BASEBALL: 70 YEARS OF HISTORY 1891-1961

star Dominican players who had achieved great fame in the Major Leagues: the two brothers Felipe and Mateo Rojas Alou, who, together with Juan Marichal, belonged to the San Francisco Giants; Julian Javier to the St. Louis Cardinals; Ruddy Hernández, Washington Senators; Osvaldo Virgil, Detroit; and Guayubín Olivo to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Another 36 Dominicans were in the American Minor Leagues, among them were Manuel Emilio Jiménez, Amado Samuel, Chichí Olivo and Manuel Mota.

The championship started on Saturday, October 22nd with President Joaquín Balaguer «<throwing> the first ball. Escogido defeated the Oriental Stars 4-1.

A month after the series started, Juan Marichal and Felipe Rojas Alou arrived 222 Marichal had come to the Major Leagues in July of that year, and Dictator Trujillo took advantage of this situation by awarding him the medal «Orden de Trujillo.>

The regular series finished on January 17th, 1961 when the Cibao Eagles, in the third place, beat the Oriental Stars which were by then disqualified. Since Escogido was in the first place, the semi-final series was played between Eagles and Licey, with the first one winning. The final series started on a holiday, January 26th, Duarte's day, and the Escogido became champion in a seven-game series

With this Championship series ended the Trujillo Era. Shortly afterwards other events affected the country and, of course, also Dominican baseball.

MATEO

NOTES

Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi, Societies, organizations, schools, syndicates , p 230

2 La Opinión, May 6th, 1937, p 6 Deportista, <Remembering Baseball [Geo Pou's interview]», Listín Diario, May 22nd, 1937, p 6

4 Tafneli, «Federico Ramírez Guerra», La Nación, February 18th, 1943

5 Several articles refer to this source without adding any new information See: Tirso A Valdez h , Notes on Dominican Baseball 1958, p 11; Fernando A Vicioso and Mario Álvarez D , Dominican Baseball, (1967), p 12; Alvaro Arvelo h , <Dominican Baseball originates June, 1891», ¡Ahora! No 777, October 2nd, 1978, pp 81-85; and Alan M Klein, Sugarball, (1991) p 16

6N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, p 15

7 Roberto Cassá, History of beer in the Dominican Republic, p 132

8 Heriberto Morrison, official version about the origin of Dominican Baseball questioned?» Rumbo, No 1, January 24th, 1994, pp 10-11

9 «Sports play an important role in Santiago», El Caribe, March 30th, 1954

10 Juan Vené et al., A Century of Baseball, p. 60.

11 Ramón Jerez, «La Vega was host to the first baseball game in the D R », ¡Ahora! No 945, January 4th, 1982, pp 74-75

12 See comments made by journalists Manuel A Salazar, «Brief history of sports in the Dominican Republic»; and N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, p 35

13 Luis F. Mejía, From Lilís to Trujillo, p. 291, and N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, p 16

Other references about the arrival of Dominicans who had gone to school in the United Status where they learned to play baseball, see: H Paul Muto, The Illusory Promise, 1976, p 154; Bruce J Calder, The impact of the intervention, p 357; and Wenceslao Troncoso, Our things and something else, p 129

This last source mentions Lulú Pérez, Máximo VásFederico Fiallo and Frank Hatton, among the quez,

youngsters from the Capital City who came back from the United Status and started to play baseball Lulú Pérez attended the «Santa Ana» Academy for five years in the city of New York While there he won a gold medal in Gymnastics About Lulú Pérez, see also: <The Inauguration of Santa Ana's Academy», White and Black, No 296, October 1925; and Prospect of Santa Ana Academy, p 27

14 Cuchito Álvarez, «Club Licey, Inc Celebrates its 50th anniversary», El Caribe, November 7th, 1957, pp 16-17; Enrique Santamaría, Memories from Yesterday to Today p 5; Fernando A Vicioso and Mario Álvarez Dugan, Dominican Baseball, pp 6 and 13; and Eduardo Matos Díaz, Yesterday's Santo Domingo, p 181

15 Wenceslao Troncoso, Our things and something else, p 130

16 Licey's Official Historian, «Some history on Dominican Baseball», Listín Diario, November 10th, 1933, p 3

17 Listín Diario, April 21st, 1920, p 5

18 Oiga, No 65, May 24th, 1904, p 3; and Manuel Joaquín Báez Vargas, Sports Passion n, pp 17-18

19 N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, pp 23 and 31; Julio A Cuello, «Dominican Sportsmen», in Rafael V Meyreles, Baseball's Oficial Rules, p 11; Prospect of Santa Ana Academy, p 27; and Osvaldo L Gil Mañaná, «Historical Index of our Baseball from 1911 to 1920», Cosmopolitan No. 623, May 20th, 1953; Municipal Bulletin of Santo Domingo, No 430, March 30th, 1912, p 8 The Licey team also took advantage of former School Gymnasium players At the beginning of 1912 there were comments that the Licey team was considered the strongest one in the capital, because they had gotten so many players from the extinguished School Gymnasium Club, Champion in the 1911 tournament Pericles Cuello, J M Pou, M E Sánchez, Arturo Paz, Toño Hernández and even Captain Pina himself are all former players of the

Gymnasium » See «Baseball Championship", Listín Diario, January 11th, 1912, p 2

20 Eduardo Matos Díaz, Yesterday's Santo Domingo, p 181; N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, p 22; and Julio A Cuello, <Dominican Sportsmen», in Rafael V Meyreles, Baseball's Oficial Rules, p 12

21 Matos Díaz, Yesterday's Santo Domingo, pp 180-181; and Wenceslao Troncoso, Our things and something else, p 130

22 Manuel Joaquín Báez Vargas, Sports Passion, p 325

23 N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, p 28

24 H Paul Muto, The Illusory Promise, pp 154155; Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi, Societies, organizations, schools, syndicates pp 226-227

25 Pedro R Batista C , Santiago at the beginning of the century, pp 2-3

26 «Baseball in San Pedro de Macorís», Listin Diario, September 1st, 1911, p 2; N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, pp 29-30; Carlos Juan Musa, «Letter about the creation of the Macorís team», Listín Diario, April 15th, 2004

27 Héctor Colombino Perelló, «Brief history of Bani's baseball», in Baní in the 40s, p 105; Antonio Paulino, «Brief history of San Juan's baseball», La Nación, February 19th, 1942, p 24

28 Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi, Societies, organizations, schools, syndicates , p 225; Boletín Municipal No 430, March 30th, 1912, p 8; «Baseball Championship», Listin Diario, January 11th, 1912, p 2; <Ladies who presented gifts to the New Club», Listin Diario, January 22nd, 1912, p 2; and «New Club wins local championship», Listín Diario, January 29th, 1912, p 2; «Reception in honor of the New Club», Listin Diario, February 26th, 1912, p 2; «S P M team wins», Listín Diario, February 26th, 1912, p 3; <New Club protests and retires», Listín Diario, February 28th, 1912, p 2; «Captain Pérez's protest», Listín Diario, February 29th, 1912, p 2 Also see: N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, pp 41-46; Enrique Santamaría, Memories of Yesterday, pp 10-11

29 Mefistofeles, No 214, January 23rd, 1912, p 2; La Cuna de América, No 21, August 31st, 1912, pp 222-223

30 La Cuna de América, No 26, January 12th, 1913, p 313

31 Crisantemos, No 6, August, 1912, p 33 On September 26th and 29th there was a break in the series when the Escogido city team (formed with players from the New Club and the Licey) held two games with a team from the American vessel Weelling, moored at the city's dock The Americans won the games

32 «Licey's frustration», Listín Diario, January 28th, 1913, p 2; and Julio A Cuello, <Dominican Sportsmen», in Rafael V Meyreles, Baseball Oficial Rules, p 12

33 «Baseball Licey 8, New Club 3», Listín Diario, February 18th, 1913, p 2

34 In 1914 Licey was still called Yellow Team See «Final Victory», La Cuna de América, Nos 30-31, February 22nd, 1914, p 458

35 «Licey's new imports», Listín Diario, July 17th, 1913, p 3

«Baseball», La Cuna de América, No 11, September 22nd, 1913, p 178

37 «Baseball Chronicle», La Cuna de América No 47, June 22nd, 1913, p 650; and <Baseball>, La Cuna de América, No 11, September 22nd, 1913, p 178

38 «Baseball, the game preferred by Americans La Cuna de América, Nos 23 y 24, December 31st, 1913, pp 362-366

39 The Herold team was founded on July 19th, 1914 named after a popular beer at that time whose exclusive representative in the country was A Mejía & Co «sent a box of beer to the team so they could celebrate with such a tasty drink», «About baseball», Listin Diario, July 21st, 1914, p 3; and <Herold's Debut», Listín Diario, September 28th, 1914, p 4

40 James M Sullivan to William Jennings Bryan, November 1, 1913, file 837 00/962, Department of State Decimal File, Internal Afaires of the Dominican Republic, 1900-1929, General Records of the Department of State, cited by Lois A Pérez, Jr , Between Baseball and Bullfighting, p 517 Sumner Welles in his book Naboth's Vineyard, written in 1928, reproduced Sullivan's comment (Volume II, p 722)

41 N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, p

86 This was not the only time that the wars affected baseball Andrés Aquino, president of the San Carlos Baseball Club, in the 1914 summer, sent a note to Listín Diario saying: «Under enemy fire in the war fell mortally wounded, abruptly ending

his life, our esteemed honorary partner, General Hermógenes García, whose enthusiasm for baseball forever got him a place of honor with this club (sic)» See «San Carlos Baseball Club», Listín Diario, June 20th, 1914, p. 4.

42 N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, p 105; Eduardo Matos Díaz, Yesterday's Santo Domingo, p 177 and Enrique Santamaría, Memories of Yesterday, p 11 Indio Bravo had no rivals in his time and the fans used to go crazy with his strong arm and his extraordinary curveballs, and accor ding to Matos Díaz- «used to knock out Licey's best hitters» He started with the team Ozama, going to the New Club in the year 1911, where he had some glorious years An upset Licey fan knifed his arm in order to end his pitching career At the beginning of 1914, Indio Bravo got angry with the New Club, so Geo Pou brought him over to Licey This was the end of the superiority of the New Club and brought about its disappearance

43 «The big game tomorrow will take place at Licey Park», Listín Diario, October 10th, 1914, p 4

44 «From the Ballpark», Listín Diario, October 12th, 1914, p 4

45 «<Last win», La Cuna de América, Nos 30-31, February 22nd, 1914, p 458; «Baseball», Listin Diario, September 30th, 1916, p 6 and Enrique Santamaría, Memories from Yesterday, p 7; <From the Licey Park», Listín Diario, October 5th, 1914, p 4; «About baseball [Licey Park]», Listín Diario, October 12th, 1916, p 1 Abundant news about the 1915 Olympic Games can be found at < Olympic Games», La Cuna de América, Nos 13-14, April, 1915, pp 212-226; other details in «Olympic Games», Listín Diario, December 1914, p 1; and Listín Diario, January 20th, 1915 An article about these games can be seen at Miguel HolguínVeras, «1915 National Olympic Games», Tambor, No 1, January, 1989, pp 29-38

46 Ernesto A Benítez, «Make way to National Baseball», Listín Diario, December 4th, 1914, p 3

47 «For them About Baseball», Listín Diario, June 13th, 1914, p 4 A sports journalist from this newspaper wrote that «Licey has spent over $2,000 American dollars since 1912 importing players from Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc , in order to defeat our champion team, but they still have not been able to do so »>, in: «Baseball», Listín Diario, July 1st, 1914, p 2 Details about this series can be seen at N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domin-

go, pp. 87-102 and «Baseball Event», Listín Diario, November 21st, 1914, p 4

48 «Baseball», Listín Diario, August 22nd, 1916, p 4; «Baseball Big game tomorrow Good players in action», Listín Diario, August 26th, 1916, p 5; «Yesterday's strong waves», Listín Diario, August 30th, 1916, p. 1. See also: N. D. Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, pp 125-126; <Noisy New Club win», Listín Diario, September 27th, 1916, p 7 A literary version of baseball and the Memphis can be seen in the story written by Pedro Peix <The Memphis Boys», in Brief Anthology of Dominican Stories Santo Domingo, Editorial abc, 2003

49 About Ponce's visit in 1916 see: «About Baseball [Licey Park Co ]», Listín Diario, October 12th 1916, p 1; Vicioso and Álvarez Dugan, Dominican Baseball, p 14; Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, p 126 About Caratini see: Gloria Caratini, <Pedro Miguel Caratini brings together the Dominicans with their homeland», El Caribe, April 14th 1948, p 6; and Arturo Industrioso, «Caratini: an old Blue leader», El Caribe, November 7th, 1957, p 1 About the nickname «Puerto Rican Ty Cobb» see: «Baseball», Listín Diario, March 25th, 1920, p 7 About Caratini's quitting baseball «to get married» see: «The Tigers refuse to fight», Listín Diario, February 1st, 1922, p 8 Some years after this Caratini went back to playing baseball joining the Municipal Team from Santiago in 1932 See: Andrés Barbour Luna, Baseball in Santiago, p 75

50 Cuqui Córdova, «Yesterday's Baseball: New Club», Supplement Listín Diario, February 6th, 1988, p 5

51 Héctor Colombino Perelló, «Brief history of Bani's Baseball» in Baní during the 40s, pp 105106; and «About baseball», Ecos del Valle, November 12th, 1919, p 1

52 «General Chronicle: Baseball», Listín Diario, April 21st, 1920, p 5

53 The arrival of Ponce», Las Noticias, July 19th, 1920,p 1

54 «Baseball Excursión to Baní», Las Noticias, October 9th 1920, p 1

55 Centauro, < Listín Sports», Listín Diario, December 15th, 1920, p 3

56 «Baseball Trip Licey will visit La Roma-

na», Listín Diario, October 30th, 1920, p. 5; and N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, pp 199-200.

57 «Tomorrow's match», Listín Diario, December 11th, 1920, p. 4.

58 Listín Diario, November 2nd, 1920, p 4

59 «General Chronicle: Baseball», Listín Diario, April 19th, 1922, p 4

60 Manuel de Jesús Mañón Arredondo, <Former names and places in the National District La Primavera», Supplement Listín Diario, March 31st, 1984, p 7; Marcelle O Pérez Brown, Gazcue Urban Garden Santo Domingo, Editorial AA, 1997; «About Baseball Licey vs Los muchachos», Listin Diario, December 23rd, 1920, p 1; «A ballpark in the Racetrack», Las Noticias, July 28th, 1920, p 1; «From the racetrack», Las Noticias, November 24th, 1920, p 1; «Horseracing», Las Noticias, December 12th, 1920, p 1

61 Leoh León Sturla, «Ninín, a popular hero», in: Pro-Sport Society, A tribute to the best Dominican team ever, s p i ; Hutchinson Derby, The magic of modernity, p 108

62 Arthur J Burks, The country of multiple colors family, p 159

63 Félix Acosta Núñez, «That afternoon!», La Nación, June 10th, 1948, p 11

64 Centauro, <Listin Sports», Listín Diario, June 17th, 1920, p 8; Andrés Barbour Luna, Baseball in Santiago, p 31

65 Listín Diario, «General Chronicle: Baseball», March 9th, 1920, p 5

66 «The White Bears defeated by the Tigers Ninín's big line drive», Santo Domingo Gráfico, No 2, November 12th, 1921, p 19

67 «Dominican Stars shine brilliantly», Listin Diario December 12th, 1921, p 8

68 «Tomorrow: a big sports event» Listín Diario, December 30th, 1921, 1

69 Vicioso and Álvarez Dugan, Dominican Baseball, p 16

70 Licey's strong hitting allows them to win in the baseball series», Listín Diario, January 23rd, 1922, p 8

71 The Dominican Stars defeat the American

Stars in a sensational professional basebal gamel Listín Diario, August 24th, 1922, p 2

72 Listín Diario, January 20th, 1921, p. 3.

73 According to the «Blue Book», the store Los Muchachos was founded on 1915 and a new site was inaugurated in October, 1920 See <Inauguration of the new Los Muchachos store», Las Noticias, October 4th, 1920, p 1 In January, 1921, the store Los Muchachos used to place ads in the newspaper Listín Diario (Listín Diario, January 13th, 1921), but by December of that same year, it was already bankrupt («Publication of the Munnigh & Pou's Bankruptcy notice by the City Hall», Listín Diario, December 13th, 1921, p 7; and «About Munningh & Pou's Bankruptcy», Listín Diario, December 21st, 1921, p 1)

74 Enrique Santamaría, Memories of Yesterday, pp 16-17; N D Redondo, Baseball in Santo Domingo, pp 204-205; «Listín Sports», Listín Diario, February 18th, 1921, p 6 Luis Alfau, founder of the Escogido, confirms that Delco Light was part of this team at the beginning See, Rob Ruck, The Topic of Baseball, p 11

75 «Next Baseball Series», Listín Diario, February 16th, 1921, p 4

76 Enrique Santamaría, Memories of Yesterday, p

19 Details of that first game in «Listín Sports>, Listín Diario, February 22nd, 1922, p 8

77 «Baseball Update», Listín Diario, February 1st, 1922, p 8

78 «Baseball notes from the Cibao», Listín Diario, March 4th, 1922, p 2

79 Félix Acosta Núñez, That Afternoon!, La Nación, April 19th, 1948, p 11

80 Enrique Santamaría, Yesterday's Memories, p 15; and Julio A Cuello, «Dominican Sportsmen», in Rafael V Meyreles, Official baseball rules, p 12

81 «Damirón's new debut», Listín Diario, December 6th, 1921

82 The Tigers refuse to play, so what? », Listin Diario, February 1st, 1922, p 8

83 About baseball», Listín Diario, January 13th, 1922, p 6

84 Listín Diario, July 12th, 1922, p 6

85«Yesterday, the La Primavera Sports Field is

inaugurated with a game between Licey and Escogido», Listín Diario, April 10th, 1922

86«<Licey and Escogido officials agree on several topics», Listín Diario, April 28th, 1922, p 8 The sports magazine El Rolin was directed by Alvaro Arvelo and the Deputy Director was Mr Eugenio Soñé The manager was Conrado Patín, owner of the print shop where it was edited Among its first sponsors were Ernesto Bonetti Burgos, whose column «Around the Sports Diamonds> he used to sign with the name King Field, and Leobaldo Pichardo who used to sign «Orgaz» See «The Rolin magazine», in Álvaro Arvelo h , 100 sports subjects, p 16-18 and «The object of Sports>, Listin Diario, April 22nd, 1922, p 1

87 «With tomorrow's game between the Tigers and the Lions, ends the first round of the 1922 local series», Listín Diario, May 27th, 1922, p 6; «Last win for Escogido 1922 Local Champion», Listín Diario, September 13th, 1922, p 6; Félix Acosta Núñez, That Afternoon!, La Nación, April 4th, 1948, p 11; Cuqui Córdova, «Mateo de la Rosa, red idol», Ahora Sports, June 18th, 1972, p 7

88 «The Dominican Stars win in Puerto Rico», Listín Diario, September 21, 1922, p 3

89 «Dominican Baseball Stars travel to Puerto Rico», Listín Diario, August 22nd, 1922, p 1 Details of the inaugural game in «Dominicans play in Ponce», Listín Diario, September 28th, 1922, p 8 (reproduced from El Mundo, from Puerto Rico) Other details in «The Dominican Stars split with the Ponce Team», Listín Diario, September 1922, p 1; Vicioso and Álvarez Dugan, Dominican Baseball, pp 17-18

90 La Opinión, No 5, February 23rd, 1922

91 <Licey wins», Listín Diario, December 21st, 1922, p 31

92 H Paul Muto, The Illusory Promise, p 155 Santiago and Santo Domingo were joined by road in 1922

93 «Great Game Tomorrow, the U S M C against Licey», Listín Diario, April 20th, 1923, p 5

94 New Board of Directors of the Baseball Champion Team 1922-1923», Listín Diario, February 15th, 1923, p 3 For more information on the donations, see: «About Baseball», Listín Diario, May 24th, 1923, p 5 and «Sports Enthusiasm Gifts», Listín Diario, May 26th, 1923, p 5

95 «Smokeless Gunpowder», Listín Diario, June 13th, 1923, p 5

96 See letter dated July 27th, 1923 from J. R. Sanz, president of the Escogido, to Abad Henríquez, president of the Jury; in Listín Diario, September 3rd, 1923, p 5 About the name <Macorís Panthers» see: La Opinión, No 16, May 16th 1923

97 «Order in which the games of the National Championship shall be played», Listín Diario, April 26th, 1923, p 5; <New conflict in Baseball The Escogido is disqualified», Listín Diario, August 16th, 1923, p 2; «The Escogido, Baseball Champion in 1922-1923, informs the baseball world the reasons for its retirement from the championship», Listín Diario, September 3rd, 1923, p 5 «Dominican Players go to Puerto Rico», Listín Diario, August 21st, 1923, p 4; and <Dominican Players go to Puerto Rico», Listín Diario, September 6th, 1923, p 1; «Mero wins in the United States», La Opinión, No 123, June 13th, 1925; «Dominican pitcher Mero is on his way to New York First Dominican player hired in the U S », Listín Diario, March 25th, 1925, p 1; and Manuel Joaquín Báez Vargas, Sports Passion, pp 32 and 313-316 About Tetelo's contract, see: Cuqui Córdova, History of Dominican Baseball: Tetelo Vargas «El Gamo», p 16

99 Panfilia, No 11, December 15th, 1923; «About baseball», La Opinión, No 46, December 27th, 1923; «The Cubans Stars in route to Puerto Rico A match is being arranged», Listín Diario, September 21st, 1923, p 12; <The match with the Cuban stars», Listín Diario, September 22nd, 1923, p 1

100 After Licey won», La Opinión, No 101, January 10th, 1925

101 Salazar, Brief history of sports in the Dominican Republic

102 Mario Álvarez Dugan, «Licey's anniversary», El Caribe, November 7th, 1966, p 20 This information is repeated in Álvaro Arvelo h , «<Licey is 65 years old today», El Caribe, November 7th, 1972, p 18

103 Manuel Joaquín Báez Vargas, «Dominican Pioneers in United States Baseball», in Sports Passion, pp 313-316

104 Generoso, «Licey in Puerto Rico», La Opinión, October 29th, 1927, p 1; «Licey, conside-

red by the sports critics as a fabulous team, will fail in Puerto Rico due to lack of discipline of some of their players», La Opinión, November 16th, 1927, p 1

105 Andrés Barbour Luna, Baseball in Santiago, P 42

106 See «Escogido B B T accepts an invitation for a match on July 12th, Listín Diario, July 7th, 1928, p 2; «The Honorable E E Young offers a magnificent prize for the Baseball game on the 14th», Listín Diario, July 10th, 1928, p 1; <The ball which will be given to the winner of the game between the teams Licey and Escogido is shown in the windows of «La Marina», Listín Diario, July 11th, 1928, p 3; «In the baseball game held Saturday afternoon at the municipal field, Tigers and Lions fought a hard and exhaustive battle», Listín Diario, July 16th, 1928, p 2; «Baseball», Listín Diario, July 21, 1928, p 13; and «The Tigers defeated Escogido in the two games held Saturday and Sunday in the reopening of La Primavera Sports Field», Listín Diario, July 23rd, 1928

107 Carlos Acevedo, Golden Book of Santiago, p 358 About the Sandino's popularity in Santiago one has to remember that Ercilia Pepín sent him a flag made by the students of the Mexico School for Young Ladies See the thank you letter from Sandino He sent it from the El Chipotón Camping Ground, in Nicaragua This letter was published by the newspaper La Opinión: <General A C Sandino and the teacher Ercilia Pepín», May 23rd, 1929, p 1 In 1928 a Baseball team was also formed in San Juan de la Maguana with the name Sandino, managed by Otilio Méndez Pedro J Heyaime was president of this club See: E O Garrido Puello, History of a newspaper, p 68 108 Enrique Santamaría, Yesterday's Memories, P 34

109 «Ponce B B T arrives», Listín Diario, August 8th, 1928, p 4: «The Ponce B B T 's boys said good-bye yesterday», Listín Diario, August 22nd, 1928, p 4

110 «National Baseball Championship», Listin Diario, February 27th, 1929, p 9 About the name Cibao Eagles, see Listín Diario, April 8th, 1929, p 3

The Santiago teams known as Yaque, Sandino, Santiago, Santiago Base Ball Club and Cibao Santiago had an eagle embroidered in their uniform Also see: Andrés Barbour Luna, Baseball in Santiago, p

124 In March, 1937 there was a proposal that the Santiago Team, which represented this province in

the National Championship, change its name to Cibao Eagles and go on to represent the entire region. See: La Información, March 23rd, 1937. When professional baseball restarted in 1951, the Cibao Eagles was the team representing Santiago.

111 «About baseball», Listín Diario, March 22nd, 1929, p 11; and Manuel Salazar, «Brief history of sports in the Dominican Republic»

112 Baseball Impressions», Listín Diario, 18 April, 1929, p 3

113 An Interview with Ramón A Font- Bernard, Author Santo Domingo, June 1st, 2004 This song is also mentioned by Luis Scheker Hane, in his book Traces of far away memories Santo Domingo, 1984

114 Te duele, «Sports Comments», Listín Diario, April 29th, 1929, p 3

«About baseball Big hits», Listín Diario, April 10th, 1929, p 3

116 Sports Topics», Listín Diario, March 21, 1929, p 3; «About baseball», Listín Diario, April 10th, 1929, p 3

117 «Licey wins after having a glorious day for Dominican baseball thanks to their <pitchers killers>

Alejandro Oms and a group of fine sluggers and goes on to become the Permanent Champion team of the Republic», Listín Diario, July 17th, 1929, p 3

118 Baseball in Venezuela», Listín Diario, July 26th, julio 1932, p 3

119 Cuqui Córdova, History of Dominican Baseball: Tetelo Vargas, p 19

120 «Mariscal Lantigua's Twenty Years with Licey», An Update in Sports, July 13th, 1953, p 4

121 «Santiago is holding lively and fierce baseball games», Listín Diario, March 11th, 1931, p 11

122 Andrés Barbour Luna, Baseball in Santiago, 115

Municipal Santiago Team, and had been hired to play in Puerto Rico While there, he signed a contract with General Gonzalo Gómez, the son of Juan Vicente Gómez, dictator of Venezuela, to play for the Maracay team, in that country. <The brilliant player from Santiago, Horacio Martínez is hired by the son of General Juan Vicente Gómez to play in Venezuela», Listín Diario, March 21st, 1932, p 3

126 Conchita [F A Concha P ], «Baseball Impressions: The Dominican Stars are currently in Mexico», La Opinión, September 10th, 1932, p 2

127 <Players from the Team President Trujillo»>, Listín Diario, February 18th, 1932, p 4; <The Team «President Trujillo» defeats the «German Mayor» with a 5-3 score» Listín Diario, March, 1932, p 3; «The team General Trujillo wins in Nicaragua>», La Opinión, July 1st, 1932; «The Team President Trujillo won three games to the Yankees in Nicaragua», Listín Diario, August 19th, 1932, p 3; <Ballplayer Negro Durán dies unexpectedly», Diario del Comercio, March 13th, 1933, p 1

128 «The Municipal Sports Field in this city», Listín Diario, August 24th, 1932, p 2 and <The repairs at the Sports Field are still going on schedule», Listín Diario, August 26th, 1932, p 6

129 Listín Diario, March 20th, 1937, p 6

130 Diario del Comercio, January 10th, 1933, p 1; Bahoruco, No 140, April 15th, 1933, p 11

131 Listín Diario, October 21st, 1933, p 3

132 An interview with Antonio Llubres, July25th, 2004 About the story told by Pajarito Perdomo in Juan Antonio Paulino's, Baseball review at the First Santiago of America, p 13; and about Diógenes Lara in Enrique Santamaría, Memories from Yesterday, pp 20-21

133 «Ponce team wins yesterday's game», Listín Diario, October 2nd, 1933, p 3; «The manager of the Ponce Team shows gratitude to the Honorable President of the Republic, General Trujillo M », Listin Diario, October 11th, 1933, p 3; and «The Escogido Lions defeat the Licey Champions in yesterday's game», Listín Diario, October 13th, 1933, p 3

134 Press interviews Isidro Fabré, manager of the Cuban team, reproduced by Tirso A Valdez, Notes on Dominican Baseball, p 18 See also: «Yesterday afternoon the players of the strong Cuban team

Almendares or Cuban Stars arrived», Listín Diario, November 4th, 1933, p 3

135 «The strong Richmond team arrived yesterday>, Listín Diario, November 9th, 1933, p 3; Bahoruco, No. 170, November 25th, 1933, p. 11.

136 The baseball match yesterday at the Enriquillo ballpark», El Diario, February 13th, 1933; «Two good baseball teams have been formed in Santiago», El Diario, February 16th, 1933, p 1; «Santiago's youngsters are great sports fans and they want the Sandino team to maintain its name »

El Diario, February 16th, 1933, p 1

137 «Sports Section», El Esfuerzo, January 21st, 1934, p 1

138 Conchita [F A Concha P ], <The Dominican Tobacco and the Sports Journalists»>, Bahoruco, No 201, June 30th, 1934, p 10

139 <The Compañía Anónima Tabacalera and the baseball in Santiago», Bahoruco, No 203, July 14th, 1934, p 15

Cuqui Córdova, Yesterday's Baseball Mellizo Puesán, p 20

141 Bahoruco, No 225, December 15th, 1934, p 25

142 Bahoruco, No 230, January 19th, 1935, P 21

143 Bahoruco, No 257, July 27th, 1935, p 23

144 La Opinión, January 18th, 1936, p 6

145 The famous Cuban team Almendares will visit us and will play three exhibition games » Listín Diario, February 4th, 1936, p 6

146 The Escogido follows the tradition and defeats Almendares in the last game yesterday», Listín Diario, February 11th, 1936, p 6

147 «Yesterday's case at the Sports field and what the company says», Listín Diario, February 14th, 1936, p 6

148 La Opinión, April 17th, 1936, p 5

149 Luis de los Santos, Radio transmissions in the Dominican Republic, pp 34-35

150 Andrés Barbour Luna, Baseball in Santiago, p 88

151 Andrés Barbour Luna, Baseball in Santiago, p 25

152 Radio transmission of Cincinnati's games», Listín Diario, March 4th, 1936, p 6; César Objìo's interview on April 3rd, 2004, who told us what Fabio Herrera Cabral had said

153 Andrés Barbour Luna, Baseball in Santiago, p 51

154 Listín Diario, June 4th, 1936

155 «At the meeting yesterday afternoon it was agreed to have a National Baseball Championship Series», Listín Diario, February 4th, 1936, p 6; "A sports' opinion», La Opinión, February 7th, 1936, p 6; «The representative of the Santiago Baseball Club proposes that the championship be called Major Trujillo», Listín Diario, February 12th, 1936 A picture of the Cup can be seen in La Opinión, dated February 4th, 1936, p 2

156 The Santiago B B C is formed», La Opinión, February 8th, 1936, p 6

157 Rafael V Meyreles, «1936, the golden year for national baseball», Listín Diario, June 12th 1937, p 6

158 Juan Antonio Paulino, A Baseball review at the first Santiago in América, p 16

159 «Putting their right foot forward, the Lions win the first game of the National Championship by defeating Licey», La Opinión, February 28th, 1936, p 6

La Opinión, April 4th, 1936, p 6

161 The Macorís Stadium will be inaugurated on April 9th», La Opinión, April 15th, 1936, p 4; «The Oriental Elephants with two superb wins over the Licey Tigers inaugurate the Oriente Park», La Opinión, May 11th, 1936, p 6; and «A successful inauguration of the Sports field in S P Macorís», Listín Diario, May 12th, 1936, p 10; «Bronze to celebrate», La Opinión, May 22nd, 1936, p 6

Tetelo Vargas was honored several times during his sports career The writer from Baní, Rafael E Peña Reynoso (Papucho) published, during the thirties, the biographic booklet: Juan Esteban Vargas See: Héctor Colombino Perelló, «Brief history of Bani's baseball», in Baní in the 40s, p 107

162 Listín Diario, June 3rd, 1936, p 6

163 The baseball jury declares the Oriental Stars National Baseball Champions>, Listín Diario, May 27th, 1936, p 6 When the championship was over, the company, A Dalmau R distributors of the Sinclair Petroleum products announ-

ced at the end of May the celebration of a local championship between Licey and Escogido offering the Sinclair Cup and $300 to the winning team See: <Plenty of enthusiasm around for the local championship between Licey vs Escogido», Listín Diario, May 28th, 1936, p 6 Juan Antonio Paulino, A Review of the baseball in the First Santiago of América, p 22

164 Comments by Julio C Linval in La Opinión, January 18th, 1937, p 6

165 <In an interesting meeting the Trujillo City BB Club was formed», Listín Diario, March 5th, 1937, p 6; «The Ciudad Trujillo Team, Trujillo B B C will be the most fabulous combination possible in baseball machinery», Listín Diario, March 11th, 1937, p 6

166 Listín Diario, March 6th, 1937, p 6; <Baseball can not become the object of controversy», editorial appearing in the Listín Diario, March 22nd, 1937, p 2; J B Lamarche, «Listín and Sports Ethics»; Listín Diario, March 23rd, 1937, p 1

167 The Trujillo City team will become stronger with the addition of 8 known foreign players», Listín Diario, March 12th, 1937, p 6

168 Rob Ruck, The Tropic of Baseball, pp 36-39 «More than two thousand pesos in ticket sales for the Sunday game», Listin Diario, March 30th, 1937, p 6; and The Sports Opinion», La Opinión, April 2nd, 1937, p 5 About the name «trujillanos» see:

Listín Diario, March 29th, 1937, p 6

170 Manuel A Salazar, «Brief history of sports in the Dominican Republic»; Conchita [F A Concha P ], «About the national baseball championship and the unlimited hiring of imported players», La Opinión, February 10th, 1937, p 4

171 Manuel A Salazar, «Brief history of sports in the Dominican Republic»

172 Carlino, «Let's put a limit on sports fanatics», La Opinión, May173 Umpire Eustaquio Gutiérrez arrives tomorrow, he is chief umpire in Cuban games», Diario, 23 abril 1937, p 6

174 Lorey-Satchel-Paige, Maybe I'll Pitch Forever, pp 116-117 Satchel Paige used to get a monthly salary of $450 in the Pittsburgh Crawfords team and in the six weeks that he played in the Dominican Republic he received $30,000 dollars 1st, 1937, p 6

to share with 8 other players who also came to the country See also: Rob Ruch, The Tropic of Baseball, p 37; Geoffrey C Ward and Ken Burns, Baseball An Illustrated History, p 223; John B Holway, Josh and Satch, pp 89-90

175 Jim Bankes, The Pittsburgh Crawfords, pp 109 and following

176 Listín Diario, May 1st, 1937, p 6

177 «A new orientation for the Trujillo City Base Ball C », Listín Diario, May 22nd, 1937, p 6

178 John B Holway, Josh and Satch, p 90-91

179 Rob Ruck, The Tropic of Baseball, p 39

180 Geoffrey C Ward y Ken Burns, Baseball An Illustrated History, p 223 Years later, people recalling this championship told a lot of untrue stories and exaggerated the interference by Trujillo in the team Trujillo City Dragons Rodolfo Fernández, the great Cuban pitcher participating that year with the Dragons claims that the stories about the army supervising the games are not true and that he personally never saw Trujillo attend any game See: John B Holway, Josh and Satch, p 91

181 The last game played by the Dragons», La Opinión, July 14th, 1937, p 6

2 John B Holway, Josh and Satch, p 94 and Jim Bankes, The Pittsburgh Crawfords, p 34

183 Enrique Santamaría, Memories from Yesterday, P 60

184 «Mariscal Lantigua's Twenty Years with Licey», El Deporte al Día, June 13th, 1953, p 4

185 Tirso A Valdez, Notes about Dominican, p 12

186 With a brilliant demonstration by the local teams, the 1938 baseball season was inaugurated»<, Listín Diario, February 8th, 1938, p 10

187 «Licey arrives from Puerto Rico today aboard the ship Coamo», Mundo Deportivo, No 8, JuneJuly, 1950

188 Tulio H Arvelo, «The District of Santo Domingo and the century's sports», Municipal Magazine, Nos 17-19, October-December, 1943, p 51; <For the future of our baseball>», editorial in La Información, May 2nd, 1944, p 3

189 Héctor Colombino Perelló, «<Sports Activities», in Baní in the 40s, p 109

190 There was only one survivor, catcher Enrique Lantigua, did not want to board the plane for he was afraid of a tragedy See: Álvaro Arvelo h , <Enrique Lantigua: A premonition saved me from a certain death at Río Verde», ¡Ahora! No 853, April 1st, 1980, pp 83-86 See also: <The funeral mass held yesterday in Santiago attended by huge crowds», La Nación, January 15th, 1948, p 8; «Mr Paco Escribano expresses his deep sorrow to the people of Santiago», La Nación, January 15th, 1948, p 9; «The Cibao B B T won the National Amateur Baseball Championship for the 1947-48 season», La Información, March 12th, 1948, p 2; and «The Cibao B B T national amateur champion», La Nación, March 12th, 1948, p 10

191 The Trujillo Stadium in Santiago was located at the same place where the shooting range had been during the American intervention At this shooting range the marines and the National Dominican Police received training After the intervention was over, the City Hall owned the place, and they started to play baseball there In 1927 the Inter-Antillean Expo was held, and afterwards an aviation field called Captain Valverde Later on it became a ballpark again and was occupied simultaneously by the racetrack and a boxing ring In 1933 there was a civic show there, which was attended by more than 40 thousand people to celebrate that Trujillo had been declared Benefactor When the Dodgers played there in 1947 it had been repaired because it had been damaged in the earthquake As of 1951 professional baseball started in this ballpark and it was at that same place that the Stadium Radhamés was built in 1958 See: Radhamés Gómez Pepín, «Land of the Santiago Stadium hold a human interest aspect in the history of this city», El Caribe, October 24th, 1958, p 29

192 «Brooklyn Dodgers and Montreal Royals will arrive on the 29th », La Nación, February 20th, 1948, p 12; «Jackie Robinson practices for the first time at the High School Normal President Trujillo», La Nación, March 5th, 1948, p 9; «President Trujillo is applauded with enthusiasm upon throwing the first ball at the Brooklyn-Montreal game», La Nación, March 11th, 1948, p 9; <Brooklyn Dodgers Vs Cibao Champions B B T », La Nación, March 28th, 1948, p 9 About the affaire Jackie-Durocher see Arnold Rampersad, Jackie Robinson, p 194

193 «Female baseball initiates practices in the city», La Nación, March 7th, 1948, p 9; Tafneli, «Female baseball is increasing», La Nación, April 7th, 1948, p 11

194 «Female Baseball played in El Caimito, Moca», La Nación, April 17th, 1948, p 11; «Women's Baseball Games», La Información, May 14th, 1948, p 3; and «Ladies in San Francisco de Macorís are playing baseball», La Información, May 26th, 1948, p 3

About the feminine aesthetics and the practice of baseball see: Augamap, «In favor of female baseball», La Nación, April 26th, 1948, p 11

196 Tomás Casals Pastoriza, «Feminine Baseball», La Nación, April 28th, 1948, p 11

197 Neftalí Martínez, «Women in Baseball and in other aspects of life», La Nación, May 17th, 1948, P 13

198 Other details of this poll can be seen in La Nación, May 20th and 25th, 1948, p 11

199 See: «The first female baseball game starts in San Francisco de Macorís, La Nación, May 16th, 1948, p 11; «First female baseball practices start in Montecristi», La Nación, June 19th, 1948, p 11]

200 An interview with Carlos McKinney, Baní, July 3rd, 2004

201 Horacio Martínez named Athletics instructor at the University of Santo Domingo», La Nación, April 10th, 1948, p 12 About the visit of the teams from Yale and Cornell universities See Cosmopolita, No 603, 8 abril 1953

202 «Native players will play in Puerto Rico», Mundo Deportivo, No 4, October 1949, pp 18-19; and «Dominican Ballplayers in Puerto Rican Baseball», Mundo Deportivo, enero 1950

203 «Professional baseball series starts this week>, El Caribe, January 22nd, 1951, p 4; «Professional baseball tournament starts this afternoon», El Caribe, January 26th, 1951, p 8; Manuel Joaquín Báez Vargas, Sports Passion, pp 251-258

204 Manuel Joaquín Báez Vargas, Sports Passion, pp 258-260

205 «Diplomático wins beneficence series to Club La Dominicana», El Caribe, April 2nd, 1951, p 6; «The Escogido selects new officials in yesterday's meeting», El Caribe, April 2nd, 1951, p 6; Tirso A Valdez, «The Puerto Ricans dominate the series winning over local teams», El Caribe, April 7th, 1951, p 11

Juan E Gautreau, «A fabulous tournament would kill baseball's rebirth», El Caribe, April 12th, 1951, p 9

207 Tirso A Valdez, «Eagles officials announce Dihigo's resignation; he claims that they accused him of selling out», El Caribe, September 6th, 1951, p 8

208 «Dihigo says that Calampio should get a chance in Cuba», El Caribe, September 25th, 1951, p 8

209 Bienvenido Rojas, «Alonzo Perry, Mr Reinforcement, out staged Willard Brown», in «Dominican Baseball Recount», El Siglo, September 18th, 1997, p 5B; Vicioso and Álvarez Dugan, Dominican Baseball, p 53

210 «Licey Tigers win the play-offs; a homerun decides the game», El Caribe, September 24th, 1951, p 1

211 El Caribe, June 3rd, 1952, p 13

212 Bienvenido Rojas, «Alonzo Perry and Olivo, 1953 heroes», in «Dominican Baseball Recounts», El Siglo, September 22nd, 1997, p 5B

213 James A Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, p 801

214 The Havana Sugar Kings bring a lot of status to the baseball season», Mundo deportivo, No 65, March 15th, 1955

215 «Baseball Palace», Época, No 2, July, 1955, pp 34-35; Play ball!», Época, No 5, October 1955

216 Luis Amiama Veloz, Catálogo Amiama, p 94

217 Fernández is released from the Licey team and he says these things happen in baseball», El Caribe, November 17th, 1955, p 7

218 Osvaldo Virgil's Contract with the Cibao Eagles is shown», La Información, July 16th, 1955, p 7

219 Luis Eduardo Lora Medrano, Petán La Voz Dominicana, p 105

220 Pacini Hernández, Bachata, 1995, p 57

221 Fan cheer Heads of State», El Caribe, February 16th, 1959, p 17

222 «Marichal pitches today against the Oriental Stars», El Caribe, November 22nd, 1960, p 15

NEWSPAPERS

Listín Diario Santo Domingo

Las Noticias Santo Domingo

La Información Santiago

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE

MAGAZINES

Cosmopolita, Santo Domingo

Blanco y Negro, Santo Domingo La Cuna de América, Santo Domingo

PH.D THESIS

Hutchinson Derby, Lauren, The Magic of Modernity Dictatorship and Civic Culture in the Dominican Republic, 1916-1962 Ph D Thesis, University of Chicago, 1998

Muto Jr , H Paul, The Illusory Promise: The Dominican Republic and the Process of Economic Development, 1900-1930 Ph D Thesis, University of Washington, 1976

MAIN REFERENCES

Álvarez Dugan, Mario, «Club Licey Inc , Celebrates 50-year Anniversary», El Caribe, November 7th, 1957, pp 16-17

Álvarez Dugan, Mario and Fernando A Vicioso, Dominican Baseball, Santo Domingo, Editora del Caribe, 1968

Arvelo h , Álvaro, 100 Sports Themes Santo Domingo, Editora del Caribe, 1976

Báez Vargas, Manuel Joaquín, Sports Passion Santo Domingo, Editora Corripio, 1985 Colombino Perelló, Héctor, «A Brief History of Baní's Baseball in the 40s » Santo Domingo, Editora Taller, 1975, pp 105-107

Córdova, Cuqui, Yesterday's Baseball Mellizo Puesán El indio de acero (The Steel Indian) Santo Domingo, Editorial Argumentos, 1993 Cruz, Héctor J , Juan Marichal The Story of his Life Santo Domingo, Editorial Alfa & Omega, 1983

González Echevarría, Roberto, The Pride of Havana A History of Cuban Baseball New York, Oxford University Press, 1999

Kasse Acta, Emil, A Micro Historical Recount of Dominican Sports Santo Domingo, Sports Journalists Association of Santo Domingo, Inc , 1989 [Conference on the Association's 60th Anniversary]

Klein, Alan M , Sugarball The American Game, the Dominican Dream New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1991

Medina, Alberto, Everything about the Oriental Stars Santo Domingo, Editora de Colores, 2003

Paulino, Juan Antonio (Pirí), Recount on the Baseball of the first Santiago in America Santiago, Editora Teófilo, 1994

Pérez Jr , Louis A , «Between Baseball and Bullfighting: The Quest for Nationality in Cuba, 18681898», The Journal of American History, Vol 81, No 2, September 1994, pp 493-517

Rampersad, Arnold, Jackie Robinson A biography New York, Ballantine Books, 1997

Riley, James A , The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues New York, Carroll & Graf, 1994

Ruck, Rob, The Tropic f Baseball Baseball and the Dominican Republic Lincoln and London, University of Nebraska Press, 1991

Salazar, Manuel A [Ty Cobb], «Brief History of Dominican Republic's Sports», Listín Diario, 50th Anniversary Edition Trujillo City, August 1st, 1939

Santamaría, Enrique, Memories from Yesterday till Today 1907 to 1951 Trujillo City, Imprenta Rincón, 1952[?]

Valdez h , Tirso A , Notes about Past and Present Dominican Baseball Trujillo City, Editora del Caribe, 1958

SECONDARY REFERENCES

Acevedo, Carlos, Santiago's Golden Book Santo Domingo, Editora San Rafael, 1986

Batista C , Pedro R , Santiago at the Start of the Century 1901 to 1910 and a Little Bit More Santo Domingo, Editora Panamericana, 1976

Burks, Arthur J , The Country of Multi-Colored

Families Santo Domingo, Sociedad Dominicana de Bibliófilos, 1990

Calder, Bruce J , The Impact of the Intervention The Dominican Republic during the American Occupation from 1916-1924 Santo Domingo, Fundación Cultural Dominicana, 1989

Cassá, Roberto, The History of Beer in the Dominican Republic Roots and Development of a Dominican Pride Santo Domingo, Colección Centenario Grupo León Jiménes, 2003

Garrido Puello, E O , History of a Newspaper Santo Domingo, Impresora Arte y Cine, 1973

Lora Medrano, Luis Eduardo, Petán La Voz Dominicana His People, His Peculiarities and His Stories Santo Domingo, Editorial Tele 3, 1984

Matos Días, Eduardo, Yesterday's Santo Domingo Life, Traditions, and Events Santo Domingo, Editora Taller, 1984

Mejía, Luis F , From Lilís to Trujillo Contemporary History of the Dominican Republic Caracas, Editorial Elite, 1944

Pacini Hernández, Deborah, Bachata A Social History of a Dominican Popular Music Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1995

Santos, Luis de los, Radio in the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, Editoria Corripio, 1995

Troncoso, Wenceslao, Our Things and Something Else (Memories, Profiles, Stories) Santo Domingo, Editorial Tiempo, S A , 1989

Veloz Maggiolo, Marcio, Trujillo, Villa Francisca and Other Ghosts Santo Domingo, Colección Banreservas, 1996Welles, Sumner, Naboth's Vineyard, Santiago, Editorial El Diario, 1938

DOCUMENTS

Prospecto Academia Santa Ana (Business School) 1922-1923 Santo Domingo, Rafael V Montalvo, editor, 1921

Sociedad Pro Deportes, A Tribute to the Best All Times Dominican Team Trujillo City, Imprenta Arte y Cine, 1946

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

HÉCTOR J. CRUZ

PLAYING DURING THE DAY

BASEBALL ON WEEKENDS

THE PRECEDENT. Being a professional baseball player in the XX Century in Santo Domingo did not necessarily imply that one would engage in this activity to make enough money to support the family.

During the 1910-1950 period, Dominican baseball players who were dedicated exclusively to this sport enjoyed the admiration and love of the people, much more than they did whatever money they were paid Just to think that for full time play in the 50s, locals were paid 60 Dominican pesos per month to cover their family's expenses. Foreign players could make up to 300 pesos per month in an economy that had the Dominican peso up to par with the American dollar. This was, of course, a much higher amount than the minimum salary paid in the country then (some 25 pesos per month).

In the type of baseball played at the La Normal Stadium, in Santiago and San Pedro de Macorís (1951-1954), the fans used to pay a token amount to watch a baseball game: the highest priced ticket could cost one peso and fifty cents, and the cheapest one, fifty cents.

So, considering that there was hardly any publicity at the time, and in

such a reduced market, it's easy to conclude that there were no conditions whatsoever to pay large sums of money to the main actors in the game. At that time, the Dominican Republic's population was 2 million 200 thousand. However, it is fair to say that regardless of whether or not they were famous, this society still idolized them. Many of them frequently wore suits and ties, and some, fewer ones, had a car. Names such as the American Alonzo Perry, the Cuban Pedro Fomental, the Puerto Rican Luis Rodríguez Olmo, and Dominicans Guayubín Olivo, Olmedo Suárez, Gallego Muñoz, among others, were followed around by the fans just as today's idols are. The only difference being that during those early days it was customary for ballplayers to share their ordinary, every day life, with their fans. They were near the people that could see them, and also speak to them, every day.

During those first 4 years, the summer Championships were the result of both a sports and a social need. In addition to being a baseball event in itself, it became a great social attractive, based on social, economical and political facts That is why from the beginning (during the 20s) Licey was the Blue color and Escogido, the Red, following the opposing political parties that were known for those same colors

Since the ballparks had no electricity, sports events were limited to weekends, Saturdays and Sundays. It was not possible to play from Monday to Friday for that would affect regular working hours.

Even though it was usual for the United States Major League baseball to be played at one o'clock in the afternoon, the Dominican society had other characteristics For this reason, during those first 4 years the games were played only on Saturday afternoons and double headers on Sundays, one game in the morning, and another one in the afternoon.

What did the players do from Monday to Friday, while waiting for Saturdays and Sundays to play ball? They practiced baseball and had other activities to entertain themselves. Some of them, particularly the Do-

minicans, had their own private occupation or even a job, but those were only a few.

Rafael Valdez, who played for the Eagles during his first years, used to make a living by working as an electrical mechanic. Guillermo Estrella, from Moca, did manual labor in his hometown. Fiquito Suárez used to sell pharmaceutical products Other players also used to work: Olmedo Suárez, Ford Aracena and Gallego Muñoz. They all had simple jobs. The great majority, however, did not engage in any activity other than playing baseball. Foreigners, of course, here to reinforce the local teams, did nothing but play ball. They stayed in boarding houses or hotels and every day they used to attend their team's practices.

Imported players for Santo Domingo teams normally stayed at the Hotel Comercial in El Conde Street, or at the old Hotel Jaragua. Those in Santiago used to stay at the Hotel Mercedes and in boarding houses. At San Pedro de Macorís, there were only boarding houses and small hotels.

THE INITIATIVE. When and why does the baseball Championship series start to be played in the summer?

The reasons were diverse, based mostly on past years' experiences, but there were two major ones.

The first reason was that during the 40s the Dominican Republic joined the world amateur baseball tournaments that gathered the best of this continent The most powerful countries used to come to this event including the United States, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Panama, among others.

Several Dominicans approached the government's institutions to organize a first class team every year. Thus they were able to bring together the best of our baseball The country participated at the World Tournament held in Colombia in 1948, becoming the champion. This happened between November and December 1948, and Enrique Lantigua was manager of the Dominican team The dates were November 20th to December 12th and there

were representatives from Colombia, El Salvador Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

In the Dominican team were Manuel Cáceres, Gallego Muñoz, Bell Arias, Andrés Frías, Miguel -Ford- Aracena, Guillermo Estrella, Olmedo Suárez and Tiant Tineo, among others. The Dominican Republic ended the regular round tied with Puerto Rico, both had 6-1, and in the final series, DR won 2 games without any losses to get the title.

This title was meaningful, not only because of the victory in itself. That

same year, on January 11th the Tragedy of Río Verde occurred A plane coming back from Barahona with the Santiago baseball team aboard, crashed in Yamasá, in the Northeast area of Santo Domingo, and its 32 occupants were killed.

Of those 32, 18 were baseball players from the Santiago team. These deaths brought a lot of grief and the entire population was in mourning. The (amateur) Santiago team had played two games in Barahona and flying back home they could not land there due to bad weather, thus making the decision to land in Santo Domingo Lantigua, their regular catcher, had decided to return on the following day. According to his story, he was afraid to board the plane precisely because of the bad weather that day.

That same year, 1948, during the spring, a Major League team visited the Dominican Republic for the first time: the Brooklyn Dodgers, managed by the legendary Leo Durocher, came down to play. Brooklyn, the same club that 2 years before had signed the first Afro-American player ever, Jackie Robinson, was accompanied by its Triple A team, the Montreal Royals

Then came the XI World Championship, which was the big motivational factor behind the birth of professional baseball in 1951. That championship was held in 1950, in Managua, Nicaragua.

This series went on from November 18th to December 14th and there were teams from Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala,

Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.

What happened there?

The Dominicans became the champions once again however their title would be annulled 10 months after, in a tournament that was not without incidents. This is the way things happened:

When the regular round was over, there was a triple tie for first place. Cuba, Dominican Republic and Venezuela had all ended 9-2, so there was a final series called the «Extra Series » Dominican Republic defeated Cuba 7-3, and Venezuela 10-4, winning the title. In the other game, Cuba and Venezuela were tied with 6 runs each.

Dominicans held a big celebration, but there was a protest made by the Cubans against the Puerto Rican team, accused of including professional ballplayers on its roster.

The International Federation of Amateur Baseball (FIBA) heard this protest in October 1951, in Mexico. FIBA decided to accept it as a valid one

FRANCISCO MARTÍNEZ ALBA, DICTATOR TRUJILLO'S BROTHER-IN-LAW, WAS PRESIDENT OF THE ESCOGIDO TEAM IN MANY OCCASIONS

and therefore annulled the results of the Extra Series. The Cubans were awarded the title.

In the regular series, Cuba had defeated the Dominican Republic 13 to 2, Puerto Rico won over Cuba 13-11, and the Dominican Republic had won 64 to the Puerto Ricans. That is to say that the Puerto Ricans' victory over the Cubans was a decisive one because said game was given to Cuba, which would have then finished 10-1, and Colombia had beaten the Dominican Republic 5-4, so the DR team was 9-2.

The baseball fever, which started at that time, ignited the sparks for an organized, professional, national series.

In February 7th, 1950 the National Federation of Professional Ballplayers is created, and the first president was Rafael -Falcón- Hereaux Other members were Enrique Lantigua, Rafael Martorell, Horacio Martínez and Rafael Martínez. Lantigua was the first secretary and the most enthusiastic member. The Ballplayers Federation's officials joined efforts with the two Government institutions dealing with sports and baseball. One was the Sports Direc-

ENRIQUE LANTIGUA

torate, whose director was Humberto Gómez Olivier, and the other one, the National Baseball Commission, presided by Rodolfo Bonetti Burgos. The Association of Sports Journalists of Santo Domingo was also represented since some of its members participated actively in the organization. They appropriately concluded that there was a need for a local championship, even with all the risks entailed by professional baseball Above all, it meant hiring foreign players mostly from Cuba, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. Once this decision was made, the three institutions agreed to have a <try-out series. >

The Ballplayers Federation then went ahead to organize a short series between two teams with the colors Red and Blue. One was called the Dominican Reds, and the other, the Diplomatic Blues. This series had positive effects among the fans and promoters of both teams.

It was necessary, however, to institutionalize the Santiago and Santo Domingo baseball clubs that already existed, the Escogido Lions and the Licey Tigers, as well as the Oriental Stars from San Pedro de Macorís, and the Cibao Eagles from Santiago.

Licey had been the pioneer club. Founded by a group of sports people in 1907, it had been instrumental to the developing of baseball during the following decades. When the time came for a calendar championship, the Blues were ready and so was its Board of Directors, presided by Mr. José Fernández

Escogido, with institutional life since 1921, already had other characteristics. It was a solid piece of machinery; close in some ways to officers of the Trujillo regime. In fact, its president then was Mr. Francisco Martínez Alba (Paquito) who had been in this club since the 1937 championship series with the team «Trujillo City Dragons.» This club was the result of a merger between Licey and Escogido for that year's championship.

Martínez Alba was the brother of Dictator Rafael L. Trujillo's wife, María Martínez

SECOND SCHOOL GYMNASIUM

SPACE ARRANGED FOR PLAYING BASEBALL AT THE BEGINNING

The Cibao Eagles were the final result of several teams appearing in Santiago since the 20s. They were born as a formal institution in 1937, previous to that year's championship.

It was not difficult at all to organize this club in 1951. They used to play in an informal ballpark in the same piece of land where the Cibao Stadium would be built some time later Jorge Gobaira was president of its first board of directors in 1951.

A lawyer, Federico Nina, Jr., was president of the Oriental Stars. A group of sportsmen from this city had been in charge of the team since 1936 when they won the National Championship.

In San Pedro de Macorís, baseball had been played ever since 1911. Several of their teams had played against Santiago and the capital city teams, until in 1922 the name «Oriental Stars»> was officially taken. Before this, the team was known as Eastern Stars or Macorís Stars

THE ACTION STARTS. Once the basic structure was ready, on May 5th, 1951, the first professional baseball summer championship series was official-

ly inaugurated. Oriental Stars, Cibao Eagles, Escogido Lions and Licey Tigers started a sports competition which would be a landmark in the future of sports and baseball in the country

All social categories were following up on the series, played only on weekends: Saturday afternoons plus 2 games on Sundays. What type of championship was organized then, in terms of competitive aspects? It was, without a doubt, a very representative tournament. The schedule was based on 2 rounds; each one would have 27 games per team, for a total of 54 games. This allowed batters and pitchers to have a long season where to compile significant numbers.

In 1953, for example, Olmedo Suárez, Licey's second baseman, had some 215 turns at bat, which is a lot more than any player would have in the Dominican Championship series, fifty years later.

Pitcher Santiago Ullrich, that same year, worked 131 innings for the same team, Licey, which is unthinkable for a pitcher in these modern times. And, since the games were held only on weekends, it was necessary for the series to extend over a 5-month period. This is how it was done during 4 years, in the 1951-1954 period.

The Normal Stadium, built by the government in 1946, was host to the opening game on May 5th.

How were the four teams formed? With high-caliber Dominican personnel, since there were many local players working in the Caribbean and in the Black Leagues of the United States. The best players from Puerto Rico, Venezuela and mainly the Cubans, joined the natives.

Juan Esteban Vargas -Tetelo- was an outstanding player in the Black Leagues but he also played in Puerto Rico, a country that he had assumed as his second home for he had married twice, and had established his residence there. He was also well known in Venezuela and Cuba, besides the United States, where he had played during the 30s and the 40s.

Tetelo has been, perhaps, the oldest Dominican player of all times. When

THE CUBAN, MARTÍN DIHIGO, MANAGER OF THE CIBAO EAGLES

the 1951 National Championship started, Vargas, first a short stop and later on a centerfielder, was 45 years old, but he was still very active

He had such a successful career that two years later, in 1953, he became batting champ with a high average of 355 He was, by then, 47 years old

Other illustrious names were Olmedo Suárez, Jose Saint' Claire (Pepe Lucas), Luis-Gallego- Muñoz, Alcibíades Colón, Rafael Valdez, Bell Arias and of course Guayubín Olivo, the most brilliant pitcher around that time. His brother Chichí was not too far behind.

In order for these clubs to start taking shape, they hired players from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama and Mexico.

There was no agreement with the United States baseball then, so there wasn't any possibility at all that the Major League organizations sent their young people to the Dominican Republic. This would only begin to happen five years later. Besides their Latin neighbors, the clubs also hired important players from the Black Leagues.

Martín Dihigo, a Cuban, who would become a legend because of his ex-

ceptional talent, was appointed manager-player for the Cibao Eagles. He was not on time for the beginning of the series, but joined later on.

Alonzo Perry, from the Black Leagues, made his first presentation with the Licey. The strong hitter would also become a historical player in Dominican baseball, showing his quality during 7 full seasons

The Puerto Rican Félix-Fellé- Delgado was the first Licey manager. Perry himself replaced him, in addition to playing at first base. The last one was Manuel Henríquez,

Rafael Valdez, a Dominican, second and third baseman for the Eagles, was in charge of the team until Dihigo arrived. Manuel García managed the Stars, and Pepe Lucas managed the Escogido Lions.

The series went along smoothly. The rules indicated that there would be a winner in each one of the two rounds. The winners of both rounds would then play for the title in a final series.

Escogido won the first round and Licey, the second. In the final series the Blues won in 5 games, thus becoming the first professional baseball champions of the summer league.

Perry, who had been hired to strengthen the team, joined the Blues in the last game of the first round. He became an important addition to the club's offense.

THE WINNERS. A total of four championship series were held during the summer, always on weekends. All recreational activities for the Santo Domingo, San Pedro and Santiago's society on weekends were scheduled around baseball.

The public filled the ballparks every time. In La Normal the estimated capacity is 4 thousand fans, and being that the entrance tickets were so low priced, it became a special attraction for adults and younger people alike.

In Santiago, the ballpark had grandstands accommodating up to 5 thousand people and the same was true for San Pedro de Macorís Seating ar-

rangements, of course, were not those found in a formal ballpark, neither in Santiago nor in San Pedro de Macorís.

Out of the four series held, Licey won two (1951 and 1953), the Eagles won in 1952, and the Stars in 1954 Ironically, the Escogido, who was known as <the protégée»> of the Trujillo regime, or at least of a good part of the Trujillo family, did not win any title during those four years. Their biggest success would come later on, when there were lighted ballparks.

From the very beginning of these events, there was a decision to honor the regime due to obligated circumstances. So each one of these series was given a name tied to the governing family. The 1951 series was called «Trujillo Era.» The teams relied on local players, but they also had Venezuelans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and a good deal of the best players from the American Black Leagues.

Licey shared its management between Fellé Delgado (Puerto Rican), some times Alonzo Perry himself, and Manuel Henríquez, the most qualified Dominican manager at the time. Pepe Lucas managed its rival, Escogido, right from the beginning.

Licey won the final series in 5 games and Perry was instrumental, getting 3 homeruns in just 5 games.

Guayubín Olivo, winner of 10 games in the regular round (with 5 defeats) was one of the best pitchers, but the very best one was the American Marion -Sugar- Caine, another product of the Black Leagues. The series was scheduled for 7-4, and Licey won 4-1.

Perry had come to Licey at the beginning of July, failing in his first game, which was the last one of the first round. However, Licey and Escogido ended up tied and so they played a three-game series to define the winner.

Perry got hits in all three games and also in the next 24 of the second round, for a hitting streak of 27 games, record which remained unbroken for 46 years.

The Lions had as their main hitter, Willard Brown, a strong Afro-Ameri-

can fellow who used to play in the Caribbean Leagues, particularly in Puerto Rico. Brown owns the record for most homeruns in Puerto Rico, with 27.

Gallego Muñoz, Vicente Escarpate and Pepe Lucas himself were part of the local Escogido heroes. The 1952 series was held from April 25th to September 26th and was called «Pro-Election of General Héctor B. Trujillo Molina >

Some changes had taken place in the national management. Journalist Pedro Julio Santana was the new director of the National Baseball Commission, Tancredo Aybar Castellanos became Licey's president, and José Augusto Vega Espaillat was the new president for the Eagles.

The Eagles hired Cuban Rodolfo Fernández, a former pitcher, as their new manager. Licey put Alonzo Perry who, thanks to his excellent hitting during the previous season, had become an idol for the Blue fans. The starting manager had been José -Dumbo- Fernández, but then Perry replaced him Escogido had three managers: Martín Dihigo, Félix Seay and the last one, Fellé Delgado while the Stars were managed by Manuel García and Julio Rojo.

In the first round, Eagles and Lions were tied but the decision to define a winner was not taken at that time Licey won the second round, and then Eagles and Lions played a short three-game series to decide who would face the Blue team.

The Eagles won, both victories going to the imported Terry McDuffie, who also had an outstanding performance in the regular series with a 12-3 record. When these two wins were added to his previous ones, he ended up with 14, a record which has remained forever in the Dominican league

The series was scheduled for the best of 7 games. The Eagles had two star pitchers, besides McDuffie, for they also had Emilio Cueche, a major star at the time. Licey again had Guayubín Olivo, who had repeated his 10 victories of the first series, and also Puerto Rican Ruben Gómez, nicknamed «El Divino Loco,» (The Divine Crazy) Based on these 4 pitchers, the final series was

played with the Eagles winning at the maximum count of 7 games This was their first title ever.

Luis Rodríguez Olmo, a Puerto Rican that was a former big leaguer, came to reinforce Licey in this series and was batting champ with .344. Perry was leader in homeruns with 11, and in RBIs with 38.

An incident took place on Saturday, September 13th during the fourth game at La Normal Stadium. When they reached the 10th inning, the score was tied at 5, but the game had to be suspended because it was too dark to play

The 1953 Championship was called «Leonidas Radhamés» to honor the young son of Dictator Trujillo. It was held from April 25th to September 6th.

There were also other changes in management. Benigno del Castillo was elected president of the Ad-Hoc Professional Baseball Commission. As president for the Oriental Stars, Mr. Rafael Antún appeared in this league for the first time. He would become a key figure in this team and also in the league, over the next 40 years.

Likewise, Ignacio Guerra was elected new president of the Licey Tigers, and Mr. Restituyo González, president of the Eagles.

Rodolfo Fernández returned as manager for the Eagles; Licey hired Oscar Rodríguez from Cuba; and Escogido was managed by Ramón Concepción from Puerto Rico. The Stars were somewhat unstable since 4 men went through this position: Fermín Guerra, Wilfredo Calviño, Gilberto Torres and Dalmiro Finol.

Licey easily won the first round and the Eagles, the second. Both teams went to the finals That year the Blues came up with one of the most famous teams in the entire league at that time, and that's the way it has remained forever. Coming back were Alonzo Perry and Luis Rodríguez Olmo, but this time they had been joined by Bert Hass, third baseman; Alcibíades Colón, Olmedo Suárez; catcher Valmy Thomas, from the Bahamas, and pitchers Guayubín and Chichí Olivo, plus Santiago Ulrich, leader in ERA with 1.98.

Emilio Cueche won 13 games for the Eagles who again had Terry McDuffie, an 8-game winner during the regular round, but who was not able to participate in the final series due to injuries.

Sports announcer Félix Acosta Núñez had labeled Licey's sluggers as <Los Tanques» (The tanks) and his catchphrase «Here come the Tanks> became so famous that it's still remembered by most. Licey won the final series 4-1, their second title in just 3 years. It's worth mentioning that Tetelo Vargas was batting champ with .355 at the age of 47, in a superb demonstration of his abilities Tetelo didn't have much chance to become better known because his team's performance had not been a good one. In the first three series played they hadn't won any of the rounds, so they never reached the finals. This would all change in 1954 when the Orientals became champions for the first time. Juan I. Vicioso was the new General Director for Sports and Juan Vicente Felipe of the National Baseball Commission. Ignacio Guerra returned to Licey's presidency and Luis Mercado was pres-

ESTADIO DE LA MORNAC

ident of the Cibao Eagles. Francisco Martínez Alba remained for the fourth year as president of the Escogido, and Rafael Antún also repeated as president of the Stars.

Escogido couldn't found the winning way so they named Antonio Rodríguez, a Cuban, as their manager; Licey repeated Oscar Rodríguez; the Eagles started out with William Cash but ended up with Luis Rodríguez Olmo while the Stars relied on Ramón Bragaña, another Cuban, for this position.

The championship series was called «The Benefactor» and went from May 15th to August 5th. Licey won the first round, but there were major incidents during the second one and a lack of organization was evident. In the final part of the second round, Escogido and Eagles decided to retire from the tournament without completing the schedule.

At the time of their withdrawal, Escogido had played 47 games and the Eagles 48, out of the 54 scheduled for each club. Licey played 51 and the Stars 50 Once things were put back in order, Licey and the Stars went to the finals. Manolete Cáceres, released by Licey, was a regular player with the Stars, but they mostly depended on two Venezuelan pitchers: Carrao Bracho and Valentín Arévalo, and the Cuban Wenceslao González.

Chico Conton, Papito Mateo and Bell Arias were the most outstanding local players in the Stars team. They also had Tetelo Vargas at 48 years of age.

The Stars twice defeated the Blues' star pitcher Guayubín Olivo, and by so doing Licey lost all hope of winning the series The San Pedro de Macorís team won 4-1. The series was scheduled for the best of 7 games. In that entire period, only the Escogido was never able to win.

Terry McDufie and Emilio Cueche, besides manager Rodolfo Fernández, became the key figures for the Eagles.

In 1951, another Cuban outfielder, Pedro Formental, hit 13 homeruns in an outstanding performance, which remained as a league record for several years

Perry, Rodríguez Olmo, Olmedo Suárez, the Olivo brothers, and Manolete Cáceres became the first idols for the Blue fans

Tetelo Vargas, at the end of his legendary career, was an icon for the Stars, but foreign players Bracho and González also had a lot to do with their winning the championship. Rafael Valdez, former player of the Eagles, had joined the Green team and when they won the championship title he was their third baseman.

Pepe Lucas was an important player and manager for the Lions that were unable to win at all during this period. Their best years would start in 1955 when Dominican baseball would open itself to some new horizons with the arrival of the lighted ballparks, plus a radical change in the format of our series as well as the new relationships with the United States' organized baseball.

LIGHTED BALLPARKS AND OPENING TO THE U.S.A.

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The four championship series held during the 1951-1954 summers definitely increased the baseball fever among the Dominican people. Local players were spread all over the Caribbean and also in the United States Black Leagues.

These were changing times, however, and it was absolutely necessary to become part of the new situation. In the United States, most of all, changes were running deep.

When the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson in 1946, he became the first Afro-American ever to play in the Major Leagues, and this, of course caused quite a stir in the world of baseball. Many other black players were signed over the following years and soon they would become the new stars of the game. Even in this country, the influence was noticeable.

The Dodgers themselves had visited Santo Domingo in March 1948, during a spring training tour. They also brought along players from their Triple team, the Montreal Royals

As a result of all these changes, early in the 50s the Black Leagues started to lose their strength for their players were now more interested in the white people's Major Leagues. The impact was even greater when Robinson had

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such an outstanding performance during his first year with the Dodgers, winning the Rookie of the Year Award

How did this transformation project itself into the Caribbean and other Latin countries where baseball was played? The benefits were pretty obvious in two ways: First, the players from Caribbean countries were witnessing an opening in organized baseball, which could also become an opportunity for them to reach the Major Leagues. Racism would no longer be an obstacle.

Until then, only white players had the chance to play in the Majors. Therefore, ballplayers from Puerto Rico and Cuba, just to cite two examples, had gone ahead of the other Latin countries. In the second place, a much-needed closer relationship with the United States implied a radical change in local tournaments.

What happened in this state of affairs? The Caribbean leagues started to sign working agreements with the United States and its baseball organizations. This is how Dominican winter baseball started, as of 1955, for we could no longer play during the summer to avoid coinciding with both the Major and Minor Leagues' schedules in the United States

What came afterwards was a total change. An agreement was signed whereby Dominican baseball was free to start dealings with Major League Clubs

Among the benefits derived, the agreement called for their sending over some qualified players.

In the summer baseball the principal reinforcements had always been brought over from Venezuela, Cuba and Puerto Rico, and also from the United States Black leagues. This was the major reason for the presence of Caribbean players in our baseball.

Outfielder Pedro Formental was a fabulous Cuban player who reinforced the Cibao Eagles in 1951. Formental hit 13 homeruns, rapidly establishing a new record, which he held for 7 years.

Cuban pitcher Santiago Ulrich won 13 games for the Licey Tigers in 1953, and also helped them win the title that year.

Terry McDuffie was the star pitcher for the Eagles in 1952 winning a total of 14 games with only 3 losses. McDuffie got 12 wins in the regular season, and in an extra series with Escogido to define the winner of the first round, he won another 2 games to bring up his total to 14. This has been the record in the Dominican Republic for over 50 years. The Eagles, aided by McDuffie, were the champions in 1952

Luis Rodríguez Olmo -El Jíbaro- from Puerto Rico, was part of the great team presented by Licey in 1953, and which went on to become Champion that year. This club also had Alonzo Perry and the American Bert Hass, among others.

Perry, of course, gave a great performance and was the best-imported player of that first stage of our baseball. He was with the Licey for 7 consecutive years until the 1957-1958 series, with extraordinary statistics.

Perry was a first baseman, a left-handed hitter who used to throw with his right hand. At that time, he was a veteran from the Black leagues, born in Birmingham, Alabama. He became very popular here and was nicknamed

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«Mr. Reinforcement.» In 1953 he was the homerun leader with 11 and established the record of 53 RBIs, which he still holds.

Escogido was not as lucky as the rest of the teams, but they always had good imported players even if their overall results were negative In 1953 the Lions had a Puerto Rican manager, Ramón Concepción, and the next year they brought a Venezuelan, Antonio Rodríguez. They both failed. The Stars were luckier with their foreigners. In 1954 when they won their title, their manager was former Cuban pitcher Ramón Bragaña, who had played in this country with the Trujillo City Dragons in 1937 The Stars that year relied on imported pitchers, such as Venezuelans Carrao Bracho and Valentín Arévalo, and also Wenceslao González, from Cuba.

The legendary Martín Dihigo played briefly for the Eagles in 1951, and for a short while he was also their manager.

The Black Leagues also made a significant contribution since, for the AfroAmericans, coming to the Caribbean to play baseball was a great honor. They made good money and had lots of fun. All that changed as of 1955.

LIGHTS AND A NEW STADIUM

Where was professional baseball played during those four years of summer series? In Santo Domingo the games were played at La Normal Stadium, located in the high school of the same name, in the Northeast zone of the capital city.

That ballpark was built in 1946 and it was the most adequate one for baseball at that tine. It could accommodate over 4 thousand paying fans and had a wide-open space around it. There were only a few cars around then, so parking was no problem

In Santiago, the Municipal Stadium was located in the same place where they would build the new one in 1958, known as Leonidas Radhamés at first and later becoming the Cibao Stadium. This first ballpark had grandstands for over 4 thousand people. In San Pedro de Macorís, the Stars held their

games in a ballpark located at the racetrack in the Restauración neighborhood. At the beginning this park used to be called Ramfis Trujillo. Their new ballpark would be inaugurated in 1959

In the Dominican capital the construction of the Trujillo Stadium had been accelerated since 1954. Dictator Trujillo was convinced that it was convenient to build a ballpark with lights for professional baseball had grown a lot and had caught the attention of a good share of the Dominican society. So, the decision was made to build a modern ballpark, a sort of replica of the Bobby Maduro Baseball Stadium in the city of Miami. Engineer Bienvenido Martínez Brea, a builder close to the Trujillo family, and also to the family of future president Joaquín Balaguer, was put in charge of this work together with an American company.

For its opening, they selected a date which was considered a very significant one at that time, October 23rd, 1955, the day before the Dictator's birthday.

It was a game between Licey and the Oriental Stars and, as expected, there was a full house in attendance. As relevant historical information, the Stars were first at bat but none of their batters was able to get a hit.

It was the Licey, in the bottom half of the first inning, that was lucky enough to have their first batter, Dominican outfielder Alcibíades Colón, get the first hit in the Trujillo Stadium. The pitcher was Don Elson, on a 2 ball, no strike account, and it was a ground ball that went through, almost on top of the second base, towards centerfield. Another piece of relevant information is that the first homerun ever at that park was not hit during that inaugural game. Emil Panko, an imported player for the Eagles, facing the Licey right-handed pitcher Chichi Olivo, hit the first homer on the following day, October 24th. The Eagles won the game 8-7.

The Trujillo Stadium, of course, would bring about other lighted baseball parks in Santiago and San Pedro. The first one was in Santiago. It was inaugurated on October 1958, a very happy event for all the Cibao fans. At the

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beginning its name was Leonidas Radhamés Stadium and later, once the regime had fallen, the named was changed to its current one

The Stadium at San Pedro de Macorís was inaugurated on October 25th, 1959 and was called Oriental Stadium. Later on, the name would be changed to Tetelo Vargas.

Besides those two new ballparks, there were other changes taking place in Dominican baseball, like the ones in its legal structure. The old government institution that used to be the National Commission for Professional Baseball, also called Commission Ad-Hoc, was left behind In its place, the Dominican Professional Baseball League was created in 1955, and approved by the tyranny by means of Decree 1110, dated August 7th, 1955, which allowed its incorporation.

A lawyer Hipólito Herrera Billini was elected as its first president. Around that time, Herrera Billini was also president of the Supreme Court of Justice, which definitely gave a lot more status to the new baseball organization. Herrera Billini was president of the Supreme Court during the 1949-1961 period

The League's first Board of Directors also included Jaime Vidal Velásquez as Vice President, Dr. Arístides Alvarez Sánchez, Secretary; and Dr. Roger Mejía Sánchez, Treasurer.

As teams' executives that year were Ignacio Guerra, president of Licey; Francisco Martínez Alba was still president of the Escogido; José Hazim Azar, president of the Stars; and Juan B. Sánchez Correa, president of the Eagles. The Stars repeated their 1954 champion manager, Cuban Ramón Bragaña, but there were changes in the other clubs.

Since now Americans could be brought down here to play, the teams hurried to take advantage of their new partners and their recent business relationships.

Escogido had signed a mutual cooperation agreement with both the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Their manager was Frank Genovese, from the Giants

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Licey had done the same with the St. Louis Cardinals, and their manager was Red Davis. The Eagles started a long-term relationship with the Pittsthe team

burgh Pirates, who sent Larry Sheppard to manage

The names of the leaders in the playing field also started to change. Robert Wilson, from Licey was batting champ with 333, and also in hits with 69.

Allen Richter with Escogido was first in runs scored with 40; Willie Kirkland, from the Escogido, led in RBIs with 37.

Another Lions' player, Charles Neal, set a record with 11 triples that has been impossible to break even after almost 50 years of baseball. Donald Hoak (Escogido) was leader in stolen bases with 8.

It is easy to see that the Escogido had started a completely new stage, since their players frequently dominated the offensive part, and likewise, the pitching. That

year the Escogido would start working towards 3 consecutive championships, obviously an entirely diferent performance from the one they had during the first four summer championships.

CHANGES

The new ballparks and the recent relationships established with American organizations, completely changed Dominican baseball.

Basically it left aside, as the principal ingredient, hiring veteran personnel from Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Cuba. Besides, those countries also had their winter series in progress. As a secondary direct benefit, hiring young American players turned around the Dominican championship series, for the quality of the tournament improved. The organizations started to use local baseball as a development point for their best talents

And in the third place, the new situation opened the doors for Dominican players who started to get good contracts in the Big Leagues. The results would be forthcoming.

Did Major League organizations really lend us their best material in those first few years? It's quite evident that the answer is yes. This is confirmed by

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the well-known names appearing before us during the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and also a good part of the 80s.

Escogido, for example, received during those years, the talented Frank Howard, the big guy who was reinforcement in the 1959-1960 season, becoming leader in homeruns in this circuit with 11. Later on, Howard would also make it big in the Majors.

Willie McCovey, from the Giants, played first base for the Lions in two consecutive series, 1957-58 and 1958-1959. McCovey was in route to hitting 521 homeruns in the Major Leagues. Gaylord Perry, winner of over 300 games in the Majors and an immortal in Cooperstown, also came to play for Escogido in 1963-1964, ending with an 8-8 record in wins and losses. Even Willie Kirkland, a strong Major League hitter, played with the Lions for more than a season during the 50s.

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In the years that followed, Escogido would continue to rely on players that would later become Major League stars: the Cubans Tito Fuentes and Miguel de la Hoz, Cecil Cooper, Gary Matthews, Gary Maddox, John Mayberry, Tim Raines, Tim Wallach, Doyle Alexander, Tom Hume and Mickey Mahler.

Licey, the biggest winner in the Dominican League until 2004, has also gotten a lot of benefits out of its relationships with United States baseball. The Blue team initiated a long marriage with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972, and most of the big Blue family has come from there. Tom LaSorda, who managed the team 4 years in a row, winning 2 championship series for them, is a good example.

Immortal Hall of Famer Bob Gibson was a well-known reinforcement for the Tigers during the 1958-1959 season, even though he could not get such good results here. Gibson won 2 and lost 6, with a 5.00 ERA.

However, over the next decades, Licey would also take advantage of imported personnel, which it did during the 60s, 70s and 80s. Wearing the Blue uniform were Jim Beauchamp, Billy Buckner, Steve Garvey, Howard Johnson, Von Joshua, Kenny Landreaux, Tom Paciorek, and Mark McGwire The latter would become famous in the Big Leagues during the 1998 season by hitting 70 homers, and 583 lifetime.

They also had Mike Scioscia, Orel Hershiser, Darren Holmes, Charlie Hough, Mike Norris, Dave Stewart and Mike Torrez.

Bobby Valentine was shortstop for the Champion 1973-1974 team, and John Roseboro was their manager in 1990-1991.

Bill Mazeroski was sent over by the Pittsburgh Pirates when the baseball with lights started He played with the Cibao Eagles the first two championships. Mazeroski would go on to become quite a celebrity as Pittsburgh's second baseman, and in 1960 his fame grew even a whole lot more. That year he hit a homerun in the ninth inning of the seventh game of the World Series, against the New York Yankees. Willie Stargell, a member of Cooperstown, was also a high-caliber imported player for the Eagles. He was sent over here

by the Pirates, and while playing in the 1963-1964 season, became leader in RBIs with 40.

Bob Veale, a left-handed pitcher who had a deviled fastball, helped the Cibao team around those times. Dick Stuart was the first man ever to hit 14 homeruns with the Eagles in 1957-1958. This record, tied by the native player Freddy García during the 1998-1999 season, still holds in this league

The Eagles have had some other big names sent over by the Pirates. Bill Madlock who would go on to win 4 batting titles in the Majors; Dave Parker, batting champ in 1973-1974 with a 345 average, as well as pitchers Steve Blass and Kent Tekulve. The Panamanians Renie Stenner, Mannie Sanguillén and Omar Moreno, were all good players that the Eagles got from the Pirates. The Stars have also had their share of well known players in the Majors. The Green team from San Pedro de Macorís started a business relationship with the Milwaukee Braves, which continued in 1966 after this team moved over to Atlanta. As a result, the Niekro brothers were here, Joe and also Phil, a knuckle-ball specialist who played during the 1966-1967 season, ending with a record of 8 wins and 6 losses. Joe would come down for the 1975-1976 series. Some time later, they would also welcome Ralph Garr, one of the bestqualified hitters ever to have played in this league. Garr was here for the first time for the 1969-1970 series when his average was .387. The following year he hit .457 with 105 hits, and then .388. Garr, an outfielder, left handed hitter, was very successful in the Major Leagues He was batting champ in the National League in 1974 with .353, and at the end of his career, he came back to play with the Stars in 1980-1981, hitting .419. During the four years he played here his general average was .412, and he still holds the records for most hits and highest batting average in a single season. During the 60s, the Stars also signed a working agreement with the Houston Astros that let them have part of their best talent.

From the Astros, the Stars acquired pitchers Larry Dierke, Mike Cuellar and James Rodney Richard

Other illustrious names that have worn the Green uniform are George Foster, who hit 52 homers for the Cincinnati Reds (1977), Ray Knight, Gerard Perry, Gorman Thomas, Dale Murphy, a catcher for the Stars at the start of his career. Likewise, pitchers Steve Bedrosian and Chuk Finley.

The Eastern Sugar Cane team (Azucareros del Este) and the former Southern Cayman team (Caimanes del Sur) born in the 1983 expansion of Dominican baseball, from the very beginning had good relationships with several Major League teams. The same can be said for the Cibao Giants (Gigantes del Cibao) who came to the league in 1996 All these names as well as so many others have turned Dominican baseball into a vivid and attractive activity. There is no doubt as to their contribution to the game's progressing and strengthening as it did. Consequently, as of 1955 everything started to improve in our baseball. The construction of lighted ballparks and the initiation of satisfactory business relationships with American baseball were responsible for major changes. These two events alone have borne so much fruit that their positive results have never ceased to exist

THE FIRST IDOLS

Year 2004. Sammy Sosa, well under way to 600 homeruns, lives in a luxury apartment in an expensive building located in the center of Chicago. He also has a house, which he never uses, in the exclusive Anacaona Avenue in Santo Domingo. During the winter, he spends his time traveling between his two other residences, one in Miami, Florida, and a villa in Casa de Campo, La Romana. He does not go to the ballparks in his country during the winter baseball season, and is almost never seen in public places In fact, he is pretty inaccessible to the common people, and to think that one might run into Sammy around town some day just to say hello, shake his hand, congratulate him or show him one's admiration, is totally out of the question. Only the local press that can travel to the Major Leagues' ballparks

can have such contact with him. The same thing happens with other Dominican players of our times. They are likewise unreachable.

Was it so during the start of Dominican professional baseball or did our first idols have another type of scenario? There's an old saying that each time is different, marked by its own characteristics. That is what happened with our first idols, those born and developed during the 50s.

Outstanding imported players, for example, in Santo Domingo, Santiago and San Pedro de Macorís, used to live in modest hotels or in boarding houses which were common then.

Their monthly salaries were around 100, 200 and even 300 dollars. Their possibilities of enjoying a luxurious life were, therefore, remote. And this included having their own houses, vehicles or an upper class life-style Even their bank account and investments were practically non-existent. To complete this picture, when summer baseball first started, it was a common thing that Dominican players earned only $60 a month, an extremely low amount for people in this business.

Who and how were our first idols? Fans and reporters have known the names forever and ever.

ALONZO PERRY: It could very well be said that he was the very first big idol for the local fans, well above Dominican players.

This American ballplayer, first baseman and left handed hitter, came from the Black Leagues and wore the Blue uniform with much sentimentalism and dedication.

Perry joined the Blues during the last game of the first round in the first 1951 summer championship, failing four times.

Then, in a superb performance, in the next 25 games he had 90 turns at bat; hit 9 homers with 32 RBIs for a 400 average In addition to all this, he stole 10 bases, and was so efficient with the bat that he only stroke out twice while getting 21 bases on balls In the final series that year he was the main Blue hitter with 3 homeruns. Licey won its first title.

A highlight in Perry's debut was to have a string of 27 games hitting safely, a record that he held for 45 years.

Perry had failed in his first game, but got a hit in the next 24 games he played during the second round. Besides, by mid-season, Licey and Escogido were tied so they started three-game playoffs to decide the winner. Perry had a hit in each one of these three games which, added to the 24 from the second round, made him the record holder. (Domingo Cedeño would later break this record, when he had a 30-game hitting streak in the 1995-1996 season)

Perry came back in 1952, right from the start of the season, appearing in 45 games for a total of 162 times at bat. His average was 327; he was leader in homeruns with 11 and in RBIs with 38, in addition to other more technical areas of baseball such as total bases, 97, and slugging with .599.

The next year, 1953, this terrific player, who used to throw with his right hand, was with Licey full time participating in 56 games and having 229 turns at bat, to become leader in that department. Again, he was the best homerun hitter with 11 and in RBIs with 53, setting a record, which nobody

has been able to break as we go into the 2005 season. In his versatile game, he stole 16 bases and Licey got their second champion title.

Perry was right back in 1954 turning his arrival into a custom In 42 games and 146 turns at bat, he had an average of .336 and won his first batting champ title. He went down to 8 homeruns and 29 RBIs but his work was, once again, outstanding. When lighted baseball started, Alonzo Perry returned for three consecutive years with the Tigers. In the following 3 seasons, his average was .325, .252 and .332 getting his second batting champ title. The number of homeruns was down mostly due to the addition of Minor League American pitchers, especially many young and talented ones, who improved the quality of pitching.

The marriage between Perry and Licey ended after the 1957-1958 season, but even then he still came back here to play, this time with the Oriental Stars in 1958-1959. In 60 games his average was .270, 4 homers and 27 RBIs.

In 7 seasons with the Blues and one with the Greens, Perry had 1,430 turns at bat, 443 hits and .310 general batting average, one of the best of all times. His 49 homers still place him among the best 5 lifetime, and he is remembered as one of the greatest imported players in our baseball, possibly the number 1. He was appropriately nicknamed «The Blue Giant,» <The Blue Sultan» and «Mr Reinforcement >

In recognition of his great performance here, he was brought into the Hall of Fame of Dominican Sports during the 1995 ceremony.

GUAYUBÍN OLIVO: Among those Dominicans who played summer baseball, pitcher Guayubín Olivo definitely had a place of honor. Olivo was born on January 22nd, 1919, in the municipality of Guayubín, province of Montecristi. That means that by the time the 1951 championship series was inaugurated, he was already 32 years old. He was a veteran pitcher who worked in several local series during the 40s and had also reinforced teams in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Colombia. In 1947 he played briefly with the Escogido, and in a series against the Licey Tigers, on September 28th, 1947, he threw a no hit-no run game.

However, by 1951 Guayubín already oficially belonged to the Licey team, where he started to show all his talent and the quality of a mature, exceptional pitcher. This 6'1" left-hander used to play baseball weighing 195 lbs. So brilliant was his career that almost at the end of that decade, when the doors to organized baseball opened, he still signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates when he was close to being 40 years old. At 41, he made his debut in the Major Leagues with the Pirates, and would go on pitching for another 3 seasons afterwards with both Pirates and Cardinals During the 1960-1961 Dominican championship series, where only local players participated, he stroke out 160 batters in 142 innings pitched, once again showing what a strong arm he had.

As of 1951 Guayubín was the most stable Dominican pitcher, as evidenced by the number of games he won year after year.

There were other Licey pitchers with good performances during different seasons. Even his brother Chichí, 7 years younger, won 10 games in 1953, and the Cuban Santiago Ulrich won 11 games that same year. Together, they were a fantastic trio Guayubín won 6 games and was the best of the three.

In 1951 and 1952 he was 10-5 during both years, and was ERA leader with 1.99 and 1.33, in that order. In 1951, he also led the league in strikeouts with 65. He usually pitched over 100 innings in each season so he was always well ahead of the others

In 1954 on May 29th, Guayubín reached his peak when he threw a no-hitno-run game against the Escogido, winning 3-0. He allowed two bases on balls and stroke out 5 The incredible thing is that just 2 weeks before this game, Olivo himself had broken a no-hitter to Johnny Wright, from the Eagles, while they were playing against Licey. Olivo was called in to pinch-hit with a runner on second (Alcibíades Colón) while the game was tied at 0.

Guayubín hit a single, deciding the game 1-0 in favor of the Tigers.

In 1956-57 he won 10 games and lost 4 with 1 84 ERA Again, in 1961, he

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won 10, had 1 58 ERA and 160 Ks During six diferent seasons his ERA was under 2.00.

Olivo pitched for the last time during the 1963-1964 season. He was 45 years old by then. It's worth mentioning that in 1960, while with Pirates, he came out without a decision 4 times. He came back in 1962 and was 5-1 with a 2.77 ERA. Next year with St. Louis, he was 0-5, 5.40 ERA.

The Cardinals then sent him back to the Minors, and Guayubín went to play for Atlanta, one of St. Louis' Triple A teams. While with them, he threw another no-hitter against Toronto, a Milwaukee Braves' farm team, on July 22nd, 1963.

To summarize his Dominican baseball career, he won 86 games, lost 46, and had a .652 average. His 86 victories are the highest number for any pitcher, a record that he still holds. His lifetime ERA was 2.11, all time second place, right behind Juan Marichal with 1.87. He was, without a doubt, the biggest Blue idol, an honor that he shared with Alonzo Perry during the 50s.

During those first 10 years, other relevant Licey players were the Puerto Rican Luis Rodríguez Olmo, who reinforced them for two years and was part of the 1953 winning team. Also, the second baseman and excellent defensive player, Olmedo Suárez, and even Chichí Olivo, who would later on pitch for the Oriental Stars.

Licey would not win any more championships until the end of the decade, and did not have other big idols as such, until Manuel Mota arrived during the 60s. Mota, in fact, inherited the Blue fans admiration for Guayubín Olivo.

TETELO VARGAS He was a legend in both amateur and professional baseball for over 3 decades. It's quite normal for the active life of a baseball player to last around 20 years, and even then only a few manage to cross that barrier. In the case of Tetelo Vargas, there were no such parameters or limits. When the first summer championship was held in 1951, Tetelo had already shown his talent in the American Black Leagues, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

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At that time, he was already 45 years old Most baseball players are retired from active play at that point. However, for Tetelo, the end had yet to come.

Juan Esteban Vargas Marcano, his full name, was born in 1906, in a house located at the March 19th Street in Santo Domingo. He had started to play baseball when he was a teenager, and was caught by the fever common during those early days when the Licey team used to play against different ball clubs. At first he was Licey's mascot, but when the Escogido was founded in 1921, he came over to them to play shortstop participating in several series and championships He advanced rapidly and, by 1923, was highly recommended to a Puerto Rican team. He was with their Humacao team when he was barely 17 years old.

Afterwards, already an adult, he went to play elsewhere, and when the 1936 series started, he left Escogido and joined the Oriental Stars in San Pedro de Macorís. He told his friends that he couldn't stand the pressure from Licey fans in the capital city.

Tetelo was a key player in the Green team that won the 1936 championship, coming back with them in 1937 to play against the Trujillo City Dragons. He had already quit playing shortstop and was now a centerfielder, where he became sort of a legend defending this new position. His speed allowed for great ground coverage.

His name had already become famous in the baseball world. He had played for the United States Black Leagues, and in 7 years he was with 5 different teams, among which were the Brooklyn Eagles, Havana Red Sox, Cuban House of David, and Cuban Stars.

In the Cuban baseball he played 5 seasons with the Havana Claveless Reds, among others. An interesting story reveals his personality as well as the top quality athlete that Tetelo Vargas really was.

They say that after the 1936 Olympiads held in Berlin, the famous American runner Jesse Owens visited Cincinnati, and while there, made an exhibition of his speed to several players from the local team in the Black League.

Owens was running with his usual gear while the players were wearing their baseball uniforms. Owens gave a 5 meters advantage to each one of the baseball players. Tetelo was invited to participate, and he ended up winning the race. That's why he was known as «El Gamo.>

Tetelo first married Celia Amaro, in 1927, but she died. Afterwards, in 1957, he moved over to Puerto Rico marrying Mrs. Violeta Incháustegui, with whom he had a daughter. He would live in Puerto Rico until his death in 1971 from prostate cancer. Immortal Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente was present at the funeral

In summer baseball he played the first four championship series, plus the first one in the lighted ballparks. His average was .355 in 1953, winning the batting champ title with 66 hits in 186 times at bat. In those 5 tournaments he only hit 2 homeruns for his good reflex had started to abandon him. In general, however, his batting average was an excellent .322.

When he finally retired, in 1966, he was 50 years old, which was something simply exceptional. He didn't have a chance to play in the Majors

TETELO VARGAS

because of the racial barrier. No one doubts though that he would have been very successful For a good many years baseball experts have thought that he was the best Dominican player ever.

In 1963, the Dominican Congress passed a law whereby the Oriental Stadium, in San Pedro de Macorís, changed its name to Tetelo Vargas. In addition to this, a street in the Naco neighborhood of the city of Santo Domingo also bears his name.

Tetelo is an Immortal Hall of Famer in both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic The Puerto Ricans honored his name by making him an adopted son. He played in their league from 1938 to 1955 with the Arecibo, Guayama, Santurce, Mayaguez and Caguas teams. In spite of his advanced age, he was one of the big idols of the summer baseball fans in the Dominican Republic, and the number one in San Pedro de Macorís.

BOB THURMAN, WILLIAM BROWN, STAN WILLIANS, AND FELIPE ALOU.

When summer baseball started, first baseman Pepe Lucas was already a veteran He had been a great player during the prior decade, but in February 1951 his name became a household word everywhere because of his spectacular achievements in the Puerto Rican League. That year, at the end of the series, Lucas had connected a homerun to allow the Santurce team to win an important game and also the championship. That homerun came to be known as <the Repelucazo,» and became part of their history.

While with the Escogido team, he was the manager for the first 2 championships series, besides holding his first base position Lucas was already at the end of his career, but even then his bat was felt. He was leader in RBIs the first year with 38, had 6 homers and was playing until the 1956-57 season. His total average was .266 with 17 homeruns.

The Red fans, of course, worshiped him. Escogido was the only team, out of the four participating ones, not to win any championship in the summer league. This fact severely limited the appearance of new team idols, however, some high-caliber players stood out

DOMINICAN

Bob Thurman was an American outfielder from the Black Leagues who came to add more strength to the Red team in 1953 and 1954. He became a Red idol for his strong hitting During his first year here he hit 9 homers, and 11 in the second one, becoming the leader in this last series. In 1954 his average was .300; he was leader in runs scored with 29, and also in RBIs with 34.

Willard Brown was another potent-hitter outfielder that played for Escogido the first two championship series, 1951 and 1952. He was famous for having set a record of 27 homeruns in Puerto Rico during the winter series held in 1947-48. As a result, most pitchers were afraid of him. His averages were 252 and 301 in those two seasons.

Luis-Tite- Arroyo, a Puerto Rican pitcher, won 8 while losing 2 in 1952, and became very popular among the Red fans. His pitching duels against Licey's Guayubín Olivo were part of the main attraction in this series.

Escogido also had another good pitcher, Johnny Wright, who had a great record. Wright had been the second Afro-American player signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1946, he was Jackie Robinson's teammate in Triple A with the Montreal Royals. However, he couldn't stand the racial pressure and abandoned his Major League project, returning to the Black Leagues. He was pretty successful with the 1952 Escogido team, winning 10 and losing 5.

At the end of this decade, the Lions had many a good imported ballplayers that were admired by the public. Some of these were Frank Howard, Willie Kirkland and pitchers Stan Williams and Ed Roebuck.

Kirkland was the key man, offensively, in the Red's first championship title in 1955-56. He was leader in RBIs with 37, and also in homeruns with 9. He would be back again to play for Escogido. Kirkland was a powerful hitter who would move on to the Majors with the New York Giants (afterwards, San Francisco Giants) and the Cleveland Indians, hitting over 20 homers in 4 seasons. He played in the Major Leagues for 9 years.

Frank Howard, a huge, tall and heavyset fellow, was famous in Santo Domingo for two things: his bat and his appetite. He used to stay at the Jaragua Hotel and,

as story goes, he used to eat so much that for breakfast he usually asked for 12 eggs.

His performance in the 1959-60 series included being leader in homeruns with 9, and in RBIs with 46. Afterwards he would become a big slugger in the Major Leagues with his original team, Los Angeles Dodgers. In 16 years, he hit 382 homers for both the Dodgers and the Washington Senators. Stan Williams, a right-handed pitcher, came to reinforce Escogido during 3 years, including their two champion titles, 1956-1957, and also the year that followed His best season was 1959-60 when he won 12 and lost 6, but he's also well remembered because he threw a no hit-no run game against the Eagles, only the second such game in Dominican Baseball.

It was on November 20th, 1959 in Santiago, when Williams allowed 3 bases on balls, stroke out 7, and Escogido won 5-0.

That year Escogido also had a sensational pitcher, Ed Roebuck, who won 9 games without any losses, to become leader in won-lost games.

It's worth pointing out that before this decade was over, the new Red idols Felipe Alou, Juan Marichal, Mateo Alou, and Danilo Rivas made their debut, showing excellent quality. Felipe already had in store an exceptional season in 1958-59, however even greater days awaited him.

During that championship series Felipe was batting champ with .351, in hits with 85, in RBIs with 43, in runs scored with 45, in doubles with 17, in total bases with 133, in slugging 550, and in stolen bases with 14.

This overall performance has been acknowledged as the best and most complete one by any ballplayer in our league. In addition, Felipe was instrumental to the Lions ending the decade winning their fourth title in five years.

PERUCHO, MCDUFFIE, AND STUART. The first ten Dominican baseball championships were not as pleasant for the Cibao Eagles. They won one single title in 1952, but they had the good news brought about by the construction and inauguration of the Cibao Stadium, in 1958.

Pedro Formental was a veteran Cuban outfielder hired to add strength to their team in the first series in 1951. He played with the Eagles in just 32 games, but his power was such that in only 108 times at bat he had 13 homeruns, thus being the first big slugger in our baseball. (He had a proportion of 1 homer per each 8.3 at bat, something quite impressive in any baseball league). He was a left-handed hitter.

Perucho, however, never came back to the Eagles. In the two series that followed he went to play for the Oriental Stars, where his homerun production was not even close to what it had once been In 1952, in 165 turns at bat he only had 2 homers and the same thing happened the year after, with 109 batting turns.

The Eagles' first title came in 1952 and a pitcher, Terry McDuffie, was the undisputable hero.

McDuffie also came from the Black Leagues. He won 12 games during the regular season. However, as things turned out, Escogido and Aguilas had finished tied in the first round and a second series (3-2) became necessary to

determine the winner that would then play against Licey in the finals. The Blue team had won the second round.

The Eagles won and both victories were for McDuffie who ended up with a total of 14 wins and 3 losses during his wonderful season. He came back the next two years with records of 8-4 and 1-2, in a brief appearance during 1954.

Emilio Cueche, a Cuban pitcher, was McDuffie's teammate during those years having also played with the Eagles in 1952 and the year that followed.

His first year, he had a 9-9 record, and 13-9 on the second, to lead the league.

During those early days, the Eagles' manager was one of the best Latin players of all times, the Cuban, Martín Dihigo who had already retired. Dihigo, however, could not fit in well with the Cibao people. He was a late arrival, when the tournament had already started, and left early

The Eagle fans had to wait a long time, until the 1957-58 season, for another one of their players to become a big star through outstanding achievements

His name was Dick Stuart. He hit 14 homers, a league record which he held for 40 years. (Freddy García would tie it during the 1998-99 season while

TERRY MCDUFFIE, PITCHER OF THE CIBAO EAGLES (1952-1953)

playing for the Escogido) However, the Santiago fans would not be able to see with their own eyes this marvelous performance.

While the new stadium was being built in Santiago, the Eagles had to play all their games in Santo Domingo and also in San Pedro de Macorís. Even their home club games against the Stars had to be played at the Trujillo Stadium in Santo Domingo.

As a result, Stuart hit 13 homeruns in Santo Domingo and one in San Pedro de Macorís. He was also leader in RBIs with 33, while his batting average was .277. He would return to the Dominican League the following year. Some time later on, Stuart would also become successful in the Major Leagues with Pittsburgh, Boston, Philadelphia and California In 1963 he hit 42 homers for Boston, and in ten years his total number of homeruns was 228. Unfortunately, in Stuart's great year, the Eagles had a 20-31 record ending in the last place. The only good news for Cibao fans during this decade, besides the construction of their new stadium, was the debut of Roberto Peña and Julian Javier, who would become their short and second base combination for many years.

...And members of the next generation's idols.

IN THE HEART OF THE FANS (THE 60S)

After the changes undergone by baseball as of 1955, there was an enormous profusion of new idols, both Dominicans and Americans. In the local scene this was made possible thanks to the new agreements signed with the United States organized baseball, which allowed them to hire hundreds of players from every single part of the country. The best of our amateur baseball jumped to professionalism and this resulted in the rising of new bright stars.

As far as the Americans were concerned, a better quality game and better personnel was guaranteed by the mere fact that those Major League organizations cooperating with local teams, used to send over their best players every winter, looking out to the immediate future.

This allowed us the good fortune of having seen in our ballparks authentic prospects that would go as far as being elected, after their retirement, to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.

Some good examples were pitchers Gaylord Perry, Bob Gibson, Phil Niekro, and sluggers such as Willie Stargell, Willie McCovey, and Mark McGwire, among others Besides, one has to consider the economic factor, which also had a lot of to do with their being here. During the 60s, 70s and 80s, young ballplayers came to this country not only to advance in the

WILLIESTARGELL

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

game, they also did it to make good money. But during the 90s, the best United States players started to get large amounts of money when they were signed (in the draft), and since we're talking about millions of dollars, their life-styles changed completely.

Likewise, many veteran players used to come here to win a few thousand dollars extra. They don't have to do this anymore for they no longer need additional money. During the summer, in the Major Leagues, they make such huge amounts

In the 60s the fans enjoyed and admired Dominicans and Americans ballplayers alike. Many of them, like Felipe Alou, Manuel Mota and Juan Marichal went beyond a simple decade or even 15 years, which is the average time stardom lasts.

Marichal became a permanent idol upon his election to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame in 1983 This is also true of Felipe because he has continued to be in baseball as a manager, and the same goes for Mota, since he has been close to baseball for over 40 uninterrupted years as a player, manager or coach.

Felipe was precisely the main offensive player in the 60s and part of the 70's. He'd started his career at the end of the 50s and, as we have already mentioned in another part of this book, in 1958-59 he had an exceptional season, the best that any player has ever had in the Dominican League. He was batting champ with a 351 average, hit 7 homeruns, and was leader in runs scored with 45, in RBIs with 43, in doubles with 17, in triples with 5, in total bases with 133, in slugging with 550, and in stolen bases with 14.

Felipe had a brilliant career from the 1956-57 season until 1971-72, ending with a general average of 310 and 31 homers, 581 hits in 1,875 times at bat. Always with the Escogido team, he's been their manager on 9 occasions, sometimes as a full time position, and at other times as someone else's replacement. He was champion manager in 1980-81, 1981-82, 1989-90 and 1991-92. He had also occupied this position in 1973 while replacing Jim Williams, in 1974-75, 1982-83, 1983-84 for Hal Lanier and his own brother

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

Mateo, and during the 1984-85 series. Meanwhile, he had also managed in Puerto Rico and Venezuela. He even managed the Caracas Lions in the 1980 Caribbean Series held in Santo Domingo.

When he became manager of the Montreal Expos in 1992, his leadership had overcome all barriers. He held this position for 10 years until he found a new job as manager of the San Francisco Giants in 2003.

During the 60s the Escogido had in Mateo and Jesús Alou, two other important idols. They became part of the famous Alou trilogy in the Reds' outfield in many occasions.

Mateo was the finest hitter of the three brothers, and the one with the highest averages. He was batting champ in 1966-67 with .363, precisely the winter after he had also won the National League batting title with .342. In 1968-69 Mateo ended the season with .390 to again lead the Dominican league. His lifetime general average was .326, the second all time best, behind Mota Just like his brother Felipe, Mateo only played for the Escogido. Jesus, the younger brother was a free swing hitter who used to go to the home

plate to swing with good results His career was spent between Escogido and Licey for he played with the Blues during 8 years (1972-1980). His general average was .302.

Marichal was an exceptional case. He made his debut with the Lions in 1957-58 and during the years that followed he always worked over 100 innings, even in 1960 after he started with the San Francisco Giants. In 1963 his record was 25-8, 2.41 ERA, 18 complete games and 321 innings pitched in the Major Leagues. However, instead of resting during that winter, he played for the Escogido in 13 games and 92 2 innings with 7 wins, 4 losses and 1 36 ERA, to lead the league. In 8 occasions he played for the Reds and his lifetime record was 36-22 and 1.87 ERA, the all time best in the Dominican League. His participation here was a real sensation for during those early days in the 60s Juan was a 20 or more games winner for 6 seasons in the Majors. His career ended with 243 wins, 142 losses, 2.80 ERA and 244 complete games, clearly showing his immortal category.

Another two native talents who became idols for the Lions in that decade were catcher Federico Velásquez and third baseman Ricardo Joseph.

Velásquez showed great defense and timely hitting. He played from 1957 to 1979, a total of 19 seasons, 5 of which were with the Licey (1972-1977). His lifetime batting average was .248 with 24 homeruns.

Joseph was a star third baseman who even played in the Major Leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Kansas City Athletics. With the Lions he was a sort of defensive wall. His career took place between 1958 and 1973, and his average was 2.67 with 37 homeruns. He also played briefly for the Licey and the Eagles.

The Oriental Stars had some excellent players who were favored by the public during those years. People greatly admired Rafael Batista, Ricardo Carty and pitcher Silvano Quezada

Batista was their first baseman during the long 1964-1985 period, accumulating great numbers in many departments. His offensive average was .257 with

FELIPE ALOU BELOW: MANUEL MOTA, RICARDO CARTY AND JESÚS ALOU

DOMINICAN

45 homers and 395 RBIs. Until 2004, Batista was the lifetime leader in doubles with 157, bases on balls received with 379, third in hits with 822. He only played for the Stars and has remained with the team as a coach for a long time. Carty is from San Pedro and was the principal figure for the Oriental Stars during the 60s, being the potent hitter that he was He played for them ever since his debut in 1959 until 1970, but he didn't do it every year. As of 1971 he was transferred to the Escogido and during the rest of his career he also played for Licey and the Eagles. Until the 2004 winter he was the all time homerun leader with 59, and his general average was 301 Carty was a magnificent hitter in the Major Leagues and in 1970 was the National League's batting champ with a .370 average while playing for the Atlanta Braves.

The Green heroes of their last championship title in 1967-1968 were also important, but even more so were their catcher, Hal King, and pitchers Danny Combs, Mike Cuellar and Larry Dierker.

Roger Maris, a rookie outfielder from the Cleveland Indians came over to

RICARDO CARTY

reinforce the Stars in 1956-1957, and hit 286 in 56 turns at bat with 2 homeruns. Only four years later, Maris would break Babe Ruth's record with 61 homeruns while wearing the Yankees' uniform.

Phil Niekro, winner of 300 games in the Major Leagues and Hall of Famer, also wore the Green shirt in 1966-1967. He won 1 and lost 6, despite of his excellent 2 42 ERA (His brother Joe would also pitch for the Stars in 1975-1976)

Silvano Quezada was a legend of his own in Dominican baseball. At the start of his career (1957-1958) he spent the first two years with Licey, and then went to the Stars. He participated in all their tournaments until his retirement in 1982-1983. He was also in 3 championship series and played for 26 years exhibiting an unusual longevity. He was 64-59, with a 2.86 ERA.

The Eagles' fans worshiped Winston Llenas and Julian Javier in the 60s. Llenas first started to play in 1963, when he made his debut, and remained active until 1982. At that time he was already a manager-player. He was third and first baseman and his powerful bat was forever present with 50 homeruns lifetime, third all time best He always played for the Eagles and after his retirement was champion manager in two occasions, 1985-86 and the year that followed.

Javier, a star second baseman was successful in the Major Leagues with St. Louis and every year he also used to wear the Eagles' uniform. He was a timely hitter and his defense was brilliant. His general average was .253 with 16 homers. He was an important part of the champion team in 1964-65. Roberto Peña and Víctor Ramírez were also the object of public admiration in the 60s. Peña was shortstop for the Eagles during that period (1959-1973) with a general batting average of .270. Ramírez was a good hitting outfielder. Among their imported players was Willie Stargell who came in 1963-1964, playing almost full time in 56 games. He had 204 turns at bat and was leader in RBIs with 40 His general average was 314 with 8 homers He would go on to become very successful with the Pirates and would have a beautiful career, which would bring him to Cooperstown.

Bob Robertson, first baseman was a power hitter that played 3 years for the Cibao team in 1966-67 and also in 1969-70. In the first two series he was leader in homeruns with 10 and 9. During the next season he hit 8 homers, for a total of 27, in only three years that he played here.

Steve Blas was a good pitcher who was with the Eagles at the same time as Stargell. He ended with a 9-2 record to lead the league, and an excellent 1.47 ERA. Blas also became quite successful in the Majors.

Twice Licey was champion of the league during those years. Its biggest idols in the 50s were Alonzo Perry and Guayubín Olivo. However, Olivo retired after the 1963 series and the public then began to applaud Manuel Mota, a master of fine hitting. Mota is a player that made history with Licey. His long stay with the Blue team started in 1960 after being traded by the Escogido, where he had made his debut three years ago. He was batting champ with a .344 average in the series played only with natives that year (1960-61), also in 1963-64 with .379 and the following year with .364, his third title in a row. In 1966-67 he had a high .360 average, but Mateo Alou had gone over him with .390.

JULIÁN JAVIER AND RAFAEL BATISTA

PEDROGONZÁLEZ.

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

During his entire career of 21 years in the Dominican League, Mota had 800 hits in 2,400 turns at bat for a .333 average, and has always been number one. As manager, he was champion in the 1969-70 series and also in 197071, including the Caribbean Series. He was also the champion manager with Licey in 1982-83 and the year that followed, having 4 such titles to his record. His story is one of the most outstanding ones in Dominican baseball. Other important local players for Licey during the 60s were Elvio Jiménez, outfielder; Pedro González, second baseman; and Milcíades Olivo, pitcher, a nephew of Guayubín and Federico. Among the imported players, there was Byron Browne.

Jiménez was a true Licey fan He always played the leftfield and even though his records were nothing out of the ordinary, he was a timely hitter with a general average of .270, 16 homers, 77 doubles and 207 RBIs. He played in the 1958-71 period. González, nicknamed «The Big Captain», was the regular second baseman in 1957-1970 periods, ending with a .272 average, 22 homers and 213 RBIs. The last three years of his career he worked for the Oriental Stars and briefly for the Escogido. Olivo, a right-handed pitcher was also a prominent member of Licey from 1963-1976. During that period he was a starting pitcher, even though his records were not all that positive. He won 27 and lost 35, with a 3.29 ERA. Browne came to add strength to the Blue team in 1966-67 and the that year followed. He also came back in 1969-70. Twice he hit 9 homeruns to lead the league and was also leader in RBIs (33) in the 69-70 season.

BLUE-ORANGE IDOLS

(THE 70S)

When the 70s arrived, new stars had begun to appear in our baseball Ralph Garr was an American who took over this league completely and practically owned all the records during 3 consecutive years while playing for the Oriental Stars. Then César Cedeño came up with that same club, César Gerónimo and Pedro Borbón with Licey, TomLaSorda also made quite an impact in this

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

circuit managing Escogido for one year and Licey during 4. The Eagles owned the most exciting player in our baseball for the past 50 years: Miguel Diloné, known as «The Cibao Arrow.>

Besides, the 70s had a peculiarity: the 10 titles disputed during this period fell in the hands of only two teams: the Licey Blues and the Orange-YellowBlack Eagles.

Diloné, an outfielder; Franklyn Taveras, a shortstop, and the pitchers Juan Jiménez and William Castro; all locals, plus Kent Tekulve, an American, were part of the star players that came up as the new figures responsible for the Eagles' success during the 70s. Likewise, outfielder Omar Moreno, and second baseman Rennie Stennet, both from Panama. The latter two, together with Tekulve, belonged to the Pirates organization.

Diloné was the biggest star among all. His career started in 1972 and went on until 1989 when he retired, apparently. He did not play in the three following years an even became a manager, however he went back to active play in the 1991-1992 series and the two following years with the purpose of maintaining and even improving his record for most lifetime hits in Dominican baseball. Diloné ended with 875 hits, replacing Jesús Alou who is now in the second place, with 865. His lifetime average was 299. In 6 different seasons he finished above 300 and was batting champ in 1983-84 with .343. However where Miguel really showed the great talent he had, was in his sensational base stealing. He used to electrify the ballpark for whenever he reached first base, everybody at the ballpark, the fans and even the umpires, knew right away that he would be running to second. Diloné used to steal second and sometimes even the third base. When he stole 28 bases in his third season, 1974-75, he had broken the league's record set by Ralph Garr 23 years ago Soon after the 28th stolen base, came the 40th in the following year, and then the 44th, which he still holds as a league's record. He stole a total of 395 bases and, as of October 2004, no other player in this league had reached 150 lifetime.

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

The Panamanian Moreno was a high-carat idol for he came down to reinforce the Eagles in 6 diferent occasions, and was here for 5 consecutive years, as of 1975. Moreno also participated in 3 out of the 5 titles won by the Eagles during those years. He was batting champ in 1977-78 with 345, and his general average was .315 including a brief appearance with Licey in the 1985-86 season.

Moreno was a tremendous centerfielder and fine left-handed hitter. He was not a powerful homerun hitter, with 4 being his highest number in a single season.

His fellow countryman Stennet reinforced the Eagles in three tournaments, 1974-75, 1976-77 and 1978-79 In two of these, his average was above 300, and in general he hit 336 in over 400 times at bat One of the finest centerfielders in the history of Dominican baseball was Tomás Silverio who showed tremendous potential with the Eagles at that time. Silverio started in 1963-1964 but it wasn't until the 70s, when the Eagles won their 5 titles that he came up as an excellent fielder. He played

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

for the Eagles until 1975-76 when he was replaced by Moreno and transferred over to Licey, where he'd stay until his retirement, in 1983. His total average was .286 with 11 homers and 569 hits lifetime. Three times he went over the 300 average.

Licey, likewise, won 5 titles The team had an interesting mix of good native and imported players. This was mostly due to the fact that as of 1972 they signed an agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who started to show part of their future personnel.

Tom LaSorda was behind these changes. LaSorda had managed the Escogido in 1970-71, and he had even reached the final series when he lost to a Licey that had Mota himself as manager. LaSorda would take charge of the Blues as of 1972 and he would remain in that position for 4 years in a row. He won the first two championships, the first one to the Stars and the second one to the Eagles. In his last year here, 1975-76, he lost the final series to the Eagles. He did not come back after this. The scenario had been prepared for his taking over as manager for the Dodgers replacing Walter Alston. During LaSorda's years and

WINSTON LLENAS AND CESAR GERÓNIMO

those immediately following, a lot of excellent players who would go on to become great Dodgers stars in the next decade came here to play. Pitchers the like of Rick Rhoden, Charlie Hough, Rick Sutclife, Jerry Hannahs, and players such as Steve Garvey, Bobby Valentine, Steve Yeager, Billy Buckner, Von Joshua. Later on Mickey Hatcher and Mike Scioscia would also play here but at that point LaSorda came to this country only as a visitor. His charisma was incredible and his personality would forever be present in the field of every single Dominican stadium. The next episodes took place in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros during those years. During the 1970-71 season, LaSorda was Escogido's manager and his team was playing against the Eagles in Santiago. In the middle of a heated protest to the Chief Umpire, he was taken out of the game, but he put on a big show, to the extreme of taking of his shirt right there in the playing field. The Police then apprehended him for «attempting against the moral» and brought him over to La Vega's jail, as per a request made by the Police Oficer in charge. That same night, the team's executives freed him from jail and he returned to Santo Domin-

PEDRO BORBÓN AND MARIO GUERRERO

go. Then in 1973, while managing Licey, the following incident took place during a game in Santiago. Juan Jiménez, the Eagles' pitcher, was accused of using saliva to wet the ball and thus get better curves. During one of the games, LaSorda protested bitterly and at one point he grabbed a bucket of water and took it over to the mound, being automatically expelled from the game.

Knuckle-baller Hough was a legendary man. He played for Escogido in 1970-71 and as of 1972 he reinforced Licey for 5 consecutive years, both as a starting or a relief pitcher. He got 21 victories in all, 32 losses, and 47 saved games. With the Escogido he had 11 saves but his best number was 14 for the Blues in 1973-74

At the end of the decade, Licey had a short stop that became famous for his great defense. It was Jerry Dybzinski who came down to reinforce them for two years. In 1979-80 he only hit .220 but what he did with his glove completely won him the hearts of the Dominican fans. Licey was champion in this tournament with Del Crandall as manager.

Jerry Hannahs, a left handed with the Dodgers, was also part of Licey in 3

OMAR MORENO AND TOM LASORDA WEARING HIS ESCOGIDO'S UNIFORM

seasons as of 1978. On the first one he was 6-2, then came an impressive 9-0, and finally 5-5, to end up with 20-7 and a 2.43 ERA.

Another reinforcement worth mentioning was Jim Beauchamp, a powerful right-handed hitter who used to play first base. He was here for 3 years with the Tigers, but his best year was 1970-71 when he hit 6 homeruns.

Among the natives in the 70s, César Gerónimo, Teodoro Martínez and Pedro Borbón, this last one a pitcher, were excellent players.

Martínez used to play second and third base, sometimes the short He was a valuable <utility» player that was with Licey between 1966 and 1986, with a general average of 266.

Borbón became the first pitcher to be both a reliever and a starter. In the National League he was an important relief pitcher with Cincinnati, and in his own country he was generally a starter for the Blues.

Borbón began in 1964 and was in active play until 1984 even though he was absent in some series. In his last year he played for the Southern Caymans and his lifetime record was 56-58 with 13 games saved.

Gerónimo was a star in the outfield. He won 4 Golden Gloves in the National League with Cincinnati, and showed exceptional talent in the centerfield with Licey. His career started when he was a rookie in 1966 and extended until 1985, always playing for the Licey. In 1982-83 he was batting champ with .341 and his general average was .282. He was a master in fielding and had a very strong arm. Another two important pitchers for Licey were right-handed Víctor Cruz, and the lefty Angel Torres, winner of 10 games with only 1 loss in 1976-77

Even though Escogido did not win any title during this decade, they also had some important players. Cecil Copper, a big leaguer, reinforced them for three series as of 1973-74, hitting .294 with a total of 11 homers. At the end of the 70s, the Mahler brothers were here, Mickey and Rick, both pitchers with the Oriental Stars. They came over for the first time in 1977, and stayed for the entire season But the next year they came to play for the Escogido. Rick Mahler, a right handed, came to pitch for the Lions for only two events, but the lefty Mickey became a regular man with the Reds

RAFAEL LANDESTOY AND OMAR MORENO

playing in 8 consecutive series since 1980. He was a big winner, leader in won-lost games twice, and ending with 40 victories and 17 defeats, 2.99 ERA.

Elías Sosa was another important player for the Lions in the 70s. He also pitched for the Stars and the Sugar Caners. Sosa saved 25 games and was 21-28 lifetime.

Ralph Garr put on a great show with his tremendous hitting. He made his debut with the Stars in the 1969-70 championship series when he got the first one out of three batting champ titles, with .387, 79 hits in 204 turns at bat. The next year he made history when he hit .457, the highest average ever in the league, with 105 hits, also another all time record, in 230 times at bat. In both occasions he was also leader in stolen bases with 23, setting a new record. The previous one belonged to Mateo Alou, with 19, in the 1960-61 season. He came back in 1971-72 to get his third batting champ title with 388, 88 hits in 227 visits to the plate. Years later, in 1980-81, he came back with the Stars playing in only 26 games but hitting 419, showing that he had not lost his touch. In total, his average was .412 during the four years he played here, with 303 hits in 735 times at bat, something quite impressive indeed.

RALPH GARR

Garr would also make it big in the Major Leagues with the Atlanta Braves. He won the batting champ title in the National League in 1974 with a .353 average. Another great outfielder that played for the Stars during those years was the Dominican César Cedeño, who started in 1968-69. Cedeño was a fabulous defensive centerfielder, winning 5 golden gloves in the National League with the Houston Astros. He was a good average hitter who also had tremendous power. In his performance here he was leader in homeruns with 8 in 1970-71, and in the six series he played in this country his general average was 295 He could not come back to local baseball because he was involved in the death of a young lady in a Santo Domingo Motel. He was brought to trial and found guilty of involuntary homicide. He was fined 100 pesos. However, Cedeño had a good career in the Major Leagues with Houston, St. Louis and Cincinnati, hitting 199 homeruns.

THE LIONS COME BACK (THE 80s)

The 80s brought the Lions back on the winning track. They had gotten their last title in 1968-69 so when they won the 1980-81 championship, 12 years had gone by. The Escogido also won the series the following year, plus three other consecutive ones as of 1987, for a total of 5 during that 10-year period. Who were their heroes? Natives Pedro Guerrero and Mario Soto, plus some imported players like Tim Rains, Steve Ratzer and Tim Wallach were the most important people in this team At the start of the decade Felipe Alou managed the Escogido twice. Guerrero had already made a name for himself in the Major Leagues playing with the Dodgers. His debut in the Dominican League took place in 1974 when he played for a short time with the Oriental Stars. With the Lions he was a decisive factor in those two titles, especially with his bat, averaging .333 and .383. He played for 11 years in Dominican baseball and his general average was .290 with 13 homers.

DOMINICAN BASEBALL 240

Soto was also a strong pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds in the National League. He had 274 Ks in 1982. He played with the Lions from 1975 until 1988. His two best performances were in the 1980-81 series and the following year, when he had records of 7-2 and 6-1 in wins and losses. He was twice leader in strikeouts with 54. In this league, his total number of victories was 28 with 17 losses. His ERA was an excellent 2.48.

Steve Ratzer was a deluxe relief pitcher for this team in their first two title championships, saving 14 and 6 games, respectively. Tim Raines, a superb Major Leaguer, was with the Reds all the time, playing second base during 1980-81 and hitting .264 in 220 times at bat. He was leader in runs scored with 46. Wallach was a superior quality third baseman; coming down for the two Red wins. During the first one he hit .272 with 4 homeruns and 28 RBIs, and in the second one, 288 with 7 homers and 31 RBIs His total average was .280 with 11 homers and 59 RBIs, plus 25 doubles.

José-Makey-Moreno was a big idol for the Red fans at that time, for both his extraordinary speed and fine hitting. In 1981-82 he stole 30 bases breaking Miguel Dilone's domain in that area.

At the end of the decade, the Lions relied on other good players to conquer their three titles. From other baseball clubs they had gotten pitcher José Núñez, infielder Junior Noboa, outfielder Rufino Linares, third baseman Luis de los Santos, and second baseman Nelson Liriano. Others on the team were reliever Melquiades Rojas, pitcher José de León and the imported outfielder Ralph Bryant, who had already played here with the Caymans. They also had Jerónimo Berroa.

Noboa was the team's leader and remained as such for quite some time He was a timely hitter who had come to the Escogido in 1987-88 from the Caymans, and remained with them until the end of his career, in the mid-90s. His .286 average doesn't do him justice, and says little of how good he really was for his team.

Bryant was a fine player hitting 13 homers in 1986-87 and remaining with the Reds the next year, when they won their first title.

The most outstanding one of all these batters was Rufino Linares. He was

leader in RBIs in the league while playing for the Southern Caymans in 19831984 with 41, and when he joined the Escogido, he continued his torrid hitting. He repeated his 41 RBIs in the 1987-88 season becoming the circuit's leader. He had 305 RBIs lifetime, being the 5th all time.

A very special player in a class of his own was Sammy Sosa. He made his debut in 1987-88 as a substitute player, but during the following two series he played full time getting 5 homeruns in those three years. Sosa was also with the champion team in 1991-1992 when he hit 4 homers to lead the series and 17 RBIs.

However there is a lot of difference between the player that he was during those early days and the player that he would become later on in the Major leagues, particularly as of 1993 when he had his first 30-30 season (30 homeruns, 30 stolen bases). Of course, the Sammy after 1998 is another story altogether. The Escogido won, during those years, three titles in a row for the second time in the short history of national baseball. They had done it before, in the 1955-58 period.

Licey won three championships in a row, starting with 1983-84 and the

PEDRO GUERRERO AND CESAR CEDEÑO

two years that followed to equal the Escogido's accomplishment at the end of the 50s During the first two series the Blues were managed by Manuel Mota and Terry Collins in the third one. There were several heroes in each one of these championships.

Among them were George Bell, the Nicaraguan David Green, catchers Ramón Lora, Gilberto Reyes and Luis Pujols, first baseman Glenn Davis, outfielders R. J. Reynolds and Domingo Mitchel, infielders José Uribe González, Mariano Duncan, Rafael Landestoy, Tony Fernández and Dámaso García, and pitchers Juan Guzmán, Alejandro Peña and José Rijo.

Also, reliever Ken Howell, who set a new record in the league with 16 saves in 1984-85. Earlier, at the beginning of the decade, Licey had Greg Brock who hit 5 homeruns in two consecutive games and Orel Hershiser who had an impressive 8-2 record with 1 51 ERA when Licey won heir first title of the decade, in 1983-1984.

Other outstanding players were Fernández, García, Landestoy and Duncan. They carried Licey's flag during the entire decade and also for part of the following.

JUNIOR NOBOA AND RUFINO LINARES

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

Fernández was their shortstop in the 1982-83 and 1984-85 seasons with averages of .249 and .245. He hit 364 in 1985-86 and his defense and the quality of his game were always quite impressive He had also made room for himself with Toronto in the Mayor Leagues.

At the beginning of each series Uribe González used to play a lot, with good defense and strong hitting. Damasito made his debut in 1977 but he didn't play much during the first years of the decade. However he did help Licey to conquer two titles. His general average in the league was .266.

George Bell, a strong hitter, had 10 homeruns with the Sugar Caners in 1983-84, the first year of this expansion team. However on that same summer he was sent over to the Licey in a deal that involved 3 players in exchange for 10. With the Blues, Bell hit 5 homeruns with 27 RBIs, being a key player in their winning the 1984-85 pennant He did not play again until 1991-1992 when he came back with the Eastern Bulls.

At the end of the decade, in 1988-89 Domingo Mitchel became the only hitter to win the Triple Crown in local baseball with a .310 batting average,

MARIANO DUNCAN AND DAMASO GARCÍA

DOMINICAN

9 homeruns, and 36 RBIs Nobody else has done it Around those days outfielder Silvestre Campusano and infielder José Offerman would make their first presentation. They would go on to become the main players for the Tigers over the following decade.

Rafael Landestoy was one of the best performers for the Tigers ever since his debut in 1973. He played until the 1984-85 series, which means he was with the team for 6 championships. His general average was .270 and he used to play second, short, third and also the outfield. Ramón Martínez, a righthanded pitcher, worked for Licey since 1986 and had a good year in the 198889 series. He won 7 and lost 1 with a 1.63 ERA, for a great season. Then in 1990 he would win 20 games for the Dodgers.

The Eagles won 2 pennants in the middle of this decade, 1985-86 and the year that followed, while managed by Winston Llenas.

By that time the Eagles had already acquired the strong regional feeling which would bring this ball club such pride and success.

They had Tony Peña, Luis Polonia, Félix Fermín, Denio González, Stanley

JOSE RIJO AND MANUEL MOTA

Javier, Nino Espinosa and reliever Ramón Arturo Peña. Angel González hit .434 in 1989-90 becoming only the third hitter in the league to do so.

Stanley, son of Julián Javier, was already successful in the Major Leagues and always showed a lot of interest in playing for the Eagles. He was a fine hitter and good centerfielder. He was also batting champ for two consecutive years, in 19861987 with .374 and the next one with .363. His general average was .325. After his recent retirement, he owned the Cibao Giants ball club for three years.

Félix Fermín was the regular shortstop for the Eagles for more than 10 years, since 1983-84 when he first showed his credentials. He participated in their two titles during the 80s and also when the team won again in 1992-93.

Upon retirement, Fermín became their manager and as of October 2004 he would go into his 5th consecutive season as the Eagles' manager, an unprecedented record in the league. He has been the winning manager twice in the local tournament and in the Caribbean Series.

Luis Polonia is part of the elite group of players who defeated time. His long baseball career started in 1984-85 and he's still active some 20 years

GEORGE BELL

later. He's been part of 9 national titles for the Eagles plus another 4 Caribbean Series teams. He is, in fact, one of the permanent great idols of the Dominican baseball.

Tony Peña, catcher and manager, together with Polonia, Fermín, Llenas, the Javiers and Diloné, have been worshiped by Eagles' fans for decades.

Tony was not only a good player; he has also been a real leader for this team demonstrating it even after his days as Eagles' manager were over. Twice he was their winning manager 1997-98 and 1999-2000, and became only the third Dominican to manage a Major League team, the Kansas Royals in 2003. His career with the Eagles started in 1978-79 when he played briefly. The next year he hit .371 and won the batting champ title and the Rookie of the Year Award. He would then have 44 RBIs, and for three consecutive seasons he reached a minimum of 40 RBIs, the only player to have done so in Dominican baseball. He played until the 1993-94 season and his general average was .283. He was the first player from the Orange team to set an example of dedication and commitment to his country. Even though he played full time in the Major Leagues, he used to come back to his country every year to play in the winter baseball season, always giving his best for his Dominican team. Tony did it, not so much for the money, but out of love for his team and for his country Many other players have followed his footsteps

His brother Ramón Arturo Peña was a good relief pitcher with 16 saves in 1988-89 to tie the league's record until then held by Ken Howell (Mario Brito, from the Escogido, would set new a new record of 19 in the 1994-95 season).

At the end of the decade, Moisés Alou would debut in this league with the Eagles. He was Felipe's son. Later on, he would go on to have a very successful career in the Majors Moisés would be part of the champion team in 1992-93 but would then leave this league.

Two important pitchers for the Eagles were Pascual Pérez and Nino Espinosa. Pascual played for the Eagles between 1977 and 1986 and would then join the Licey. In 1981-82 he won 10 games with 3 losses, and in general, was

44-43 with a 2.82 ERA. Espinosa played for the Eagles from 1973 until 1986. He was a starting pitcher and ended with a 48-39 record.

The Oriental Stars saw their second decade go by without winning a single title, since their second and last win in 1967-68. However, they presented some new idols, ballplayers born in their town or traded in negotiations with other clubs.

One of these was Alfredo Grifin, who had made his debut in 1977. He had also won the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League in 1979, becoming the first Dominican ever to do so. (He shared it with John Castino, from Minnesota)

At the start of the 1981-1982 season, Pedro Hernández, an outfielder for the Stars, hit 408, becoming only the second one to do it, right behind Ralph Garr.

Another key player for the Greens during this decade was shortstop Rafaelín Ramírez who used to move over to third base when Griffin was playing. Ramírez played from 1978 to 1994 and his numbers won him a place in the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame. His average was .269.

The Bulls had already come into the league, going all the way to the final

STANLEY JAVIER AND FELIX FERMÍN

playoffs in 1984-85 when they lost to Licey. But La Romana's team had not yet begun to produce great idols, which would happen sometime later on. Domingo

Ramos was their best player at the beginning and he had a pretty decent career. He first played for Licey and Escogido but as of 1983 he joined the Bulls. His lifetime average was .294 and on four diferent occasions he went over .300.

The 80s also brought another piece of good news for the Dominican Republic and that was the election of Juan Marichal to the Major Leagues' Hall of Fame where he became a baseball immortal on July 31st, 1983.

IDOLS... AND MILLIONAIRES

THE 90s

The big money arrived at the Major Leagues at the onset of the 90s and, of course, a lot of Dominicans took advantage of this situation. Since Alex Rodríguez signed his first contract when he was picked up in the 1993 amateur draft, there was a general idea that a period of a lot of gold, that is to say a lot of dollars, had started. Alex himself would confirm these expectations when, 7 years later, in the year 2000, he signed a contract for 252 million dollars for 10 years, the most lucrative one in the history of the Majors.

How would this financial aspect affect Dominican baseball in the 90s? In but basically by keeping many players as far away as possimore ways than one, ble from local baseball. Those natives who found themselves making millions every year in the North would not even be seen by the fans at the ballparks, with only a few rare exceptions. Most of these exceptions would favor Eagles and Licey much more than the other clubs, only because their managers were able to maintain their star players motivated enough to perform in this league. In the 90s, Escogido picked up another title, in 1991-1992, when they were once again managed by Felipe Alou. However, they would not win again for the rest of the decade. Neither did the Stars but, for the first time ever, the Eastern Bulls were champions in 1994-95, while managed by Art Howe. There were also other news. An expansion team from San Francisco de

DOMINICAN

Macorís joined the league, the Northeast Giants or Cibao Giants as they were also known, and Hurricane George in 1998 destroyed La Romana's Micheli Stadium and also the Tetelo Vargas in Macorís. As a result, the Eastern Bulls were not able to play for two years, 1998-99 and the one after, and the Stars did not play for the first one of those two years.

The Eagles would once again dominate, for in that period they won 5 titles. Licey won the other 3.

Among the new faces with Escogido, we have to mention Junior Félix and the power hitters Domingo Martínez and Freddy García, even though their championship title in the 91-92 season was won with the same players from years before. In the course of this decade Raúl Mondesí came up, winner of the National League's Rookie of the Year Award in 1994 with the Dodgers, and who would become a Red idol until his transfer to the Cibao Eagles

There were also José Vizcaíno, a top quality infielder, David Ortiz Arias, first baseman of great power, José Paniagua, Alberto Reyes and other important pitchers.

ALEX RODRÍGUEZ

Alex Rodríguez from the Escogido in local baseball, played for this club in 1994-95 and his average was. 175 in 80 turns at bat.

The Escogido at that time was already in the hands of Daniel Aquino, who had purchased the team from a Spanish gentleman, Mr. Julio Morales, at the end of the 80s.

Freddy García was an important player for them when he hit 14 homers during the 1998-99 season, to tie the all time record set by Dick Stuart 41 years ago

In 1994-95 infielder Neify Pérez made his debut. He has become an idol for the Red fans ever since. People frequently say that when a team does not win, its production is low in every sense of the word, so the Lions' ability to come up with new idols was also affected.

The 5 titles won by the Eagles were due to a continuation of their players from the last decade plus some newcomers. Star players such as Tony Peña and Félix Fermín abandoned active play only to stay in the dugout as managers

Other successful managers at that time were Ferry Francona and Mike and they also became winners.

PEDRO MARTÍNEZ

SAMUEL SOSA

Quade. Francona would then go on to manage the Phillies for 4 years and also the Boston Red Sox, Major League champs in 2004.

The newcomers to the Eagles at that time were pitchers Julián Tavárez, José Lima, Fernando Hernández, Bartolo Colón, Luis Vizcaíno, Jesús Peña, Alberto Castillo, a great defensive catcher and excellent pitcher handler; Guillermo García first baseman and catcher; Mendy López, Jr., Miguel Tejada, shortstop; and Tony Batista, third baseman.

García came to the team in 1993-94 and has kept himself there as a great hitter to bring in runs. Mendy did it in 1994-95 and has been one of the most versatile substitute players in the history of Dominican baseball. All those new arrivals were always around Luis Polonia, Tony Batista and Miguel Tejada. Polonia came from the 80s but Batista and Tejada made their debut in 1993-94 to become star hitters in the team for the rest of this decade The two of them have led the team ever since and have followed Tony Peña's example of playing here every winter no matter how hard their Major League season was. Tejada was another amazing example during the 2002-2003 championship. He won the Most Valuable Player in the American League in 2002 but this did not prevent him from helping the Eagles win another pennant, not only at the national level, but also in the Caribbean Series.

Licey's most important players in the 90s were more or less the same as in the 80s, but they added some relevant foreigners. Among the locals, the bats of Bernardo-Pupo- Brito and Henry Rodríguez came up The first one was a powerful homerun hitter and the second one a fine hitting first baseman that was also successful in the Majors.

As of 1990-91 pitcher Juan Guzmán joined the team. He used to play in the country occasionally but during that year Juan was 7-1. Afterwards, he would concentrate in his Major League career with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Pedro Martínez presented his credentials in the league making his debut in 198990. At that time, Pedro was a young man coming from the rookie summer league and was making a name for himself within the Dodgers' Minor League organiza-

tion. He pitched for Licey several times but had limited performances. In total, he won 2 and lost 5, playing in this league for the last time in the 1995-96 season.

Pedro Julio Astacio, Manuel Aybar and Balbino Gálvez were part of Licey's pitching staff. The winning managers those years were John Roseboro, Casey Parsons and Dave Jauss

Monchín Pichardo would leave Licey's presidency in 1992 and from there on the changes would be frequent. Tancredo Aybar Castellanos replaced him and then Jose Manuel Fernández, Miguel Hedded and Emigdio Garrido.

Julian Yan was an outstanding figure for the Bulls, the 1995 champions.

Some new idols also appeared during those years such as the Cedeño brothers, Andújar and Domingo. Andújar was an excellent short and third baseman, a very talented player who was in the Major Leagues for some years. He died in a tragic car accident recently. Domingo, a hitter from both sides, had a.419 average in the 1995-96 season, and he also broke Alonzo Perry's record for more games hitting safely Domingo had a 30 games streak to be able to go over Perry's. As far as the Oriental Stars are concerned, there wasn't much movement back in those years in spite of the fact that they reached the playoffs in several occasions. Julio Franco had an extraordinary season in 1997-98 with a .436 average, getting the batting champ crown. But the Stars went through their third decade in a row without winning a national title thus seeing their popularity diminish and also that of their players.

The big money factor in the Major Leagues led the players to either stay completely away from Dominican ballparks or else to severely limit their appearances here. Those who did not disappeared completely were inclined to play very infrequently The presence of important American players in the league has also been considerably reduced.

The Cibao Giants, born in 1996-97 started to show their first idols, but their overall results at the beginning did not make for a good scenario. Infielder Fausto Cruz and pitcher Efraín Valdez were their most admired players during those initial years.

THE LAST FRUITS

In the first four years of the 21st Century the situation in this league, as far as dominating teams is concerned, remains the same. Licey and Eagles are well ahead of the others, with the Blues winning 2 titles and the Eagles the other 2. Licey has won 18 pennants in total and the Eagles 17. Meanwhile Escogido (12) and the Stars (2) are in a deep sleep and have not been able to win again. The same goes for the Bulls, whose only title was in 1994-1995 Licey has picked up some new idols such as Luis Castillo, Ronnie Belliard, Carlos Peña, Israel Alcántara, and D'Angelo Jiménez. The Eagles also have pitchers Claudio Vargas, Arnaldo Muñoz, José Acevedo and José Vargas. Bernie Castro, a second baseman, got two batting champ titles in a row in 2001-02 and the following year with .349 and 366 averages. The Stars have had in Félix José a first class idol. In 2002 they also had Vladimir Guerrero in a playoff, but they couldn't go beyond that.

José became a first-class slugger in the league and for October 2004 he had 53 homeruns, which brought him only 6 away from the all time record set by

MIGUEL TEJADA AND VLADIMIR GUERRERO

MIGUEL TEJADA

BELOW: FAUSTO CRUZ AND EFRAIN VALDEZ

Rico Carty with 59. The Cibao Giants acquired Albert Pujols and Plácido Polanco in the draft but none of them has ever played for that team. The Cibao Giants, by the way, have had some recent accomplishments. In the 2002-03 series they went to the playoffs and in 2003-04 they reached the final seven though they lost against Licey. However, they have made considerable progress and are developing their own players

Rafael Furcal, Rookie of the Year in the National League in 2001, is a new symbol for the Escogido. He made his debut with them back in 1999-2000 and has become a star player.

The biggest problem from now on is that as a result of the millions paid in the Major Leagues, the best Dominican players will see little action around here. This will bring people to admire two different types of ballplayers: those that are always around in the Dominican league, and those Major League super stars who don't show all their talents in their own country.

IDOLS BY TEAMS

If it was absolutely necessary to choose the most important idols in each club, in general, this would not be such a difficult undertaking. Of course, we'd always be taking into consideration their local performances, and not those in the United States.

In the case of Licey, Manuel Mota has a sure first place, followed by Guayubín Olivo and Alonzo Perry, among others. Rafael Landestoy was also an outstanding, long time Licey player, while the Alou brother's-Felipe, Mateo and Jesús- right next to Juan Marichal, are still the leaders in the Red team. For the Eagles, the group would be a larger one Starting with Miguel Diloné, Tony Peña, Winston Llenas, Luis Polonia and ending with Miguel Tejada.

The Stars would have Ricardo Carty, Rafael Batista, Silvano Quezada, Tetelo Vargas, Ralph Garr, Alfredo Griffin and Félix José. The Bulls should include the Cedeño brothers, Domingo Ramos and Julián Yan. And the Giants would have Fausto Cruz, Efraín Valdez and currently Pedro Féliz, among others.

THE CHAMPS

DEL CRANDAL, LICEY'S MANAGER

1979-1980

ALL THE CROWNS HAVE STAYED IN THE HANDS OF THREE TEAMS

Imagine that this is October 2004. The Dominican Professional Winter Baseball League is ready to celebrate its 51st series.

Which means that already 50 championship series have taken place by that time, 4 of these during the summer and the other 46 in the winter, regularly from October until the end of January. Which teams have won those 50 titles and what were the reasons behind their becoming champions? This question is relevant since 47 of those pennants have been won by only 3 of the 7 clubs participating in the league.

Cibao Eagles, Escogido Lions, Licey Tigers and Oriental Stars, are the original baseball clubs, those that started out in 1951. In 1983-84 the expansion teams Eastern Sugar Caners and Southern Caymans came along, and the Northeast (or Cibao) Giants joined in 1996-97. (The Caymans had a short 6-year life). Licey has won 18 titles, the Eagles 17, Escogido 12, the Stars 2, and the Sugar Caners 1.

Why has it been like this? Were the financial possibilities of the Santo Domingo and Santiago teams greater than the others? In most of the cases, is money a decisive factor in professional sports?

CHICHI OLIVO

Being San Pedro de Macorís the province that has produced the larger amount of Dominican ballplayers for the Major Leagues, particularly during the 70s, 80s and 90s, why haven't they won more titles in our winter baseball?

What's curious about this entire situation is that the success of Licey, Escogido and Aguilas' has come at different periods for each Sometimes, as we will see later on, many of these teams had not won for a long time, but suddenly they start to do so.

The most stable of all teams has been the Licey, winning decade after decade. A close look at the history of Dominican baseball shows us that the Trujillo family did not have any influence over the results or in the development of the championships held as of 1951.

The same cannot be said about the ones held before that time, for in the baseball activities carried out during the 30s and 40s there was a direct influence from the Trujillos.

First, it is appropriate to confirm that Dictator Trujillo himself was not inclined to any team nor was he a baseball fan. He was not interested in sports at all. He did enjoy horseracing.

Records show that only once did he attend the Trujillo Stadium to watch a game. It was after an incident in which his brother, Petán Trujillo, slapped player Andre Rodgers of the Lions, thus creating a major problem

This happened during the 1958-59 championship and all throughout our history that incident has been known as «Petán's slap.>

José Arismendi Trujillo Molina was the brother of the Dictator and founderowner of the Dominican Radio & Television Company. He frequently attended baseball games for he was a Licey fan It was February and Licey was playing against the Escogido in the final series, which was won by Licey.

In the eight game, on February 13th, the following incident took place.

Felipe Alou, a star player for the Escogido, had hit a homerun off Licey's pitcher, Billy Smith, in the fifth inning putting the Reds ahead 4-2. At the beginning of the 6th inning, Smith's pitch hit Rodgers, a short stop from Nassau, Bahamas. Rodgers reacted angrily and came over to argue with Smith.

1951 LICEY CHAMPION TEAM

There were a lot of insults and shoving back and forth but «<the blood never ran to the river,» as we are used to saying around here. Therefore, the American Chief Umpire, Lloyd Harper, took no one out of the game.

Witness recall that Petán Trujillo was at the Stadium and when the fight started, he decided to come into the field. Near the Blues' VIP seats, right next to the dugout, there was a small door and Petán went right through, only seconds after the struggle. Several military, heavily armed bodyguards, followed him.

First he went directly to the mound and reprimanded Smith, and then he walked to first base Cuqui Córdova, who wrote the history of the Escogido Lions Ball Club, states that Petán got confused and thought that Rodgers (who was dark-skinned) was Dominican, so he insulted him in Spanish. At some point he slapped him but never really got to hit him in the face, only slightly touching his chin.

Rodgers tried to hit him back but the situation got tense in the presence of the armed bodyguards accompanying Petán in the field. Finally, Smith and Rodgers were both taken out of the game and the Escogido ended up winning 4 to 2.

Those times were so special that the local newspapers of the following day did not even mention this incident However, the big problem started afterwards.

The Escogido's American players showed their support for Rodgers and, worried by the military appearing in the playing field, decided to take him out of the country. So they went to the American Embassy looking for support. However, this information reached Dictator Trujillo's ear, and he made everything possible to prevent it. On that day the last game, which would bring Licey the victory was supposed to be played, and Trujillo was at the Presidential VIP lounge. This was the first and only time that he came to the ballpark to watch a Dominican professional baseball game. Licey became champion in the maximum 9 games. Trujillo's sons Ramfis

ANDRES RODGERS

and Leonidas Radhamés used to enjoy baseball a lot and were fans of the Escogido.

There was another time during the 1958-59 championship when there was information that the regime's people got involved in baseball activities. Eagles and Licey went to the semifinals and Escogido, winner of the regular round, was waiting. The Eagles had objected two Licey players, Reyes Figueroa and Joe Christopher, both belonging to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Eagles argued that they had rights over those two players and the Pirates

wrote a letter to the league confirming this information. After the series was tied at one, Licey said that they would not continue to play if they were not allowed to use Reyes Figueroa and Christopher. The Eagles made a sudden change of their officials and Juan Sánchez Correa was replaced by Víctor J. Sued, who was a close friend of Ramfis Trujillo.

That same day, the Eagles withdrew their objection and Reyes Figueroa and Christopher were allowed to play for Licey who won the semifinal series and then played against Escogido in the finals Mr Francisco Martínez Alba,

JUAN SÁNCHEZ CORREA

brother of Trujillo's wife, María Martínez de Trujillo, had been participating in sports since he was a youngster.

He was an executive for the Trujillo City Dragons, in 1937, and was an important part in the success of this team. He was near the Escogido and when professional baseball started he was their president until the 1956-57 series. The next year Mr. Horacio Alvarez Saviñón replaced him.

It is a well-known fact that Martínez Alba had a lot of power in his hands. He was the son of two Spanish immigrants, Francisco Martínez and Sebastiana Alba, whose humble families had come to live in Santo Domingo during the 20s.

It was the will of destiny that Trujillo still being a Colonel (not a sworn-in president) at the end of the 20s, met his sister María in a social affair and had fallen in love with her.

Historians confirm that by that time Trujillo was already married to his second wife, Bienvenida Ricardo, but he still put a lot of pressure to start a sentimental relationship with María Martínez Alba, going to the extreme of making her his official «<lover.» From that relationship, their

RAMFIS AND RAFAEL

LEONIDAS TRUJILLO

son, Ramfis, was born, out of wedlock. It wasn't until 1936 that they got married in a formal ceremony His divorce from Mrs Ricardo had been completed.

Martínez Alba, whose nickname was Paquito for his father was known as Mr. Paco, was favored by those circumstances. However, in spite of Martínez Alba being president of Escogido, they were still not able to win any of the four first championships celebrated during the summer, which is something worth noting.

Evidently there was no influence from the Trujillos in the results of those championship series.

Martínez Alba did win two titles in the lighted ballparks before leaving as

Escogido's president. Of course, honoring the Trujillos was a «responsibility> at that time which was carried out «spontaneously» throughout the entire country

For this reason, the first thing that was decided, during the 50s, was the name of the championship and the person to whom it would pay tribute. The list of such honors clearly indicates the motivations behind each:

RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJILLO

1951: «Championship Series Trujillo's Era>

1952: «Championship Series Pro-Election of General Héctor B. Trujillo

Molina»>

1953: «Championship Leonidas Radhamés»>

1954: «Championship Benefactor>

1955-56: «Championship Father of the Nation>

1956-57: «Championship Series Re-Election of President Trujillo>

1957-58: «Championship Leonidas Radhames>

1959-60: «Championship October 24th>

(Trujillo was born on October 24th, 1894 in San Cristóbal)

However, the dictatorship made significant contributions to professional baseball and its growth with the construction of the Santo Domingo, Santiaand San Pedro de Macorís new stadiums for they all had lights.

o If it weren't for this, it would have been quite dificulty to advance at the rhythm in which it was done over the following years.

Trujillo was killed on May 30th, 1961, and then the Dominican society changed all the names mentioning them in institutions and public buildings. Baseball was no exception; therefore, either by municipal laws or those passed by Congress, as of 1961 the three stadiums changed its names. The one in Santo Domingo was called Quisqueya Stadium, (former Trujillo Stadium), the Santiago one became Cibao (former Leonidas Radhamés) and the San Pedro de Macorís became Tetelo Vargas (former Ramfis Trujillo).

THE GLORIOUS!!!

For the most part, the Licey Tigers have always been at the center of professional baseball in the Dominican Republic. There are several reasons for this. It was the very first club organized in the country in November 7th, 1907. It was the only one to remain active, without falling apart, during the 15 years that followed. Most of the teams that came up around 1910, and also over the following years, had only one principal goal: playing against Licey.

This is how the teams School Gymnasium and New Club (1911), Union Club (1910), San Carlos, Delco Light, Los Muchachos, and others less popular ones, came to be.

These were not the only teams put together to play against Licey. There were also other teams formed by crewmembers from ships and vessels visiting Santo Domingo at the time. These latter ones also played against Licey, such as the Washington Cruiser in 1914 Even the Ponce, from Puerto Rico, as far back as 1916 visited Santo Domingo and played with several teams, among which of course was Licey.

Finally, the reason for the birth of Escogido was again Licey, which, in the 20s, was pretty much invincible.

How was the idea born? At one point, the promoters of professional baseball thought that a new, stronger team, was needed. So they merged into one single team all the best ballplayers from San Carlos and Los Muchachos, plus some others from the Delco Light. Carlos Manuel Bonetti (Pilindo) and Luis Alfau were behind this idea.

They even give all the credit for the name «Escogido»> to Mr. Geo Pou, at that time one of Licey's main executives They argued that this was a <chosen team»>, put together with the best players from all the other teams. That's how the name «Escogido» which means «chosen» came to be. The club was founded on February 17th, 1921. So, ever since 1951, the main rivalries in our professional baseball have always been around Licey. For the longest period of time Escogido opposed Licey, and vice versa, therefore they are known as the <big rivals>.

Lately, however, the Reds have gone through a long period of 12 years without winning a title, so the Cibao Eagles have been occupying their position as the traditional Licey's rival.

Thus the slogan «<the new rivals», applied to Eagles-Licey. Besides, Licey has been the best winning team in the national championships with a total of 18 pennants won. They have also been the team that

most successfully represented the country in the Caribbean Series, which second phase started in 1970.

Only Licey won Caribbean Series titles periodically until Escogido won two (1988 and 1990), while the Eagles failed over and over again. At long last, the Eagles got their first title in 1996, after failing 9 times.

When Escogido won for the first time in 1988, in Santo Domingo, Licey already had 5 crowns Licey has obtained a total of 9 Caribbean Series titles; therefore its name is well-known, becoming quite an institution, and so is their success.

Its accomplishments have been pretty stable though the 5 and one half decades of our professional baseball.

They got 3 titles in the 50s, 2 in the 60s, 5 in the 70s, 3 in the 80s, another 3 in the 90s and 2 out of the first four championships series held in this new century. That gives them a total of 18 crowns, 1 above the Eagles; the Escogido has obtained 12; the Stars 2; and the Eastern Sugar Caners 1. Which players have been instrumental in making Licey a winning team, throughout their diferent stages?

CARLOS MANUEL

BONETTI AND LUIS ALFAU

In the first two championships won by the Blues, 1951 and 1953, the principal ballplayers were imported.

Alonzo Perry, Luis Rodríguez Olmo and Bert Hass were leaders in the ofense.

Licey also relied in the great game played by Olmedo Suárez in second base, but their front-line men among the Dominicans were the pitchers.

Guayubín and Chichí Olivo, two brothers, headed their pitching staff during those years. The managers in those first 3 crowns were mostly foreigners.

In 1951 Alonzo Perry was manager for a while, as well as player, even though Manuel Henríquez, a Dominican, ended being the manager. Oscar Rodríguez, from Cuba, was the 1953 manager, in their second crown. Joe Schultz, an American, was in charge when they won in 1958-59.

Licey's Dominican idols would be born in the offense, at the start of the 60s, with Manuel Mota, one of the finest hitters in Dominican baseball. Mota originally belonged to the Escogido, which got him from the Dominican Air Force Team.

He even made his debut with the Lions in the 1957-58 championship series, wearing the Red uniform for three seasons.

Then, in 1960, at the time when there were only local ballplayers participating, Mota was loaned to Licey. The reason for this was that the Escogido had an excessive amount of native players, so it had to send some over to the other clubs in order to even out the series.

Afterwards, this loan became official and Mota came over to Licey with José Vidal Nicolás going to the Eagles The Cibao Eagles sent pitcher Arcadio Tejada to the Lions but Licey didn't have to give anyone in exchange for Mota, who would play with the Blue team for the rest of his career.

Having Mota as their MVP, Licey won the tournament in 1963-64 while Vernon Benson was the manager, and repeated this great performance at the end of the decade in 1969-70, with Mota himself as winning manager.

Before him, other managers had been Billy Muffett and Fred Harfield. The Cuban players Tony Oliva and Miguel de la Hoz were decisive factors for

Licey at the start of the 60s, in particular during the 1963-1964 final series. They also relied on Pedro González, their star second baseman.

Oddly enough, the 70s would belong only to Licey and Eagles, for among these two the ten titles were divided.

Licey won in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, and 1980, for a total of five crowns. They had already shown some new stars such as outfielder Cesarín Gerónimo; Teodoro Martínez, infielder; and pitcher Pedro Borbón.

During that period, the presence of the legendary Tom LaSorda as the Tigers' manager was very important.

LaSorda had managed the Escogido in the 1970-71 series. But as of 1972, Licey signed a mutual cooperation agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers so LaSorda became their manager during 4 consecutive years, from 1972 until the 1975-76 season. He won the first two, but lost the ones that followed.

As a result of this agreement, and with LaSorda here, Licey received the Dodgers' best talents, those that would go on to become part of their Major League club over the following 15 years.

In the 80s, the Tigers were champions in 1983, 84 and 85, that is, three years in a row. Mota was already full-time manager and was the champion in 1982 and 83.

Licey had in their scenario some new talent, such as George Bell, Tony Fernández, Dámaso García, and Rafael Landestoy, among others. Their next title would arrive some time later, in 1990-91, with John Roseboro as manager They also won in 1993-94 with manager Casey Parsons; 1998-99 under the direction of Dave Jauss; Bob Geren took them to win in 2001-02; and Manny Acta, a Dominican, in 2003-04.

What important things happened during those years of so much glory?

Domingo Ernesto Pichardo -Monchín- was an old club official, since the end of the 50s.

He had been president during the 60s. However, in 1973 he started a real long presidency until 1991-92, when he was suspended by the baseball league

because of a serious problem in the field. (He had retired his team because the manager, Leo Posada, had been suspended).

His charisma gave Licey a status of greatness. It showed its glory not only here but also in México, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

As a curious note, in the 1986-87 championship series Licey had in its roster a ballplayer that made history, Mark McGwire. Here he had 47 turns at bat, 8 hits and a .170 average, without a single homerun.

McGwire, transferred from the Oakland Athletics, that same year would begin his great Major League performance hitting 49 homers and winning the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League. In his entire career he would hit 583 homeruns.

Worthy of mention is the fact that other Licey young ballplayers have taken it upon themselves to honor the commitment they inherited from their predecessors. That is not to let their success of the previous 4 decades be forgotten.

Past performances by Guayubín and Chichí Olivo, Milcíades Olivo (their

MONCHIN PICHARIXO

nephew), Manuel Mota, Pedro González -The Great Captain-, Teodoro Martínez, César Gerónimo, Rafael Landestoy, Dámaso García, Pedro Borbón and Tony Fernández, were extremely remarkable.

A large group of Major League's star players (Pedro and Ramón Martínez, Juan Guzmán, Pedro Astacio, Aramis Ramírez, etc.) have also contributed, even though in a more limited way, to the success of the Blue team.

They all lived in different times that obviously had other characteristics. The large amounts of money that players make nowadays in the Majors limits their performance in Dominican baseball.

However, others have assumed this inheritance as their own almost on a full time basis. The heroes now are Ronnie Belliard, Israel Alcántara, D'Angelo Jiménez, Luis Castillo, and Carlos Peña. This is a bunch of players who have also made their own space by playing either in the Big Leagues or in other latitudes.

Licey justly exhibits, with a lot of pride, its tremendous success. They simply add to their name the two words that best describe their team: The Glorious.

THE LION ROARS

The Escogido Lions represent the third most successful team in Dominican Baseball

Oficially, it was only the second baseball club to have a formal structure, on the 17th of February, 1921.

Luis Alfau and Pilindo Bonetti were its promoters. They did it by choosing the best players from three other teams.

How has the Escogido evolved through their history? They have won twelve crowns spread over long periods of time, thus facing the difficulty of having been through long, dry periods, in which they haven't been able to win at all. They did not win during the first four championships of the summer league. Then they got three titles in a row when the baseball with lights period started in 1955-56, and ended winning 4 of the last 5 championships of the first decade. The Reds won the all-natives series in 1960-61, and also in 1968-69.

Then they were the victim of a long period of time without the sweet taste of victory. 12 years went by before their next title would come along in 198081, and they also won the following year.

The decade of the 80s belonged to the Lions that were champions again three years in a row, for the second time in the history of this league. They won in 1987-88 and also the next two series

In addition, they won in 1991-92 for their 12th title. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for them at that point, but it was only on the surface. Their success would not last too long.

The Escogido would once again enter into a prolonged lethargy, and the champion crown would elude them for the next 12 series.

A very unusual situation, since the Lions have enjoyed a long and stable permanence on the part of their owners.

The Escogido is one of those baseball clubs that has always functioned as a private business run by the owners or elected officials. Their neighbors in the city, Licey, with whom they also share the ballpark, have always been a club run like a non-profit organization in which no one is the real owner The Blues simply have a board of directors that is completely responsible for its operation.

The story is quite diferent for the Escogido.

Its first president was Paquito Martínez Alba, his successor was Horacio Álvarez Saviñón, as of the 1957-58 tournament. He was followed by Ramón Imbert -Moncho-, Félix Mario Aguiar, Julio Morales (a gentleman from Spain), and finally Daniel Aquino Méndez.

During the 2004 summer, Aquino Méndez transferred over complete control to journalist and entrepreneur Julio Hazim, with whom he had signed a long-term contract (10 years).

The Escogido greatly enjoyed the inauguration of the new Trujillo Stadium, their lighted ballpark This new home, located in the capital city, really welcomed them for here they won the first three championships under the new series' format.

ESCOGIDO TEAM, CHAMPION IN 1955-56 BELOW:JESUSALOU

KIRKLAND AND WILLIE MCCOVEY

They changed the ballparks, changed from summer to winter leagues, and there were also changes in the calendar, and the type of reinforcement players that the teams could bring.

Instead of the two rounds usually played, as of 1955-56 the team in the last place would be eliminated and there would be a semifinal series held between the second and third places. Then, the winner of this semifinal would play against the winner of the regular series, for the title.

In addition, the baseball clubs could no longer hire veteran players from other Caribbean countries. The league would only allow the young American talent, which represented the Major Leagues' future.

Frank Genovese was the manager for the Lions when they won their first title defeating the Cibao Eagles 4 to 3, in the final. The Reds won the regular series and also the final one.

Osvaldo Virgil, made his debut, he had been signed precisely by the New York Giants and was in the Minor Leagues at that time Willie Kirkland was homerun champion with 9 and in RBIs with 37. Charles Neal was leader in

WILLIE

DOMINICAN

triples with 11, an all-time record and Garabato Sackie was an excellent pitcher with an 8-3 record.

Willie McCovey presented his credentials at the end of this season. He would be the future first baseman for the Giants and would also become an immortal Hall of Famer.

The following year 1956-57, the Escogido defeated Licey in the finals, 5 victories against 2 defeats, with an American, John Davis, as manager. Virgil was batting champ with .312. At that time, he had already made his debut in the

Major Leagues during the month of September. He would go down in history as the first Dominican player ever to participate in what is known as <the big show>.

Felipe Alou was seen for the first time in this league. That year he played in the rookie league becoming batting champ with a .380 average. He also belonged to the Giants.

Sparky Anderson was the Reds regular second baseman and would also leave his mark there. Anderson would become an excellent manager for Cincinnati and Detroit during the 70s.

FEDERICO VELASQUEZ

Pitcher Pete Burnsine won 11 games and was the most important pitcher for the Escogido that also had, for the first time, the young Stan Williams. Willie Kirkland came back but he couldn't not finish out the series because he had to return to the United States for the obligatory military service.

Salty Parker, as manager, would be responsible for the third title in a row for the Escogido. They defeated the Stars 5 to 1 in the finals during the 195758 season.

Kirkland came back for the third year in a row, and so did Stan Williams and Fred Kipp, a left-handed pitcher that was 11-3, 1.58 ERA. Also back were McCovey and catcher Joe Pignatano.

Rudy Hernández, a young man who would later become the first Dominican pitcher ever in the Major Leagues, was in the roster of this team as a reliever His record was 5-1 and 0 77 ERA

A piece of refreshing news for the Lions that year, besides winning their title, was the debut of the team's new personnel for the following years. Among them were Federico Velásquez, a catcher; Mateo Alou, Danilo Rivas

and Juan Marichal. Also making his debut in that series was Manuel Mota, however he would be transferred over to Licey in 1960.

The next year, Licey broke the chain of wins for the Reds, but the Escogido came back in 1959-60 to defeat the Stars again in the final series. Felipe was batting champ with .359, a new record at that time and his brother Mateo came in second with .335. Frank Howard came down to play for the Lions becoming the homerun leader with 9, in RBIs with 46 and a .307 average. Howard would also be quite successful in the Majors.

Fred Kipp was reinforcing them for the third year, and led the league in ERA with 1 31; Ed Roebuck was leader among the pitchers with 9-0. Stan Williams also came back.

That year Williams pitched his no-hit, no-run game when, on November 20th, 1959, he defeated the Cibao Eagles 5-0. It was only the second nohitter in this league.

There were serious political problems at this time which, combined with

DANILO RIVAS AND TITO FUENTES,

the OAS block to the Trujillo regime, determined that the league organized the 1960-61 tournament with only local players participating.

The Escogido won this event by defeating the Eagles 5-2. Pepe Lucas, former first baseman and Red manager, again managed them.

Osvaldo Virgil and Rudy Hernández had both decided to stay and play in Puerto Rico where they used to live. Mota went over to Licey, and José Vidal Nicolás was sent over to the Eagles.

The third member of the Alou family, Jesús, made his debut. At first, he was signed as a pitcher, but was changed to the outfield that same summer while in the Giants' Minor League organization.

Danilo Rivas won 13 games for the Lions, and Marichal was ERA leader with 1.41.

Then, another 2-year period without any pro ball championship started in the country. 1965 would be another year without baseball tournament because of the April Revolution.

The Escogido won again, their 6th title, in 1968-69 managed by Andy

Masio

TIM RAINES AND

MARIO SOTO

Gilbert. They again defeated the Orientals, 5 victories against 2 losses. Pitcher Jay Ritchie was instrumental in this pennant winning 9 games while losing 1. Tito Fuentes, a Cuban, formed part of a sensational combination with the great Rafael Robles, a Dominican, in second and short. Mateo Alou ended with a .390 average, leader among the batters and setting a new record for this league.

Then came what would be the longest winless streak for the Lions A long 12-year phase. In the 70s they only attended two final series, losing both.

The first one was in 1970-71 while managed by LaSorda with plenty of reinforcing players from the Dodgers. The agreement with the Dodgers would eventually come to an end, and LaSorda would then form part of the Licey family, where he would stay to manage the team for 4 consecutive years. The Escogido went back to the finals against the Eagles in 1978-79, but lost in 5 straight games without winning any. This series was the best of 9. Jim Beauchamp, former Licey slugger had managed them in that tournament. New winds were over them as of 1980-81. Felipe Alou had been managing

JOSE-MAKEYMORENO

in Venezuela, and also in the Minors, where he had gained a lot of experience. Felipe became the winning manager for two consecutive series.

In the first one 1980-81, they defeated the Eagles in the finals 5 against 4. Tim Raines and Tim Wallach were the best known imported players, and Pedro Guerrero and Mario Soto were among the locals. Julio Franco and George Bell also presented their credentials then.

The last and final game of that championship series held at the Quisqueya Stadium, certainly went down in history as one of the most dramatic ones.

During the ninth inning the game was tied one run apiece, so it went to extra innings. In the 13th inning, Escogido put runners on first and third, and the Eagles manager, Winston Llenas, decided to walk Pedro Guerrero. The bases were loaded with 2 outs.

The strategy was to get rid of Guerrero and have the left-hander Jerry Augustine pitch to Harry Spilman, also a lefty, with such bad luck that Augustine also allowed a base on balls to Spilman, ending the game and the Reds becoming champions.

The following year 81-82, Felipe was their manager right from the start of the season, and they defeated the Oriental Stars in the final series José -Makey- Moreno turned out to be the new bright star for the Reds, and led the league in stolen bases with 30, replacing Miguel Diloné who was the traditional owner of that record. Pedro Guerrero again played for the Reds and Tim Wallach also returned.

The Reds again dominated the league in the last part of the decade, winning 3 titles in a row, just like they had done during the 50s.

In the first one of these crowns, 1987-88, the starting manager was Manuel Mota, who had already managed Escogido the year before. Mota was getting a second chance for he did not do well the first time around. However things were not going well and he was fired. Phil Regan, pitching coach, took over the club, recuperated it and went all the way to the finals. They defeated the Oriental Stars in a spectacular come back. The

series was scheduled the best of 7, the Greens were ahead 3-1, and then lost three games in a row.

Two good games pitched by José Núñez and José de León set the stage for the Reds' final victory.

By that time Escogido had new faces in the field. Their offense was led by Rufino Linares, Júnior Noboa, Gerónimo Berroa, Wilfredo Tejada, Luis de los Santos and Nelson Liriano, among others. That year they had a great input from Ralph Bryant, who hit 13 homeruns

The next year they repeated Regan as manager, and beat Licey in the finals in a spectacular 4-0 sweep.

In 1989-90 Felipe Alou came back as manager and they defeated the Eagles for their 11th pennant, and third in a row. Marquis Grissom was an important part of this team, as first bat and outfielder; Luis de los Santos showed his potent hitting, and Mel Rojas presented credentials as a great pitcher. Amidst these three crowns Samuel Sosa appeared He had made his debut in the 1987 season. Sosa was a star player in the following two series but

JOSE NUÑEZ AND LUIS DE LOS SANTOS

his bat was not a homerun one yet. He barely hit 4 homers in those two series.

The next and last title for the Lions would be in 1991-92, again with Felipe as their manager. They beat the Oriental Stars 4-0, in a tournament full of incidents during the semifinals. In a game between Licey and the Sugar Caners, the Blues' manager, Leo Posada, was expelled. This decision originated a tremendous argument between Leonardo Matos Berrido, then president of the Baseball League, and the president of Licey, Monchín Pichardo. Pichardo did not accept the 5-game penalty to Posada, and Licey was punished with 5 forfeits against them. This paved the way for the Green team to move over to the finals José Oliva, who would die later on in an automobile accident, was an important part of that victory with his bat and his defense at third base. For Felipe, this would be his 4th crown managing the Reds, an unprecedented achievement in the Dominican League. Afterwards, the Lions would find the road full of obstacles to reach another crown. In 4 other occasions they went to the finals but failed in all of them. Their catchphrase and war cry <The Lion Roars», has been absent for 12 championships.

The Alou family, headed by Felipe, is still responsible, on the whole, for the greatest achievements of the Escogido in their history as a professional ball club. People still worship Juan Marichal and the Alou brothers. There have been other players admired by the Reds' fans, but only for short periods of time. In that group of distinguished team members are Mario Soto, Rufo Linares, Júnior Noboa, Nelson Liriano and Gerónimo Berroa, among others.

Their slogan became popular without anyone really knowing how or when: «The Eagles are the Eagles>. What they mean by this is simply that this «

has its own definite personality and that it never gives up. They have clearly demonstrated this throughout their entire history.

A history that started before 1920, when several baseball clubs were formed in Santiago. These preceded the definite one.

By 1915 Licey was already a frequent visitor to Santiago to play against their teams. The Oriental Stars used to go there also and later on they would be joined by the Escogido.

Then the Cibao ballplayers came together and formed a team called the Santiago Stars.

There was another team called Sandino at the end of the 20s. A lot of people relate this name to General Sandino, a revolutionary from Nicaragua who fought hard against the American invading troops in his country. Santiago participated in the 1936 championship, won by the Oriental Stars but it isn't until 1937, that the Cibao team becomes an institution as a result of the National Championship Series organized by the Trujillo's.

In February 1937, a commission of sportsmen from Santo Domingo traveled to Santiago to meet with the most important baseball promoters and officials of that zone. Their intention was to make the local team a stronger one so that it could participate in the national championship together with the Stars and the Trujillo City Dragons.

So, the main executives for the Santo Domingo teams came to Santiago: Hostos Fiallo, Luis Alfau, Pilindo Bonetti, Charles Dore, Manuel Henríquez, Burrulote Rodríguez, Julio C. Linval and Miguel Peguero.

There was a meeting at the Hotel Mercedes, attended by a large number of sports fans involved in baseball in Santiago. The names of Domingo Bermúdez, Luis Mercado, Marcos Cabral, José Castellanos, Augusto Vega Espaillat, Trifón Munné, Wally Heinsen, Juan Sánchez Correa and Luis Tomás Saillant were mentioned

Credit is given to Mr. Saillant for the proposal that this new team be called Cibao Eagles, so that it would include not only those players from

Santiago, but also from the entire region. This proposal was accepted and that day the Eagles were born. The date: January 28th, 1937.

After this tournament, won by the Dragons, Santiago's amateur baseball went through a period of continuous growth. It was so evident that for 1948 the local team used to travel by plane to remote areas of the country such as Barahona, from where, unfortunately, the tragedy of Río Verde came to be.

The amateur team from Santiago had a double header in Barahona, so they went there on a Sunday, 11th of January, 1948. They played both morning and afternoon games. Upon their return that night, the weather was so bad that their plane could not land in Santiago.

The plane belonged to the Government airline, Compañía Dominicana de Aviación (Dominican Aviation Company), and the pilot decided to come down to Santo Domingo and land at the General Andrews Airport. Again the bad weather caught up with them and while passing through Yamasá, in the Northeast of Santo Domingo, the plane crashed against the trees. All 32 passengers were killed. 18 of them were ballplayers. Nevertheless, baseball continued to be played in Santiago and so they were more than ready for the 1951 scenario. The Eagles were slowly starting their big success story.

In the first decade they just won the one series in 1952, managed by Rodolfo Fernández, former Cuban pitcher. Fernández had been a pitcher for the Trujillo City Dragons

During the 60s they were champions in 1964-65 and 1966-67, while deriving great benefits from a close relationship with the Pittsburgh Pirates. During the 70s they shared the leadership with Licey, winning 5 crowns. In the 80s they were champions in 1985-86 and also the following year. They have become the dominating team from the 90s until the present time.

RODOLFO FERNÁNDEZ, MANAGER OF THE CIBAO EAGLES IN 1952

WILLIE STARGELL WHEN HE PLAYED WITH THE CIBAO EAGLES AND ROBERTO PEÑA, COACH FOR THE EAGLES

They won the national title in 1992-93, got 3 tittles in a row as of 199596, and again in 1999-2000.

In this new century, they have won half of the four championships played, winning in 2000-01 and 2002-03.

Their record of victories is quite impressive.

In local baseball they are in a solid second place, having won 17 titles, right behind Licey who has 18.

They maintain the privilege of having been the club attending more final series in this league, with a total of 32; 27 belong to Licey, 24 to the Escogido, 18 to the Stars, 3 to the Sugar Caners and 1 to the Giants.

They also own several records in the Caribbean Series.

They have won only 4 crowns in this event. Even so, they are the Dominican, and also the Caribbean team, with the largest number of participations in these series, with a total of 14. The Eagles failed in their first 9 appearances but have won on 4 out of their last 5.

Who have their heroes been, decade after decade?

Obviously, the Eagles relied a lot on foreign players during their first years, especially in the summer baseball series. Therefore, the core of their pitching staff was Emilio Cueche, from Cuba, leader for two consecutive years (195253), and the Afro-American, Terry McDuffie.

Other names at that time were Luis Villodas and Luis Rodríguez Olmo, both from Puerto Rico. This last one came to reinforce the Eagles in 1954, after playing two years with Licey. A lefty Dominican pitcher, Tomás Gómez Checo, was a big help for them.

McDuffie, with his 14 wins in 1952, was an undisputable hero during their first crown.

Before that, their main imported hitter was Pedro Formental, a Cuban, with his 13 homeruns in 1951. After 1955 the Eagles received a lot of good help from the Pirates.

Bill Mazeroski who would later on become a star second baseman, came down to play short with the Eagles for two consecutive years. They also welcomed Dick Stuart's bat and his 14 homeruns in 1957-58

Octavio Acosta was a big guy. This native pitcher was leader in ERA during the 1958-59 season with 1 62 In the two titles they won during the 60s, the Eagles had the best talent from the Pirates farms.

In their team were pitchers Steve Blass (9-2 in 1963-64) and Dock Ellis, who won 9 with 3 losses in 1966-67. Bob Veale, a lefty with a super fastball, reinforced them at the beginning of the decade.

One of the most relevant stars of those times was Willie Stargell In the 63-64 championship he was leader in RBIs with 40. Stargell would go on to have a brilliant Major League career on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, the first group of players from the Cibao region had already started to have outstanding performances. Needless to say, this great group of Cibao ballplayers would win the hearts of their fans

The first ones were Julián Javier and Roberto Peña, making a fabulous combination for double plays in second and short. Victor Ramírez, outfielder, and Winston Llenas, third baseman, completed this group.

LUIS VILLODAS AND DICK STUART

Llenas was the homerun leader with 10, in the 66-67 tournament, sharing this title with his teammate Bob Robertson, first baseman.

Robertson would also be the following year's leader with 9.

Orlando McFarlane, catcher, showed his tremendous power when he won the title for most homeruns in 1963-64, and the year that followed, with 10 and 8.

However, the best period for the Cibao team would come along with the 70s, and their 5 crowns.

The quality of their imported players was unquestionable. Three Panamanians headed the troop at that time. Catcher Manuel Sanguillén, second baseman Rennie Stennet, and outfielder Omar Moreno.

They were joined by Llenas, and the Eagles' hottest star, Miguel Diloné, who began his career in 1972-73 only to become, in a very short while, the most exciting player ever to participate in Dominican baseball.

Diloné ended as all-time leader in hits with 875, and in stolen bases with 395.

Franklyn Taveras, at short stop, was one of these new figures as was Tomás Silverio in the centerfield.

EAGLES TEAM 1952 CHAMPIONSHIP

Moreno, who replaced Silverio, was a real big star in this league. He practically became «<a Cibao citizen», for he was in this country throughout 5 consecutive seasons to reinforce this team (as of 1975), and also came back for an additional season in 1984.

He had played for Licey one year, and his general batting average was .315 in a total of 7 seasons

Charlie Sands, another great catcher, had a tremendous impact in this league with his fantastic power. He won the homerun title in the 1971-72 season with 10. During those years, the Eagles also had other homerun leaders in Bobby Darwin, Gary Alexander, Bill Nahorodny, Andy Thorton and Dick Davis.

Osvaldo Virgil was the winning manager for their first crown in the 70s, but then others would come from the Pirates: Al Widmar, Tim Murtaugh and Johnny Lipon.

As of the 1979-80 season, things would begin to change. That year Tony Peña made his debut. He was to become the most efficient catcher and also the most charismatic one in Dominican baseball.

Peña would be followed later on by Félix Fermín, Stanley Javier, Luis Polonia and Pascual Pérez. Around this group, the Eagles' team would develop for the next 15 years. Ramón Arturo Peña would also join them. He was Tony's brother, a great relief pitcher.

Winston Llenas had already retired, becoming the team's manager. Diloné would also have a chance to manage the Cibao team.

So the 90s arrived and found them with a compact, fine, well put together team. Their ballpark was remodelled to accommodate larger crowds, becoming the most attractive and comfortable one in the league, and the Eagles acquired new personnel: Arturo Peña, Manny Ramírez, Guillermo García, José Luis García, Bartolo Colón and Alberto Castillo.

Even Moisés Alou would occasionally be with the team, even though his performance in the Dominican League has been somewhat sporadic.

The Cibao dynasty has become a very solid one indeed. They now hold a

firm position not only in local baseball but also in the Caribbean's. And so their war cry becomes stronger every day: «The Eagles are the Eagles».

«THE GREEN YEAR»>

It wasn't until the beginning of the 80s that Tano Martino, a journalist known to be an Oriental Stars fan, first came out with the expression: <This is the Green Year».

More than 20 years have gone by and in every season's opening game this <slogan> is repeated over and over again without ever becoming true. Their goal is never reached.

And having won only 2 titles during the course of 53 years and 50 championship series played, is certainly a small accomplishment. Right up to the 2004 winter, the Stars are in a profound, long sleep which has lasted for 36 years, without winning a pennant.

The history of San Pedro de Macorís is very different from that of the other clubs.

They formed a baseball club over there in 1911, only 4 years after Licey was born. The Macorís team was to become the basis for the other teams that came up during the ten years that followed.

Before that time, the city of San Pedro was in the baseball history books, and still is, though in a controversial way. For many years it was thought that baseball was first played in Santo Domingo in 1891 owing to the initiative of two Cubans.

As this story goes, the brothers Ubaldo and Ignacio Alomá were the first promoters of the game of baseball. They had migrated to the Dominican Republic in 1880, and had come to live in the capital city running away from the horrors of the Spanish-Cuban war.

The Alomá brothers used to be iron workers and at the beginning of 1890 decided to promote baseball by forming two teams with which to play a short series These clubs were called the Brewers and the Cauto.

RAMON BRAGAÑA, FROM CUBA, MANAGER OF THE ORIENTAL STARS IN 1954

ORIENTAL STARS CHAMPION

TEAM 1967-1968

BELOW: CUBAN MANAGER

TONY PACHECO, WHO LED THE ORIENTAL STARS

TO WIN THE 1967-1968 CHAMPIONSHIP

The Brewers owed their name to the Brewery producing and selling beer around that time. Cauto used to be the name of one of the principal Cuban rivers.

However, in recent years, the book «A Century of Baseball» written by three Venezuelan journalists (Juan Vené, Eleazar Díaz Rangel and Humberto Acosta), presents a new version and other relevant facts.

In this new version, baseball was first played in the Dominican Republic in San Pedro de Macorís, in 1886.

They attribute it to the mooring in our docks of a ship named María Herrera, that had come from Cuba.

The crewmembers decided to play baseball and so they formed two teams, one was called the Angelina, in a clear reference to the sugar mill of the same and the other one, Santiago de Cuba, to honor that Cuban city It was the month of September, 1886.

Why Angelina? Two Cubans, living in San Pedro de Macorís, were in possession of sugar mills. One of them, Juan Fernández de Castro, owned the Colón sugar mill, and the other one, Juan Amechazurra, the Angelina.

As per the above-mentioned writers, those exhibition games achieved two things: First, they led to the construction of ballparks inside the sugar mills. And second, motivated the youngsters to practice baseball using the gear given to them by the crewmembers.

In the files at San Pedro de Macorís, however, there are hardly any records of these events.

The truth is that baseball really caught on at the Eastern Sultan As of 1911 the organization of teams diversified, and for 1923 the San Pedro Baseball Club was certified, becoming part of the league under the name of Oriental Stars. Their principal promoter In 1911 was Luis Paradas, a Puerto Rican citizen living in Macorís. The situation remained the same until the 1936 championship when Mr. Federico Nina becomes the president and appoints Enrique Mejía as the team's manager

The 1923 team would have a relevant participation in professional basename,

ball in the immediate future. It was part of the first national championship played between the 4 primary clubs that year: Licey, Escogido, Santiago Stars and Orient Stars. This tournament was full of problems and accusations to the umpires and thus was never completed.

But in 1936, San Pedro was the champion of the national tournament having Tetelo Vargas in its roster.

This championship was dedicated to Major Trujillo and the winner's trophy was the Julia Molina Cup, in honor of Trujillo's mother

The Stars' victory, however, enraged some people close to the Trujillo regime, causing them to merge, in 1937, both Licey-Escogido into one single team known as the Trujillo City Dragons.

Local sports fans, headed by lawyer Federico Nina, kept their team afloat, and the situation remained the same until the summer championship was inaugurated in 1951.

Mr. Nina remained as president of the team during the first two years, but he turned it over to Rafael Antún as of 1953. With Mr. Antun's coming to

JOSE VIDAL NICOLÁS AND RICARDO CARTY

the team, the longest union between any family and a baseball team in Dominican history, started. This relationship would last for over 50 years.

In their first three championships, the Stars did not do well at all. Since they failed to win any of the two rounds, they were never able to reach the finals. This happened for the first time in 1954 Mr. Antún was the president and the manager was Ramón Bragaña, from Cuba. He knew this country well since he had been here before playing with the Stars during the 1937 championship series. He had been a great pitcher during his active days in baseball.

On May 15th, 1954, on opening day, there was a game scheduled between the Stars and the Licey at the La Normal Stadium. On that day the National Anthem was played at the start of a ballgame for the first time ever in the Dominican Republic

Licey won 8 to 3, but the Orientals knew that great moments were yet to come for them.

Licey had won the first round and, in the second one, there were several incidents which had as a result an unsatisfactory end to the series. The Eagles

MANUEL ANTUN AND

CARLOS JUAN MUSA

and the Escogido decided to retire before the series was over. This left only the Greens and the Blues in the battle for the pennant. The calendar was a 54-game one, the Eagles had played 48 and Escogido 47. The Stars were able to win the second round, and the final series was scheduled at 7-4 to define the champion team.

Who was participating in the Oriental team? Rafael Valdez was the third baseman, Harry Balys in second, Jeff Williams in short, Earl Taborn was the catcher. He hit 6 homers and had 27 RBIs in the regular round. In the outfield they had Chico Conton in center, Papito Mateo at right and in the left, Manolete Cáceres, who had been released by Licey during that same year and was signed on by Macorís. Johnny Davis was the first baseman and when he played the outfield, Bell Arias replaced him.

Tetelo Vargas, outfielder, had played in the regular series. He had a 292 average in less than 100 turns at bat, but he was already in his final seasons at 46 years of age. Tetelo had been batting champ during the previous year with .355. He did not play much in finals and only had 6 turns at bat, failing in all of them.

FRANCISCO MICHELLI (JUNIOR)

DOMINICAN

In their pitching staff were José -Carrao- Bracho, a veteran, and Valentín Arévalo, both from Venezuela, in addition to Wenceslao González, a lefty from Cuba.

Alonso Perry and Guayubín Olivo were the main figures for the Blues, considered as favorites by a great majority of the people at the beginning of the series. History turned things around and the Stars got their first title. Their second one would arrive 14 years later, in February, 1968 in a 9 game series against the Escogido.

It was a mere coincidence that another Cuban, Tony Pacheco, was the champion manager. Pacheco had just come from managing a Class A baseball team with the Houston Astros. There was a very close relationship between the Antún family and that Major League organization, which proved to be beneficial for the Stars.

The Astros sent them the best players in their farms, including some big leaguers such as the Cuban pitcher Mike Cuellar, who had won 16 games with Houston that season (16-11 and 3.03 ERA).

CUQUI ROJAS

Cuellar came for the final series They also got a pitcher, Larry Dierker, who was the principal prospect them.

They had Jim Ray, winner of 9 games in the regular series; Chichí Olivo, Silvano Quezada, who won 11, and lefty Danny Coombs, another good prospect from Houston.

Hal King, from class A, was the catcher. Rafael Batista was on first, and in the infield were Félix Santana, Ted Kubiak and Rigoberto Mendoza (Cuban).

Another Cuban, Chico Ruiz, was the utility of the team.

(At one point, Ruiz gave a tremendous exhibition of his versatility by playing all 9 positions in the same game.)

Ricardo Carty was batting champ that year with .350, and in the outfield he was accompanied by José Vidal Nicolás and Ron Davis, a powerful hitter.

Hub Kittle -The Coyote- was managing Escogido that had in its roster the best native material. The 3 Alou brothers were there, Juan Marichal, Danilo Rivas and young David Hernández, a right handed pitcher.

The series looked as though it was going to be a tough one and that's exactly the way it was from the very beginning.

On February 6th, the action started in San Pedro de Macorís in a weird way. A total of 15 innings were played and the score was tied at 1. The game had to be suspended when they got to the hour limit. According to the country's laws at that time, a new inning couldn't be started after 1 a.m

At the end, the Stars won in 8 games. Coombs was 2-0 with 1.11 ERA, and Dierker 2-0 and 1.24 while appearing in 4 games. He pitched a total of 29 innings.

Marichal had an outstanding series, winning 2 games without allowing any runs in 18 innings pitched. He stroke out 10 hitters.

The Stars had a big celebration for their second title.

Since then, they have often been in the finals, but have never been able to win another pennant. They have participated in a total of 12 final series without winning any of them.

The Antún family remained in charge of the team for the longest while. In two different occasions, Mr. Federico Antún, Rafael's brother, became president of the club (1966); they both died at the end of the 80s

After their deaths, their sons Eddy and Manuel (Tete), took over the team alternating in the presidency and the General Manager's position. They remained as such until the 2000-01 championship when they sold most of their shares to a new group of sportsmen headed by Dr. Carlos Juan Musa and Dr. José Hazim Frappier. The father of the latter, Dr. José Hazim Azar, had also been president of the baseball club in 1955.

Time continues to pass-by and the Stars' fans are still waiting for their <Green Year».

BEWARE OF THE BULLS!

Only one other franchise, from the 7 that make up the Dominican Professional Baseball League, has won a championship series. It was the Eastern Sugar Caners -Bulls- This team was the result of an

expansion law passed by the National Congress in 1982. This law, number 447 dated April 7th, 1982, also included the Southern Caymans, located in San Cristóbal, but they had a very short life.

On August 5th, 1983, Decree 1,300 ruled the expansion of professional baseball This team from the East, was located in the city of La Romana However, there is a diference between them and the other teams in this league. The Sugar Caners have always belonged to a private company, the Central Romana, which at that time (1982) was part of the multinational Gulf and Western.

Years later, Gulf and Western would sell their shares to Cuban and Dominican businessmen, who would then operate under the name Central Romana.

As a result of political problems at that time, Gulf and Western built a new stadium located at the entrance to the city of La Romana.

It was during the presidency of deceased Antonio Guzmán, in 1978, that dispute originated over unpaid taxes by Gulf and Western. The solution was that the money they owed the Government was invested in several buildings which would benefit the community of La Romana. This is where the idea to build a new ballpark came from. Its first name was Romana Stadium and later on it became the Francisco Micheli.

It was inaugurated on November 18th, 1979 with a regular game of the championship series between the Stars and Licey.

The first president of the baseball club was Dr. Otto Goico, a lawyer. However, there were other sportsmen from that city, as well as the company's executives, participating in the team. Among them were Felipe La Hoz, Arturo Gil, Miguel Flaquer, Homero Saviñón, Frank Micheli, Jr , and many others

This ballpark, oddly enough, has remained in the hands of the multinational company, which has been responsible for its administration and maintenance all the time.

Besides the sugar mill, the Central Romana has always had a lot of cattle, which is typical of the Eastern region. It's only natural then that the Sugar Caner's mascot was not a sugar cane but a bull, symbol of fierceness.

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

As a result of this mascot, half way through the 90s their slogan was heard for the first time, but it has been with them ever since: Beware of the Bulls!

This expression has been attributed to sportscaster Roosevelt Comarazamy who worked for the team for a long time.

That catchphrase was their war cry when they won their first and only championship series in the 1994-95 season.

What's even more curious is that the Eastern Sugar Caners-Bulls started out their baseball life in a very strong fashion.

During their first year, in the 1983-84 championship, the Bulls were in the last place with a 27-43 record, in spite of a good performance by George Bell, who had 10 homeruns. Pedro González, former second baseman, was their first manager but he didn't finish out the season and was replaced by Horacio -Mickey - Nazario.

For the next tournament, however, they had a tremendous team and had a good performance. Thanks to a 31-29 record, they were in the third place of the regular series. As it happened, the Southern Caymans, the other expansion team, had come in second place with a 33-27 record and they both went to the semifinals Licey had been in first place with 40-20.

In only their second year, La Romana battled for the championship title none other than Licey, the best winning team in this league.

This team was managed by Cuqui Rojas, from Cuba, and had some very famous names in Dominican baseball. Domingo Ramos was the captain; Arturo de Freites, first base; Juan Espino, catcher; Andrés Pérez Thomas in short; Bob Hamelin and Eugenio Cotes in the outfield.

Licey did not have any difficulty in winning in just 5 games the final series that was scheduled for 7 games.

Over the next the years the Bulls were frequently out of the pennant race despite having some good imported players.

The 1992-93 series turned out to be a good one for them Their manager was former infielder Rafael Santana.

Among the players were the brothers Domingo and Andújar Cedeño; catcher Henry Mercedes; outfielders Lou Frazier, Bob Hamelin, Hensley Meulens, a powerful hitter who was the son of a couple from the Dominican Republic and Curacao; Domingo Mitchel, and Julián Yan. Hipólito Pichardo, Darío Pérez and Wilson Heredia were some of their most important pitchers.

The Bulls had a poor 19-29 record but they still classified for the round robin At that time there were only 5 teams participating for the Caymans had disappeared 3 years before.

The Escogido came in the fifth position with only 18 wins and 30 losses. In the round robin, the Bulls were 10-9, in the second place, and they played the Cibao Eagles for the title.

The Eagles won in 6 games (4-2), and La Romana saw its second opportunity to win a title go down the drain

Their next chance came 3 years later, in the 1994-95 series. There was a new environment then. The manager was Art Howe, with a lot of experience in the Major Leagues for he had managed the Houston Astros several years.

Rafael Ávila was the General Manager, bringing over to La Romana all the valuable personnel from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jorge Brito was the catcher, in first base was the veteran Yan, in the infield they had Esteban Beltré, Domingo Cedeño and Jerry Brooks, and in the outfield the same Brooks (he also played third base), Todd Hollandsworth, and Jovino Carvajal. Pitchers were Jody Treadwell, Jim Bruske, Antonio Alfonseca, Jason Brosnan The team that year had good chemistry. It won the regular season with a 29-19 record, and was second in the semifinal with 9-9.

The Eagles were again their rivals in the final series, just like in 1992, however things would change this time around.

The Bulls won in 6 games, getting their first title in only their 12th year of existence They also got the chance to participate in the Caribbean Series which this time would take place in Puerto Rico. That was the time when the Puerto Ricans formed their dream team, so the Dominican team had to be happy to get the second place. Three years later, the Sugar Caners couldn't participate in the winter baseball season. In 1998, Hurricane Georges destroyed the Francisco Micheli Stadium and that made them stay away from the tournament for two years. They came back for the 2000-01 season, and have participated in the play offs several times, but haven't been able to go all the way to the finals.

It's fair to point out that during 1995-96, Domingo Cedeño had an extraordinary season with a .419 average and a 30 game streak hitting safely, breaking an old record of 27 set by Alonzo Perry in 1951.

During the 80s, the Sugar Caners had reinforcements that would go on to become successful in the Major Leagues such as outfielder Lenny Dykstra, and pitcher Jimmy Key. In the central office, Arturo Gil was president for a long time, until he took a break for the 2002-03 season, and then Frank Micheli took over the main executive position. Francisco Micheli, his father, is given the credit for having introduced softball in the Domin-

ican Republic, and was also a great promoter of sports in La Romana The stadium was named after him to honor his memory.

The fans in La Romana follow their team closely, hoping to once again have a chance to repeat their catchphrase: Beware of the Bulls!

LAND OF GIANTS

Five provinces, with a large population, are in the Northeast of the country: San Francisco de Macorís, María Trinidad Sánchez (Nagua), Juan Sánchez Ramírez (Cotuí), Samaná and Salcedo

All these towns have a great passion for baseball.

Being that the Northeast is closer to the Cibao, more than to any other region, it's logical to suppose that the largest amount of fans is historically on the side of the Eagles, the Cibao team.

It has always been that way, and when in 1996 the first franchise of our winter professional baseball was born, this became even more evident. Before, during the 70s and part of the 80s, San Francisco had a team called the Northeast Rice Growers playing in the Summer League which functioned for some time.

However, they were never given the opportunity to join the «Dominican Major League», that is, the winter baseball league

Julián Javier, of course, is the top figure in San Francisco de Macorís. Javier was a star second baseman in the 60s with the St. Louis Cardinals. When Dr. Joaquín Balaguer's government built a baseball stadium in San Francisco, it was named Julián Javier.

How are the Northeast Giants born? The failure of the Southern Caymans from San Cristóbal, having disappeared after the 1989 championship, had left the winter league short one team. Only 5 teams made up the circuit and this presented serious dificulties for the schedule.

In view of this situation, for several yeas there were feasibility studies made thoughout the country, looking for a 6th team. There was the possibility of a

second team in Santiago, and they even approved a new baseball club in Puerto Plata. This project was so well advanced with entrepreneur Ramón Gilbert as the promoter, that they even had a team name -The Puerto Plata Dolphins-, they named a manager and a CEO during the 90s. However, everything failed.

The other option which was accepted by the league was the city of San Francisco de Macorís Dr Leonardo Matos Berrido, president of the league, made the official announcement in a letter that he sent to Siquio NG de la Rosa (who would be the club's first president) on April 15th, 1996.

The approval was publicly ratified in a meeting held by Dr. Matos Berrido and the team's executives right in the city of San Francisco, 8 days later, on April 23rd. A group of sportsmen from the Northeast had gotten together to request the franchise and they became the founding partners. Siquio NG represented the group that included José Aníbal García, Julián Javier, Carlos Eliseo Negrín, Celso Isidro Ventura, Rafael Almánzar, Isócrates Peña Reyes, José Adolfo Herrera, Bienvenido Herrera, Abraham Abukarma and Juan Cristian Maluf, their representative in Santo Domingo

This team had the peculiarity that it was the result of a sort of brotherhood among its principal shareholders, all 8 of them. In the years that followed they took turns in the presidency. Dr. García and Miguel Ángel Almánzar were in office for two different terms.

Julián Javier was their first manager, and Luis Silverio was their first General Manager. The team was organized for that winter's tournament, which, as usual, would start during the month of October. Many ballplayers were acquired through a draft prepared by the league, while some others were either purchased or loaned by other clubs

The official debut was on October 25th in Santiago, in a game against the Eagles, their future rivals in the region. Ironically, the Giants won 5 to 1 behind Efraín Valdez's pitching. The next day was the opening ceremony at the Julián Javier Stadium and the Giants lost 8-3 to Licey. In the first team were:

Ramón Caraballo in second, Fausto Cruz in short, Alan Zinter was the catcher, Aldo Pecorilli in left, Francisco Cabrera was DH, Steve Pegues in center, Lorenzo de la Cruz in right, Rubén Santana at first and Valdez was the pitcher. In their first year they had a 20-28 record, coming in the 5th place However, they had enough merits to end ahead of the Oriental Stars.

In all the other championships series they were always in the last places, even in the one held in 1998-99, played with only 4 teams. That year neither the Stars nor the Sugar Caners were able to participate because their stadiums were practically destroyed by Hurricane Georges.

At that time the Giants were in complete disadvantage against Licey, Eagles and Escogido, so they ended up with the worst record of any team in the league ever, 9-51. Their oficials did not have a good working atmosphere so they decided to sell most of their shares to Dr Julio Hazim. The new owner changed the team's name to Pollos del Cibao (Cibao's Chickens) This experiment didn't last long and Hazim also sold his shares, two years later. The new president was Julián's son, Stanley Javier, former Dominican baseball star.

RAFAEL LANDESTOY

With Stanley as president, the Giants had their first good performance in the 2002-03 championship and surprised everyone by classifying in the third place with a 27-23 record.

In the semifinals they were 5-12, staying behind the other teams.

The following year 2003-04, they repeated their good performance this time with a 26-24 record in the regular series and a fourth place in the standings. In the semifinals they were 12-6, coming in the second position. They lost the final series to Licey 1-4. They were going down in history by reaching the finals in only their 8th year of existence.

Their manager, Miguel Diloné, was given a lot of credit for this tremendous accomplishment.

Recently, during the 2004 summer, Stanley sold almost all of his shares to Alberto Genao, a local businessman, so the Giants are again starting out with new owners. They still have a long road ahead.

THE CAYMANS

The Southern Caymans only participated in 5 championship series. They had been born together with the Eastern Sugar Caners by means of the 1982 expansion law. The Caymans also made their debut in the 1983-84 season and were located in the city of San Cristóbal, to the South, some 40 minutes away from the capital city.

Their principal promoters were Servio Tulio Mancebo, an entrepreneur, and a lawyer, Mignolio Pujols. Mancebo was their president and CEO during the first 6 years. Serious financial difficulties besieged the team from the very beginning In the playing field, however, they did much better for it was a big surprise when they made it all the way to the playoffs in the first three series they played

The first manager was Gene Lamont, a man from the Big Leagues Lamont would later on manage the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago White

Sox. He even won the 1993 «Manager of the Year Award» in the American League.

Ramón Peña was their first General Manager, bringing along with him a lot of the players that he had first signed when he was a scout.

In that first year they had well-known ballplayers such as Júnior Noboa, Pedro Borbón, Rufino Linares and the imported Mike Laga As of 1984-85 Carlos Pieve, a Puerto Rican, took over as General Manager and with him the franchise improved a lot from a competitive point of view. Manuel Mota became their second manager, but he was released and replaced by Fred Ferreiras, a Cuban.

At that point they already had pitchers José Núñez, Mélido Pérez, and in the offense were Rafael Landestoy, Ralph Bryant, Nelson Norman and Manny Lee.

Ferreiras repeated for the 1985-86 season but did not end it. Then Landestoy became the manager. Mike Brewer, an outfielder, hit 18 doubles to tie the national record shared by other 3 players.

Their economic problems forced them to ask for a leave of absence for the 1986-87 championship and Mr. Mancebo handed over the administration to Máximo Lovatón.

In 1987 Rafael Landestoy started as manager, but he was replaced by Eduardo Denis. That year they had catcher Pat Borders, Francisco Cabrera, Julián Yan and Fred McGrif. The next year Julián Javier was manager during the entire season Jerome Walton was one of their outstanding players, together with Tito Landrum and Bernardo Brito.

At the end of the season, the Caymans retired from the following championships and have not come back.

They were in the play offs three times but, unfortunately, disappeared leaving a negative impression.

TIMES TO EXPAND

MAJOR LEAGUE TEAMS VISIT THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Throughout our history, the Dominican Republic has been visited by a lot of famous people and Major League teams

Most of them came to participate in exhibition games, before or after the Major Leagues' season ended. Others, like the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, came for training before the start of the regular baseball season

Occasionally, an all-star team would visit us and play some games against our local teams. Such was the case of The Willie Mays Stars, when they visited Santo Domingo on October 1957, for a promotional trip. That club played several games at the Trujillo Stadium and the famous player was the main figure.

During 1956, a team called The Puerto Rico Stars visited the country, being one of their members the immortal pitcher Sandy Koufax, who was reinforcing the neighbor island's team. This way the Dominican fans have been able to watch figures that later on became members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1936, a partial team from the Cincinnati Reds visited Santo Domingo. That club was training at Puerto Rico, where they spent the entire month of March, after arriving from Tampa by ocean.

MOISÉS ALOU

BOBBY VALENTINE

They had decided to come to Santo Domingo for two games, one against the Licey and another one against Escogido. Both games were played on the 3rd and 4th of March at the School Gymnasium Stadium. Chronicles appearing in the newspapers at that time pointed out that a lot of the players were afraid to come down here because of the dictatorship, and had to be convinced that they were not in any real danger.

Cincinnati had famous players like catcher Ernie Lombardi; first baseman Les Scarsella; Lew Riggs on third base; Len Kahnny in short; and Kiki Cuyler, a future immortal outfielder, among others.

The fans gave their support to both games. Tickets to the games had cost $2.00 the most expensive ones, down to 25 cents for the least expensive. It had been said that the Trujillo family arranged for Cincinnati's visit to the country in order to promote that year's championship series.

The following visit from the Major Leagues occurred in 1948 when the Brooklyn Dodgers decided to train in Santo Domingo. They had a very long stay at the Dominican capital, from February 29th until March 30th.

They carried out their training at the La Normal Stadium, which had been inaugurated two years ago.

At that time, the popular New York team was accompanied by their Triple A branch team, the Montreal Royals One of their members was catcher Roy Campanella, who had also been signed.

The Dodgers brought down their star players. Among them was Jackie Robinson, who had already won the Rooky of the Year Award in 1947, revolutionizing baseball by breaking the racial barrier. They also had Duke Snider, Bill Cox, Joe Hatton, shortstop Carl Furillo and Gil Hodges. The manager was Leo Durocher

During their long stay in the country, the Dodgers played several games with the Licey, Escogido, and Santiago Stars. The Pittsburgh Pirates came in 1967 Their visit had a political connotation due to the effervescence of the April Revolution and the national elections of 1966.

That is why when the Pirates appeared at the Quisqueya Stadium on Wednesday, October 18th, sitting at the VIP lounge were the then president of the country, Joaquín Balaguer, and the American Ambassador John Crimmins.

That night the Puerto Rican player Roberto Clemente headed the Pirates against the Dominican Stars. Clemente was the batting champ in the National League that year with a .357 average. The Dominican Stars had Julián Javier, who was at that time the best second baseman in the National League. Playing for the Pirates was Bill Mazeroski, who challenged the Dominican player for this title.

The Pirates also had in their team the Dominican outfielders Manuel Emilio Jiménez, Manuel Mota and Mateo Alou, who was batting champ of the National League in 1966 with a .342 average. Maury Wills was the third baseman that year, and Gene Alley was in short. Manuel Sanguillén was their catcher, and among the pitchers were Bob Veale and Juan Terín Pizarro, from Puerto Rico Ten years went by before the next visit, in 1977, when the Los Angeles

YOGI BERRA, JUAN MARICHAL, LUIS RAMON CORDERO AND CUQUI CORDOBA

Dodgers and the New York Mets appeared at our national scenery. (The Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles in 1958)

These teams played two games, one on Saturday, March 19th, in Santiago and the other one on Sunday, the 20th, in Santo Domingo. The Dodgers won both games, 5-3 the first, and 4-0 the second one

In the Mets' pitching staff were the outstanding Tom Seaver; a Dominican, Nino Espinosa; and the lefty Jerry Koosman. Also, the strong hitter Dave Kingman. With the Dodgers were: Manuel Mota, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, Steve Garvey, Lee Lacey, Rick Monday, Ron Cey, Reggie Smith, Rafael Landestoy, Pedro Guerrero, Teodoro Martínez, Charlie Hough, Doug Rau, and the pitcher

Rick Rhoden Some of these players were reinforcements for the Licey during the 70's. Tom LaSorda was the manager. At the game played in Santo Domingo, Juan Marichal threw the first pitch.

The most exciting moment of the series happened during the fifth inning when Mota was brought in to pinch-hit against Tom Seaver. He hit a very long homerun between left and center field. Mota was not a homerun hitter, but he gave Dominican fans a gift of great magnitude that day.

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies came to this country the following year, 1978.

Mike Schmidt, future member of the Hall of Fame, led the Phillies in that opportunity. He was accompanied by Larry Bowa, shortstop; Greg Luzinski, leftfielder; Richie Hebner on first base; Garry Maddox in centerfield; Tug McGraw was a reliever; Tim McCarver and the Dominican, José Makey Moreno.

St. Louis brought some of their star players. Among them were Lou Brock, Gary Templeton, catcher Ted Simmons, first baseman Keith Hernández, outfielders Dave Long, John Tamargo, Mike Ramsey and the Dominican, Manuel Bonny Castillo.

The series started at the Cibao Stadium on March 17th, and Julián Javier was invited to throw the first pitch. Schmidt hit a long homerun for the Phillies, but St. Louis won 4 to 2.

On the 18th they played a game in San Francisco de Macorís and on the 19th they finished at the Quisqueya Stadium at Santo Domingo.

The most traditional winning team of the Major Leagues, the New York Yankees, came to Santo Domingo in 1984 to play an exhibition series against the Houston Astros

There were many stars playing with the Yankees that year. Omar Moreno, who had been a reinforcement for the Eagles, was one of their outfielders; Willie Randolph was on second; Don Mattingly on first; Don Baylor was the leftfielder; Dave Winfield the right fielder; Craig Nettles was on third; Butch Wynnegar was the catcher; Tim Foli was the shortstop. Also with the team were Bobby Meachan, Rex Hudler, Lou Piniella, and the Dominican players Stanley Javier and Juan Espino.

For Houston, Harry Spilman, third baseman Enos Cabell, outfielders Tim Tolman, Ferry Puhl and Terry Mumphrey, Bill Doran on second, Dicki Thon as shortstop, and the Puerto Rican, Jose Cheo Cruz as the designated hitter. Nolan Ryan was their principal pitching figure, and the native Julio Solano was a reliever.

Ray Knight was already shaping up as an outstanding player with the Astros, also Phil Garner and catcher Alan Ashby.

The first game was played at the Quisqueya Stadium on March 29th and Houston won 6 to 3. Juan Espino helped with a single and bringing in a run.

The second game was played on March 30th at La Romana. The Yankees won 4 to 2 with a homerun hit by Roy Smalley to Ryan. The event was sponsored by the multinational company Gulf and Western.

After a three year lapse, two other teams visited Santo Domingo. It happened in 1999 when the New York Mets came back, this time managed by Bobby Valentine; and the Montreal Expos, managed by Felipe Alou.

Valentine had played with the Licey team in the mid 70s. Vladimir Guerrero was already emerging as an Expos' star, but in those two games played here he failed in 7 turns at bat.

Montreal had Wilton Guerrero, Vladimir's oldest brother, in their line-up.

Also, Geoff Blum, the Panamanian Fernando Seguignol, two Puerto Ricans: Jose Vidro and Javier Vásquez; and Shane Andrews, Pete Bergerón They also brought along the young personnel that usually accompanied the team, including Dominicans Tomás de la Rosa, and José Mayobanex Fernández. The Mets presented Rey Ordoñez, from Cuba; Edgar Alfonzo, a Venezuelan; Robin Ventura; Bobby Bonilla; Mariano Duncan, a Dominican; Jerry Brooks and the local pitcher Josías Manzanillo.

The Mets won the first game 6 to 3, but Montreal won the second one, 4 to 3, in eleven innings with a long homerun by Seguignol.

Pedro Martínez was the great attraction when Boston visited Santo Domingo on March 11th and 12th, 2000 Boston would play with Houston in a two-game series at the Quisqueya Stadium.

Martínez would travel together with his brother Ramón, who was with the Red Socks that year Jeff Fassero, Tom Gordon, Derek Lowe, Brett Saberhagen, Tim Wakefield, Brian Daubach, David Eckstein, Norman Garcíaparra, Jose Offerman, Mike Stanley, Carl Everrett, Trot Nixon and the locals Israel Alcántara and Wilton Veras made the trip also. The manager was Jimy Williams.

Houston came with their well known stars Jef Bagwell, Moisés Alou, Craig Baggio, Ken Caminiti, Lance Berkman, Roger Cedeño, and Richard Hidalgo.

The pitchers were José Cabrera, Octavio Dotel, José Lima, Shane Reynolds, and Billy Wagner. Julio Lugo and Omar Ramírez, where also in the team.

Pedro opened the first game but retired after one scoreless inning, allowing one hit, and one free ticket. The fans complained about his short performance. Jeff Bagwell hit two homeruns bringing victory to Houston 4 to 3. The Astros also won the next day, 3 to 2, thus winning the short series. Around 8,000 fans watched the first game, and a fewer the second one. That was the last time the Major League teams were presented in the country. Thanks to these visits, the Dominican people were able to see great quality figures in action, a lot of them future members of the Hall of Fame.

MAJOR LEAGUES VISITS TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

YEAR TEAMS

1936

Cincinnati Reds

1948 Brooklyn Dodgers

1967 1977 1978

Pittsburgh Pirates

Los Angeles Dodgers-New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies-St Louis Cardinals

1984 New York Yankees-Houston Astros

1999 Montreal Expos-New York Mets

2000 Boston Red Socks-Houston Astros

BASEBALL ACADEMIES TO TRAIN FUTURE PLAYERS

Santiago Ramírez is a very tall 6'7" young guy. He is more bones than skin. He weighs 152 lbs. But, he has a very good thing going for him: His personal records state that he just turned 16, and that means he has all the time needed to develop him into a full-fledged baseball player.

JUAN MARICHAL THROWS THE FIRST FITCH

When he first arrives at the Arizona Diamondbacks' training camp, at Andrés, Boca Chica, the Director greets him.

Santiago has been brought by Ramón Prieto, a scout that saw him pitching at Jimaní, a small village near the border with Haití.

The Arizona's academy director wrote down his personal history and saved it in his files.

The young man is part of a family of 9 brothers. His father used to be a farmer, and after quitting this job, he did small tasks for a little money.

Santiago was attending school, but dropped out once he realized that he could be successful playing baseball.

For a long time he had been seeing in the newspapers and television famous names like Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramírez, Juan Marichal, Pedro Martínez, and Pedro Astacio. They all had a lot of fame, and a lot of money. What good is schooling for? That's what he thought

At the end of the bureaucratic meeting, Santiago was informed that he had appointments with the general physician, and then with the psychologist for an evaluation of his personality.

But before this, he should see the dentist Because when he was told to open his mouth, they noticed that his teeth were progressively deteriorating. Therefore, that was the starting point in order to become a good baseball player.

Yes, the dentist would be the first step for the priority then was to fix his teeth. The second, to have his stomach checked for parasites, and to balance his nutrition. The third step was to check his mind, to make sure that he was fit for the rigorous training discipline required by the campsite or if, on the other hand, he could be the cause of even bigger problems. More complementary things would come. English classes were needed so when he went to the United States he knew how to order food, talk to other people, talk to his bosses, with his manager, and with his teammates. He'd get History classes, both Dominican and the United States. He had to know more than just baseball.

He'd get instructions on how to properly sit at a dinner table, etiquette

and protocol Because when Santiago arrived at the academy, he didn't know any of these things. He had a lot to learn, besides baseball.

Finally, he goes to the ballpark. Then there's the physical training: the gym to strengthen his shoulders, his arms, his back. He'll learn to run faster, making his legs stronger to gain consistency. He must go through 9 innings of play, and if he does not have good legs, he will be tired by the 6th.. He should also learn how to throw the ball, to catch rollings and fly balls; attend plenty of batting practice, and lastly the real game

Poor Santiago, he was in shock. He had been told he was going to Arizona to play ball, that he had all the conditions to reach the Major Leagues. Then he will become a millionaire like all those famous players that he saw in the news and TV everyday.

But nobody told him everything he had to do in order to accomplish that. Ball playing would be the last thing he would do. That is when he realized it would not be an easy task

Nevertheless, he was ready to fight. He wanted to be successful regardless

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

of whatever sacrifices were entailed. That is why, early the next day, at 7:30 in the morning, he went to the dentist office.

His future life as a ballplayer will start at that point, with his mouth, fixing his teeth. He did not quite understand why, so he kept asking himself what the relationship was between his teeth and baseball, but he was silent and went on with the set course. He had a goal: to reach the Majors Leagues.

GREAT INVESTMENT

On May, 2004 four Major Leagues teams' owners got together at the Baseball City Academy located in the community of Boca Chica, about an hour to the east of Santo Domingo.

They were the presidents of the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Socks. One of the vice presidents of the Arizona Diamondbacks was also there Together with them was the general manager of Baseball City, Júnior Noboa, a former Major Leaguer, now a businessman, and also Mr. Hipólito Mejía, president of the Dominican Republic.

It was the inauguration of the Baseball City Academy, the most ambitious complex for the development of baseball players ever built in Latin America. There were many new ballparks in the Dominican Republic, ever since Los Angeles Dodgers had built theirs back in 1987. Rafael Ávila came up with the idea, which had Peter O'Malley's support. A large number of organizations followed the Dodgers' footsteps.

But Noboa and his associates, being, as they were, a group of experienced businessmen, decided to build a complex that would serve a lot of diferent organizations at the same time.

So they built four principal ballparks, each one with a stadium (for pitchers and infielders), and the housing units that included the dormitories with 48 individual beds each, bathrooms, gymnasiums, rooms for individualized medical attention, recreation rooms, kitchens and dinning rooms, all in separate areas.

ENTRANCE TO THE BASEBALL CITY COMPLEX

This way the young guys from the Chicago Cubs had their own city within Baseball City. There was no need for them to get together, mingle or share with the Minnesota, Cincinnati or Arizona farm teams. They did not have to share the bathrooms, dinning rooms or television sets. This was an authentic city with possibilities for unlimited growth, with 250 thousand square meters, a whole lot of land to expand.

The land was purchased from the State Sugar Council (Consejo Estatal del Azúcar), the largest sugar cane industry in the country

The initial investment reached 100 million Dominican pesos, more than 2 million dollars.

It is a new academy style in the Dominican Republic. The Dodgers built their camp in the municipality of Guerra, near Santo Domingo. Boston did the same in the community of El Toro, in the National District.

The New York Mets purchased a complex in the community of Nigua, about an hour to the south of Santo Domingo, which was originally built, but later on sold, by Mélido Pérez, a former Major League pitcher.

The Kansas City Royal built theirs in Salcedo and the Chicago White Socks in Moca, both cities located in the Cibao region.

Even the Japanese were pioneers in this type of investment.

The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, members of the Japanese League, built a complex in San Pedro de Macorís at the beginning of the 90's. This academy has been very successful and the results have been quite satisfactory.

Now there is a new way of doing it. Private investors, including former players, are building the campsites in order to rent them out to those organizations that do not have their own.

That is what happened with Mélido, José Rijo in San Cristóbal, and Stanley Javier, a former infielder in the Major Leagues, who is currently building a big camp in the outskirts of the City of Santo Domingo. It is just like any other business investment. Some of these organizations have signed working agreements with the Government's stadiums or with other Minor Leagues baseball clubs

For example, the Anaheim Angels develop their program in San Pedro de

VIEW OF

CINCINATTI REDS HOUSING FACILITIES,

Macorís; the Detroit Tigers at the stadium owned by the Dominican Navy in Santo Domingo; Milwaukee in Epifanio Guerrero's farm in Villa Mella, and also the Seattle Mariners.

Oakland has their complex in the community of La Victoria. Tampa Bay and San Diego are working out of Haina and Nizao; the Yankees, in San Cristóbal. The Atlanta Braves in San Francisco de Macorís, and the Florida Marlins in Santo Domingo.

Furthermore, the majority of the games scheduled in the Dominican Summer League are played in these academies' ballparks. This is the league where the new rookies play before traveling to the United States.

Not only Dominican players participate in this league. There are also young men from the United States, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. In the last 15 years we have had people like Mike Piazza from the Dodgers; the Mexican, Ismael Valdez; the Venezuelans Roger Cedeño and Omar Daal.

All of them were at the Campo Las Palmas when they were young, and were able to benefit from this great experience.

RAFAELÁVILAAND FREDDYJANA

The same could be said of the Dominican players that participated in the above-mentioned league, at the moment they were signed into professional ball.

Pedro Martínez played there his first 2 years as a pro (1988-1989), before making his first trip to the United States.

By the time he set foot in the United States Minor Leagues, Martínez was a mature baseball player.

A regulation put into effect in 2004 by Major League Baseball defines these academies as <specialized centers for recently signed players. Their objective is to provide an environment where the players will develop their talents, learn to socialize and receive proper nourishment.>

And adds: <The academies also provide educative programs, workshops, and growing chats.>

A lot of these academies accept a player as a steady resident for about a month. After this period they decide whether or not to sign him. In most cases, a previous deal is made.

Those who are signed must wait 45 days to be approved by the office of the Major League's Commissioner. All the documentation, such as birth certificates, personal identification cards, family history, etc., must be checked. Another important aspect is the daily work schedule, which is very diferent from the one Dominicans are used to They start a 7:00a m with a light breakfast and then a lot of work, especially in the field. At 12:00 noon, they're served a very light lunch. The heaviest meal, dinner, is served at the end of the day. During the evenings, they have to attend some classes, chats, and conferences

This type of academy is very similar to a military camp, but with a different outcome. The military academy trains soldiers. The baseball academy trains players for the Major Leagues

THE PERFORMERS. There are plenty of professionals around these campgrounds. Not only former baseball players working as coaches and administrators; but also engineers, doctors, lawyers, professional counselors, psychologists, dentists, etc.

For instance, there are a lot of former professional ballplayers that shined in the Major Leagues but who are still linked to baseball by teaching and training future players

We have plenty of Dominican examples. Miguel Diloné used to play with the Cleveland Indians and is now working for the Atlanta Braves. Winston Llenas, who used to be a player and coach for Anaheim and Toronto, is working on a full-time basis for the Indians.

Noboa is representing Arizona in this country. Pablo Peguero, former catcher for the Dodgers in the Minor Leagues, worked at Campo Las Palmas right from the start but is now with the San Francisco Giants

Jesús Alou, a member of the famous Alou trilogy, spent a very long time working for Florida and now he is with Boston as Director of their Santo Domingo's academy.

Nelson Norman, ex-shortstop in the Major Leagues, works for Minnesota, and Denio González, who played third base with the Pirates, now works for the White Socks.

Similar examples are Julio Valdez, Arturo de Freites, Elvio Jiménez, and César Gerónimo, who has worked for the Hiroshima's academy since they began. Also working there is Bernardo -Pupo- Brito, a former big leaguer and member of the Licey team.

Other ballplayers run their own training programs. Such is the case with Mario Soto, a former Cincinnati pitcher; José Rijo who shined for the same team when he was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the 1990 World Series against Oakland; and Luis Polonia, who is still active in Dominican baseball after having a fantastic career playing for various teams in the Major Leagues.

These academies, together with hundreds of scouts and talent hunters, work closely with the Dominican Summer League to ofer the Dominican Republic an admirable structure for the future of Dominican baseball players. It's an industry that never stops.

THE RESULTS. When a young Santiago Ramírez went to Arizona's training camp, it was very clear that he wanted to become a professional ballplayer, but it was going to be very hard work indeed.

He understood this immediately, because the moment he arrived there, nobody talked to him about baseball. All they talked about was health and education.

Several weeks went by before the young man's abilities totally convinced his sponsors. When they finally told him that he was going to be signed, after the 30-day period was over, his faced glowed with happiness. He was thinking about his parents and his brothers at the far away Jimaní home, near the frontier.

«At last, I am going to be able to help my family», he said out loud, and told himself: <Now I can buy a house for my old lady.>

What a fool he was, he had no idea that the next day his real odyssey would begin

Only 5% of the signed players make it to the Major Leagues. The rest is stopped in the middle of the road; they go to the Minors, and never make a fortune. The majority gives up real fast.

Another good percentage of the 100 that make it to the United States, quickly abandon the idea and become illegal aliens. They usually end up driving a taxicab or working at a grocery store.

But Santiago ignored these small details He did not want anybody to talk to him about negative things or to disappoint him. His teeth were fixed already; his stomach parasites had disappeared; now he was strong, and fast.

He was going to the Major Leagues. He was going to fulfill his dreams of money and glory.

From now on everything would be in his hands, up to him and the academy.

At the end, he was only one more piece in the laboratory. Nobody knew the final results

But that was not going to stop him from achieving his dream: the Major Leagues.

THE CARIBBEAN KINGS

MANUELMOTAINHIS FIRST YEARS WITH THE MOST GLORIOUS TEAM IN DOMINICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL(LICEY).

February 1971. Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Licey, representing the Dominican Republic, is playing against the Santurce team. This is the most important game for Licey to win, undefeated, the Caribbean Series.

The Dominican manager, Manuel Mota, called Federico -Chichí- Olivo.

He is a super veteran, 45 years old, but that is his best option at that moment

The problem is that Olivo will confront Major League's players. The first one is Reggie Jackson, an authentic homerun hitter in the Majors; and then

Tany Pérez, a Cuban, one of the strongest hitters and RBIs' leader in the National League.

Licey won the game 6 to 2, but the Puerto Ricans attacked. What happened?

Olivo showed his courage and top quality First he stroke out Jackson, same thing to Pérez, and again the same to the third man in the inning, Buck Martínez.

It was a real miracle, and the Dominican Licey proclaimed themselves undefeated champions for the first time in the Caribbean baseball classic That's how the Dominicans started their outstanding performances in the Caribbean Series.

The year before, when this series first started, this same Licey team had played against Venezuela, but could not win.

RICOCARTY.

Now, in Puerto Rico, the scenario was ready for the Dominicans. Manuel Mota not only became the winning manager. He was also batting champ with a high average of .579, with 11 hits in 19 turns at bat. He also got the MPV award. With this first victory the doors opened to a long dominion by Dominican teams.

In February 2004, Licey again represented the country, this time in Santo Domingo, defeating the teams from Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico. This was the ninth crown for the Blues, thus becoming the best winning team in this second stage of the series.

The first stage of the Caribbean Series was played between 1948 and 1960, but the Dominican Republic was absent at that time. Cuba, Panama, Venezuela and Puerto Rico held a total of 12 series, won mostly by the Cubans, who got 7 tittles. The series then came to an end in 1959 with Fidel Castro's takeover in Cuba Castro eliminated all professional sports and baseball, of course, was no exception. As a result, the Cuban professional baseball team disintegrated. The Cubans disappeared from the scenery becoming instead the main contenders in the world of amateur baseball.

The remaining three countries made all kinds of efforts to keep the series alive, but it was impossible.

THE BEST. As of 1971 an important event for the Caribbean Series and for the Dominicans, in particular, would take place Over the years, the Licey team would share its participation with the Eagles and the Escogido, but only they -the Blues- knew how to win the crowns. This is the way it happened for a good while, therefore the Tigers became a team with a great winning tradition in the Caribbean. Licey won 5 titles in the 70s and the 80s before the Lions could get their first one in 1988. Escogido had already participated in 3 such series.

The Lions got another title in 1990, but the situation for the Eagles became frustrating for the longest while The Eagles were national champions in this country over and over again but were forever losers in the Caribbean Series. By the time they won their first title in 1997, the Eagles had already failed in 9 different occasions. During this period, Licey had been champion 7 times.

However, the Cibao team would recuperate later on, becoming winners during the following years.

They have gotten 4 titles out of their last 5 participations, dominating the event even though Licey has also continued to add crowns, and now has a total of 9.

The only other Dominican team to participate in this series, the Eastern Bulls (1995), came in the second position.

Between Licey, Eagles and Lions they combine 15 titles for the Dominican Republic; Puerto Rico has won 10, Venezuela, 5; and Mexico, 4

That is to say that the Dominican supremacy has been consistent ever since Chichí Olivo stroke out those three Puerto Rican players.

FEATS AND HEROES. In 1971 in Puerto Rico, Licey won undefeated with a 6-0 record in a surprising performance. Licey went to this series for the second time in February 1973, in Venezuela, managed by Tom LaSorda.

Manuel Mota was again playing in the outfield becoming a key figure because once again he was the batting champ with a 500 average, sharing the title with his teammate Jesús Alou. They both hit 22-11.

GERONIMO BERROA AND NEIFY PEREZ

DAVID ORTIZ AND PHIL REGAN

Dominicans won with a 5-1 record and had several players in the All-Star team. Bobby Valentine in short, Steve Garvey in first, Steve Yeager as catcher, Mota and Jesús among the outfielders. Valentine, besides, got the MVP award. Licey returned to the Caribbean Series in 1973 after becoming Dominican champions, again managed by Tom LaSorda. This time, however, they fell short and came in third place with a 3-3 record. Their next crown, the third, was in 1977 in Caracas, Venezuela with Ricardo Carty going down in history The manager was Bob Rodgers, and the Blues ended undefeated with a 6-0 record. Carty would set a new homerun record with 5, and was elected MVP. Four Licey players were part of the AllStar team: third baseman Teodoro Martínez, Mario Guerrero in short, Ed Halicki, right handed pitcher, and Stan Wall, a lefty pitcher. The Quisqueya Stadium in Santo Domingo was host to the 1980 series, which was also won by Licey with a 4-2 record. The manager then was Del Crandall and several of our players made the All-Star team These were first baseman León Durham, second baseman Dámaso García,

Jerry Dibzynski in short, Teodoro Martínez in third, outfielder Rudy Law, and right-handed pitcher Dennis Lewallyn. This would be the Tigers' fourth crown.

In the next series, in 1983, Licey was again in the third place with a 3-3 record. It was even worse in 1984 when they had a poor 1-4. This was their worst participation ever, thus ending in the last place.

Licey's manager, Terry Collins, got them out of trouble when in 1985 they won their third consecutive crown in the Dominican League. Collins was also their Caribbean Series manager in Mexico, and the Tigers became champions with a 5-1 record. Licey put four men in the All-Star Game: Jorge Bell and David Green were in the outfield, Glenn Davis in first and José Rijo, reliever. Rijo's performance in this series was crucial for the Blues' victory.

Escogido would bring to the country, a little bit later on, the first title for a Dominican team other than the Tigers This happened in 1988, in Santo Domingo, when Phil Regan managed them. The Lions won with a 4-2 record, and Rufino Linares was elected MVP.

Dominican stars were Stanley Javier in first, Nelson Liriano in second, Linares in left, and pitchers José de León and Ramón de los Santos. In 1990 and 1991 the series took place in Miami because most of the countries in this area were affected by a serious economic crisis. None of the participating countries could host the tournament or guarantee good results Therefore, the 1990 series was held in Miami where the Escogido won their second crown. This time, Felipe Alou was the manager and the powerful hitter Gerónimo Berroa was the MVP.

The Lions won 5-1. Nelson Liriano was again the All-Star second baseman, Moisés Alou in center, Linares was designated hitter, and Doug Linton, the right-handed pitcher. Moisés was reinforcing this team (he belonged to the Eagles), and played for the first and only time in a team managed by his own father, in the Dominican baseball league. Later on, both would be together again in Montreal.

Licey represented the Dominican Republic in 1991 with an excellent team

to win undefeated 5-0 Their manager then was John Roseboro and the MVP was Gerónimo Berroa for the second year in a row.

Representing Licey in the All-Star game were Henry Rodríguez as first baseman, Juan Bell in short, Andújar Cedeño in third, Berroa in left, and right-handed pitcher Mélido Pérez.

Puerto La Cruz, in Venezuela, watched Licey conquer their 7th crown in 1994 when Casey Parsons managed them. Their record was 5-1 and Jim Bowie, first baseman, was the MVP In the All-Star team were Bowie, Alex Arias as third baseman, Julián Tavárez, a right-handed pitcher, and Jim Kelly, the closer. The 1995 title belonged to Puerto Rico, México won in 1996, and 1997 was the year for the Eagles' winning debut. Their manager was Mike Quade, and the series was played in Hermosillo, Mexico. The Eagles had failed in their 9 previous appearances.

The Eagles won 4-2, even though the award for the best manager went to Paquín Estrada, who managed the local team. In the All-Star team, México had a large number of players. Culiacán, the team representing Mexico, had 4, while the Dominican champions only had one: Guillermo García, a catcher. The Eagles would also win undefeated in 1998 with 6-0. Tony Peña was their manager. This time Guillermo García came back as catcher for the AllStar team, Alex Arias as first baseman, Neifi Pérez in short, Miguel Tejada in third, Julián Tavárez, right-handed pitcher, and José Cabrera as reliever. Neifi won the MVP.

The charismatic manager Dave Jauss took Licey to their 8th title in 1999, in this event again presented by Puerto Rico. When all the scheduled games were over, Mayagüez and Licey were tied, each with 4-2. So, an extra game was called for, which was won by the Blues.

Neifi Pérez got his second MVP and was also part of the All-Star team, together with Henry Mercedes, the catcher; Manny Martínez, the centerfielder; Luis Polonia, the designated hitter; and Miguel Batista, a right-handed pitcher. The Cibao team came back in 2001 with Félix Fermín as manager. Fermín

took his team to a 4-2 win and its third crown, showing without any doubt that their losing past was way behind. He was elected manager of the AllStar team that had Miguel Tejada in short, and Polonia in left.

The Carolina Stadium hosted the 2003 series and the Eagles again represented the country. There was a big battle between Mayagüez and the Cibao team, which ended the regular round with 5-1 so that an untying game was necessary.

The Eagles easily won their 4th title in their last 5 appearances. Félix Fermín was the champion manager and in the All-Star team were David Ortiz in first base, Rafael Furcal in second, Tejada in short, and Polonia as the left fielder.

Ortiz won the MVP.

Licey, of course, once again showed top quality and lived up to their reputation of best winning team in this series, when they won in 2004 at their own ballpark, the Quisqueya Stadium. Manny Acta made his debut as managing champion of both the national and the Caribbean series.

Licey got the title with 5 wins, 1 loss. They only lost to Venezuela.

Relief pitcher Francis Beltrán was elected MVP. This was the 15th title for the Dominican teams in this great sports fraternity series between the Caribbean countries. This is only a token example of the great reputation that our baseball enjoys here, inside our country, and also abroad.

CARIBBEAN SERIES TITLES PER COUNTRY 1970-2004

JUAN MARICHAL

Saturday night, any time during the spring of 1951. A 15-year-old teenager was driving a tractor and plowing the field in a farm at Laguna Verde, a small town with 400 inhabitants, located in the Montecristi province, Dominican Republic.

He had started this work at 6 o'clock in the afternoon and would remain there, under the moonlight, until 6 o'clock in the morning. At least that was the deal he had with one of the tractor's regular drivers.

The land had to be prepared for the rice crops. At the end of his shift, he would have to wash the tractor, grease it and fill it up with fuel.

Once this work had been done, the youngster would go home, take a shower, change into clean clothes and grab a small bag with his baseball uniform. He had to walk for about half an hour to get to Montecristi where he was supposed to play a game before midmorning.

His name was Juan Antonio Marichal and his passion for baseball was above everything else in his young life, even above school or his need to work. His mother, Natividad Sánchez, knew this very well.

Her young son used to give baseball more time and love than to anything else in his life. One way or another, he would become a ballplayer.

JUAN MARICHAL

MARICHAL SHOWS THE BASEBALL OF HIS 200TH WIN

She had no idea whatsoever how far he would get. She had no way of knowing that his future was in a baseball diamond. That he would reach the United States' Major Leagues, that he would become an immortal.

Juan Antonio had been the fourth child in the family. His brothers Gonzalo and Rafael and his sister María Altagracia were already in this world by the time he was born, on October 20th, 1938.

His mother, Natividad Sánchez, was from Gurabo, a town located in the Santiago province. His father, Francisco Marichal, had been born in this same Montecristi province. He was the son of an immigrant couple that had come from Europe several decades ago. The grandfather was Victoriano Marichal, a Frenchman; and the grandmother Celia Paula, had been born in Spain. They arrived at this region and started to work the land, mainly growing rice.

Natividad and Francisco were married sometime near 1930 in Hato Viejo, a community about 3 kilometers away from Laguna Verde. Their 4 children were born in this small town What happened to his father? Francisco died when he was a little over 40; Juan was only 3 years old then. An illness known as «Hematite» (blood in the urine) took his father's life rather early As a result, the mother was left alone to take care of the family. This is a story frequently seen in many families

So Juan had Natividad as both his mother and father. He had to grow up and become an adult a lot sooner than the required age

He never met his grandfather Victoriano. His grandmother, whom used to be called «Granny Paula», he remembers with a lot of affection.

Schooling? In Laguna Verde he finished the first four years of elementary school. He would go on to complete the 8th grade afterward in the school located at El Duro, some 5 kilometers away from his home. Most of the time he had to go to school in horse-drawn farm carts or hitchhiking. It was a rural life: rice-growing, cattle-raising, goats, pigs, hens. There was no electricity in Laguna Verde, or an amusement park, or even a church.

So there was a lot of room for baseball and to this sport Juan dedicated his best efforts.

Gonzalo was his best friend. He used to live in Montecristi and had a comfortable economic situation for he had become a businessman.

THE TRAINEE

Juan Antonio used to be a shortstop during his boyhood, whenever he played in his hometown. He decided to change this position when he saw a great Dominican pitcher during the 40's, Juan Ramón-Bombo- Ramos This happened on a Sunday when his brother Gonzalo took him to watch a game between two teams from Santiago and Montecristi.

The very same day he saw Bombo Ramos throw the ball, he decided to become a pitcher. (Afterward, Bombo Ramos would be killed in the Río Verde tragedy in 1948, when the plane carrying the Santiago team crashed.)

But Marichal not only decided to become a pitcher. He also imitated the way Bombo Ramos pitched, completely from the side, and rotating his body backwards so that the hitter first saw the pitcher's back, and then the ball

This is the way Marichal would pitch during his first years as an amateur, and also for a big part of his stay in the Minors.

Another important change for him came in 1959 when he was playing for Springfield, a Class «A» team belonging to the San Francisco Giants. His manager at that time, Andy Gilbert, asked him the reason why he threw only from the side instead of throwing from above the arm. Marichal admitted that he had always done it that way with very good results. Gilbert explained to him that he should try to pitch from above the arm because it would be easier for him to deal with left-handed hitters. Juan was surprised by this conversation because in the Giants' organization, which had first signed him in 1957, everyone had been given instructions to let him develop all alone by himself.

This order had come from Carl Hubbell, a former star with the Giants and future Cooperstown immortal.

Hubbell had come to visit him during his first Minor League year in Michigan, in 1958. The word was already out about the quality of the young Dominican pitcher. «Let no one give him instructions. Leave him alone»>, Hubbell had said, in a version that was later confirmed. For this reason, Marichal did not understand why Gilbert had made such a recommendation. However, Juan decided to pay attention to him, so he started throwing from above the arm.

He had such good results that whenever he tried it he found himself raising his left foot a lot. So he kept doing this, going higher and higher, until he felt quite comfortable lifting his foot to incredible heights. That incredible leg lift would become his trademark for the rest of his career.

During that same season, one day Marichal came over to Gilbert and asked him how to pitch the «screwball», since he had heard a lot about this pitch.

Rubén Gómez, a famous Puerto Rican pitcher with the Giants, frequently used it when the team was still back in New York.

Gilbert gave him a theoretical explanation about the rotation contrary to the hand and wrist. Marichal practiced it over and over again. He then started to use this pitch frequently until it became one of his principal weapons

Francisco-Viruta- Pichardo, his trainer in the Dominican Air Force, had taught him two important things. The first one: discipline in his work showed respect for the game, and the second one: that the art of pitching relied in having control. That it didn't much matter how hard you threw, it was enough to put the ball in a zone where the hitter would have dificulty swinging at it.

Control. Control. Control.

Those first lessons were more than enough Juan Antonio, the young guy, had become successful.

His first appearance in the province's baseball took place when he was only 16 years old

The local high school team wanted him in the roster, but they couldn't use him because all ballplayers had to be registered students at the school, and Juan was not much for studies. So he was placed in the Las Flores neighborhood team.

He was the main pitcher there Later on he was to attend the regional tournament where teams from the entire province participated. This is where his future started taking shape.

The Grenada Company used to operate in the community of Manzanillo, growing bananas to sell overseas This company was very involved in the town's recreational activities, and used to support many of them. They also sponsored the local amateur baseball team.

While pitching for Montecristi, Marichal had defeated the Manzanillo team, so the company's owners became interested in him

What followed were a job ofer, a weekly salary and an opportunity to change teams

JUAN MARICHAL

Juan got the approval from his mother and brothers and moved to Manzanillo. There, riding a small vehicle, he used to mow the lawn and take care of the town's flowers On the weekends, he was the Grenada team's pitcher.

That same year there was a national baseball tournament, and, sure enough, Juan was included in the team representing the province. The games were played in Manzanillo.

Juan showed his tremendous ability playing against the Dominican Air Force team, one of the most powerful ones in the entire country.

Ramfis Trujillo, son of the late dictator Rafael Trujillo, sponsored this team and was a sort of «Godfather.» He was Chief of the Air Force so he used to recruit the best players from all around the country for his team. Marichal was no exception. The next day after he defeated them, he received a mandatory telegram in his room at the Grenada Company saying: «Please report immediately to the Dominican Air Force Baseball team in Santo Domingo».

JUAN MARICHAL WITH THE GIANT'S UNIFORM

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

Marichal was confused Once again, he went home to talk to his mother and brothers.

Shortly thereafter, a second telegram arrived asking him why he had not come. In both occasions a military man in full uniform handed the telegrams to him.

It was impossible to escape.

The teenager, already 17 years old, would go to the capital city to play baseball earning a salary He would get 52 pesos a month, room and board, 27 pesos more than the regular salary for a private.

The doors were opening for his future as a professional baseball player. This was something that Doña Natividad did not quite understand.

GOOD CREDENTIALS

Marichal showed his good stuff all around the country and also in Mexico, where he went with the Dominican team in 1956, to participate in the World Youth Championship.

He would them play with the Air Force team in Curacao and Puerto Rico.

In Curacao he met Carlos -Patato- Pascual, a former pitcher with the Washington Senators who was a scout by then. He ofered to sign him on but this promise never materialized.

In Puerto Rico, the same thing happened with Pepe Ceda, who offered him 5 thousand dollars, but he never came to Santo Domingo with the contract. He was definitely signed by Horacio Martínez and Alejandro Pompez, a Cuban who used to work for the New York Giants. Horacio won the bid for several reasons. He was a friend of Gonzalo Marichal, Juan's brother, and he had already signed Manuel Mota, Felipe and Mateo Alou, as well as Danilo Rivas. Besides, he was a business associate and also a close friend of Francisco Martínez Alba, better known as Paquito, president of the Escogido team and brother of Dictator Trujillo's wife, Mrs. María Martínez.

Ramfis Trujillo approved the contract. On September 16th, 1957, a black Lincoln Continental car that belonged to Paquito picked Juan up at the Air Force base and they signed the contract at his home

Juan got a 500-dollar bonus, which was enough for a lot of things. Part of the money went to the hands of his mother and Gonzalo. With his share, he purchased some new clothes, and he even managed to save some money.

Marichal was already a professional baseball player. A month later, on October 16th, he was invited to the Trujillo Stadium to watch an exhibition game between a Dominican team and the Willie Mays' stars, visiting the country on a promotional Caribbean tour. Mays played in that game and Juan was quite impressed.

He already knew they both belonged to the same organization, the Giants. But Juan did not know that he would play next to Mays for a long time and that together they would live many emotional episodes

When he left for the Minor League Giants organization in the 1958 spring, his heart was beating fast. He brought with him a collection of Dominican singers' records to keep him company.

They finally assigned him to the Class «D> team in Michigan, in the center of the country. There he was lucky enough to have a Dominican catcher, René Marte, who made things a lot easier for him.

At one point during the season he felt really homesick for his country. He knew he had to learn how to live with this feeling, so he broke all the Dominican records and started a new life.

That year he had an impressive performance for no one could hit his pitches. He won 21, lost 8, with 1.87 ERA, stroke out 246 in 245 innings, allowed just 50 bases on balls while pitching 24 complete games.

This team was called the Michigan White Caps; Juan made 250 dollars a month, plus a 2.50 daily food allowance. He had a lot of fun there eating chicken because one of the city's restaurants used to give free fried chick-

en to the pitchers for each game won and also for each homerun hit by the batters.

Class «A» was a stronger league so they sent him over there the following year. He was in Springfield, close to New York. There he got together with Mota and René Marte again. He was making 450 dollars and things were a lot better then.

He had an 18-13 record with 2.39 ERA. He lost a 17 innings game 1-0 to the Reading Team from Cleveland His opponent, Julius Grant, also pitched the 17 innings. He had 23 complete games, 8 shutouts, and pitched 271 innings.

The young man had already presented his credentials as a good pitcher, and a very consistent one at that.

In 1960 he was sent to Tacoma, in Triple A, where he had an 11-5 record, 3.11 ERA, a total of 12 complete games and 121 strike outs in 139 innings. At long last, on July 9th, he was called to the Major Leagues for the last leg of his incredible baseball journey.

This same youngster who used to be up all night on Saturdays driving a tractor, mowing the loan or plowing the land to make a few bucks with which to pay for his fare to Montecristi to play baseball, had finally taken the big jump. He had made it to the Major Leagues.

A DOUBLE COMMITMENT

Tom Sheehan was the Giants' manager in mid-1960. He had replaced Bill Rigney, who was fired.

Sheehan, however, was in no hurry to use young Marichal when he first joined the team on July 10th. 9 days went by before he was given the ball during a game in Philadelphia. The Giants were in a tour around the East. In the team he found a Dominican and Latin atmosphere. His friend Felipe Alou and the Puerto Ricans Orlando Cepeda, first base, and José Pagán, short stop, were all there. Things were not so bad after all.

JUAN MARICHAL WITH THE DODGERS' UNIFORM

His debut was on July 19th with a brilliant performance. He held the Phillies hitless until the 8th inning when pinch-hitter Clay Dalrymple came up with the first one. It turned out to be the only hit of the game and everyone was impressed by the new pitcher. Few of them suspected that they were watching a future member of the Hall of Fame

The Giants won 2-0, Juan stroke out 12 and made 115 pitches. Gene Mauch, the Philadelphia manager, said at the time: «His change-up is the best one I've seen in this league in a long time>.

They were also amazed by his high left leg kick. Carl Hubbell just happened to be around, and he made the following comment: «How and when did he learn to pitch like that, no one knows. One always imitates somebody else In Marichal's case, he has always been Marichal»>

That was the start of something big. He ended the season with a 6-2 record and 2.67 ERA, completing 6 games. He had lived up to his first commitment.

The second commitment would be in Santo Domingo. Since the year before he had met Alma Carvajal, a beautiful 15 year old young lady who lived at the San Francisco de Macorís Street, in the neighborhood of San Juan Bosco in the capital Trujillo City

Alma was the daughter of a retired Army lieutenant named Jose Altagracia Carvajal, and his wife, Ana Polonia Morales.

Juan used to visit this neighborhood to talk with his friends. Another Army guy, General José García Trujillo, also lived near-by and he enjoyed talking about baseball with Juan during his visits.

In these circumstances Marichal met Alma, and from the start they felt in love without her parents knowing Marichal came back for the 1961 season with a record of 13-10, with 3.89 ERA. The unlucky second year wasn't as good as the first one but it wasn't so bad either. Marichal was learning fast.

But things were not going well in his country.

On May 30th of that same year, 1961, dictator Trujillo had been killed in an ambush at the Malecón Avenue. Gangs took the streets, ransacking stores and destroying anything that had to with the Trujillo family The situation became quite unstable.

For this reason, when Juan left for spring training in March 1962, he was very disturbed. He was worried about Alma, to whom he was already engaged. Suddenly, at the end of March, he talked to his manager Alvin Dark and asked him for a leave of absence so that he could return to his country to get married Dark thought this was rather an unusual request for the baseball season was about to start in a couple of weeks. However, he agreed to Juan's taking a few days off.

The wedding took place on March 28th, 1962 at the Don Bosco Church.

Dr. Emil Kasse Acta, a person close to the Escogido Lions and future president of the team, was the best man. Alma's mother was the maid of honor.

The newlyweds honeymooned for 2 days at the Embajador Hotel, and Juan came back to spring training accompanied by Alma

Since 1960, Marichal used to live in a rooming house near Candlestick Park, the Giants' stadium. Felipe had recommended him to Mrs. Blanche Laverne Johnson. She had welcomed and taken care of him for a couple of years. Once he got married, he rented a house and moved in with his wife. His second commitment was fulfilled.

His concentration in the game was now total and Juan had the honor of pitching the opening game on April 9th for the Giants

He wanted to reciprocate the nice gesture of the team's manager in letting him go to Santo Domingo, so he gave him a present: a 6-0 victory over the Milwaukee Braves allowing only 3 hits. Hank Aaron stroke out 3 times.

Marichal made 14,500 dollars, 2 thousand 500 more than the previous year. Willie Mays, whose salary had been increased to 90 thousand that year,

brought in the first run with a homer off Warren Spahn. That was the first time that Juan faced the legendary lefty.

IN HIS COUNTRY

What sort of performance did Marichal have in his country? Since he was signed in 1957 he was assigned to the Escogido Lions for several reasons. Ramfis was a fan of that team and the Giants had a working agreement with them.

So, automatically, he came into the Red team His debut in the Dominican League was on December 29th, 1957, that is, a few months after having been signed. He had not yet traveled to the United States. It was a game between the Eagles and the Lions, at the Quisqueya Stadium. The Eagles were winning 6-0 in the ninth inning and the manager called Marichal. He stroke out the first batter, Dick Stuart, who was the homerun leader of the league with 8, and was on his way to a 14 homer season Then he also stroke out Ray Shearer, four balls to Frank Verdi and finally also stroke out Howard Gross. All 3 outs were by K's.

In the three years that followed, he would pitch over 100 innings in each season. Even in 1963, after winning 25 games and pitching 321 innings in the Big Leagues, he still wore the Red's uniform during the winter. He worked 92 1 innings, had a 7-3 record and 1 41 ERA

He participated in 8 championships series until 1973-74, his general record was 36-22 with 1.87 ERA.

ON HIS WAY TO COOPERSTOWN

What followed afterwards were great performances. His record in 1962 was 18-11, 3.35 ERA enjoying his new status as a married man. He showed his consistency with 18 complete games. He was in the All-Star game for the first time in his career and also in the World Series, for the Giants won the National League Title.

They played against the Yankees but had bad luck. The series was 2-1 favoring the Yankees and they were playing in New York. In the 5th inning, the Giants were winning 2-0 and Marichal, in his second turn at bat, found runners in first and second.

When he had a 2-strike count he was surprised because the manager ordered a sacrifice bunt. The bunt went foul, but the ball had hit his right hand index finger and he was in a lot of pain. Marichal could not come back to the series, which was finally won by the Yankees.

And it was a shame for he had only allowed 2 hits and had stroke out 5 hitters, including Mickey Mantle, twice He would never have another chance at the World Series.

His first great season was 1963 with 25-8 and 2.41, 18 complete games while striking out 248 in 321 innings.

That would be the first one out of four consecutive seasons with more than 20 wins. Lifetime, he won the extraordinary amount of 20 games in 6 occasions. Besides, his 1963 performance registered two other great accomplishments On June 15th he had thrown a no-hitter to the Houston Colts'45, a franchise that was on its second year in the National League. What's relevant about this game was that the Giants were home club and went to bat in their 8th inning with the score still tied at zero. Dick Drott was pitching for Houston.

<«If you are throwing a no-hitter and in the 8th inning no one has scored, you have no way of knowing whether you will be the winning or the losing pitcher», Marichal told the press then At the bottom of the 8th, San Francisco scored a run on doubles by Jim Davenport and Chuck Hiller, with two outs.

In the ninth inning, Marichal retired the opposition without any dificulty and the game ended in just 1 hour and 41 minutes.

34 years had gone by since the last no-hitter thrown by a Giants' pitcher; it had been Carl Hubbell against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hubbell just hap-

pened to be at the ballpark on that June 15th afternoon watching the Dominican pitcher's excellent performance. Only two men had reached first base, both on walks: Al Spangler in the 5th, and Bob Aspromonte in the 7th. He stroke out 5 and only made 89 pitches.

The Dominican Republic's president, Juan Bosch, sent him a congratulation telegram on behalf of the people. He had been the first president elected after the Trujillo's tyranny was over, however he'd be overthrown only 3 months later, on September 25th.

His other great achievement came on July 2nd that is 17 days later. By then Marichal was already 25 years old and was facing Milwaukee. Once again Warren Spahn, who was 42 years old, was their pitcher.

It was an exceptional game. During 16 innings, both pitchers were at the mound, and the score always tied at zero. Juan's manager, Alvin Dark, tried to take him out of the game in the 9th inning but Marichal always asked him not to. He said that he would go on pitching until the 42-yearold veteran did. Since he was much younger, he was embarrassed to leave the game.

At the end of the 16th inning the inevitable happened. Willie Mays ended the historical game when he hit a solo homerun, and it was over 1 to 0.

Marichal made 227 pitches and Spahn 201. The game lasted 4 hours and 10 minutes. Both pitchers were congratulated, as was also the Chief Umpire, Ken Burkhart, who had called balls and strikes all throughout the game

About half an hour after the end of the game, Spahn and Marichal ran into each other in the interior tunnels of the ballpark. They went over the game and Spahn also gave him advice on how to handle things, making a few recommendations on how to prepare himself for the following game. Juan had no strength for celebrations so he just went home and fell into bed

The next year, 1964, his record was 21-8, with 2.48 and 22 complete games;

and in 1965, 22-13 with 2.14. From the start of the season, his concern about his country never left him for the April Revolution had already started.

That was the year of his incident with John Roseboro, catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants had a bloody rivalry with this team. Sometimes things went beyond the sports area.

The incident was on August 22nd, 1965, in San Francisco Sandy Koufax was pitching for the Dodgers and Marichal for the Giants. At some point, Marichal was batting at home plate and he complained to Roseboro because he felt that while making a throw back to the pitcher, the ball had grazed him, coming dangerously close to his face and ear.

They exchanged a few harsh words and suddenly they stared to fight.

Marichal, with the bat still in his hands, hit Roseboro on the left side of the head causing heavy bleeding. He was not wearing the mask.

Juan was sanctioned with 8 games, plus a fine of 1,750 dollars. He was also threatened with a lawsuit. Roseboro was not penalized. This incident would reflect in his career forever and would also interfere with his election to the Hall of Fame.

In 1966 he went back to an extraordinary season with 25-6, 2 23 ERA, and 25 complete games while striking out 222.

His numbers went down to 14-10 the next year, 1967, but came back up the two years that followed. In 1968 he won 26 with 9 losses, and 2.43, impressing the Big Leagues with 30 complete games. He pitched 326 innings.

His last big year was 1969 with 21-11 and 2.10, going the complete distance in 27 occasions. The event that would shorten his career and make the following years very difficult and painful, took place during the 1970 spring.

The team had decided to go to Japan for spring training, and there they were with a zero C. temperature.

By the time they returned to Arizona, Juan had severe ear and throat infections so he was hospitalized. The doctor prescribed a penicillin injection but he made a serious mistake

JUAN MARICHAL

Juan recalls that the doctor did ask him whether or not he was allergic to penicillin and he replied that he never had one. However, the doctor did not carry out any allergy tests and just went ahead with the shot. He was seriously ill by then and not feeling well at all. A few days later the team's physician saw him in the massage room at the ballpark, and gave him still another antibiotic shot, which only made him feel worse. Not only did he miss the start of the season but several weeks as well. His backaches also increased. He tried to deal with his condition as best as he could, and that year he was 12-10 with a 4.11 ERA, the highest in his entire career.

However, he did come back the next year winning 18 and losing 11, with a 2.94 ERA. He pitched 18 complete games with only 159 strikeouts, and he realized that he was not the same person. It was evident that his back was damaged. He didn't know how the pains started, but he felt that there was a serious injury.

He used to sleep on the floor, and then tried putting wood boards under the mattress. Finally, he would end up sleeping in extremely hard mattresses, even after retiring from baseball.

In 1972 he had the worst season of all with 6-16 and 3.71. At the end of September he decided to go in for back surgery. Dr. Manuel Meub, a German-descent physician performed the surgery (a herniated disk in the 4th vertebra), which took place at the Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California.

Marichal had the feeling that he would never be the same pitcher he was before. His physical conditions were no longer the same. He came back for the 1973 season with 11-15 and 3.79 ERA, and his career with the Giants had already ended.

He was playing in the Dominican League with the Escogido team, trying to get back in shape before the following spring training.

On December 7th, 1973 while he was in Santiago with the Lions, he got

a call from Horace Stoneham, owner of the Giants, informing him that he had been sent over to the Boston Red Sox. They had sold him for 100 thousand dollars.

The news first came as a shock to him, but at the end, he accepted. His normal salary had been 175 thousand dollars per season and the Giants were not willing to continue spending that money in an injured pitcher. As simple as that. It was just business.

He went to the Boston spring training camp for a two-year contract which he could not comply with. He just had 11 starts that year with a 5-1 record and 4.89 ERA. At the end, he told the General Manager of the team, Richard O'Connell, that he was retiring and that he would not come back for the 1975 season. So it was agreed.

However, during the off season when he was resting in Santo Domingo, a group of friends talked him into making a come back with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a lifetime rival for Juan and the Giants.

Peter O'Malley, president of the Dodgers, and Monchín Pichardo, a friend of O'Malley in Santo Domingo, joined Manuel Mota to try to convince him.

This was an important tryout for him because playing for the Dodgers he could heal the old wounds opened in 1965, when he hit Roseboro with his bat. (His lifetime record against the Dodgers was 37-18). So he signed a contract with them but included a clause to the effect that if at any time he felt he could not continue, he would be allowed to retire.

The official announcement was made together with his new manager, Walter Alston. Willie Crawford had number 27 in the team so Juan had to which he did. It was number 46.

He only had two starts with the Dodgers. In the first one, against Houston, he went until the 4th inning when he was taken out of the game. In the he faced Cincinnati; he couldn't go past the third inning.

At the end of the game, he talked with his manager Alston and told him

he was retiring. Alston asked him to think about it, and said that they would talk things over the next day.

It was April 16th, 1975. He went home, picked up his wife Alma and together they went to purchase a gift for their daughter Ivette. It was her birthday. He felt greatly relieved. He was sure that a fine stage of his life was over.

The next day he told Alston that it was over and that he would not be coming back. Juan was ending his career with impressive statistics.

He had been in 9 All-Star games, and in 18 innings allowed only 1 run for a 1.50 ERA. He is the pitcher of the lifetime All-Star Team. He was the ERA leader in the National League in 1969 with 2.10. He was the first one in proportion of hits allowed (6.68) per each 9 innings pitched in 1966.

Four times he was leader in proportion of bases on balls allowed for each 9 innings pitched, compiling 1.82 lifetime.

He was leader in innings pitched in 1963 with 321, and also in 1968 with 326.

He was first in complete games in 1964 with 22, and in 1968 with 30.

He was leader in shutouts in 1965 with 10, and in 1969 with 8. He had a total of 52 shutouts lifetime, occupying the 18th position all-time

NEW IMMORTAL

The night of January 12th, 1983 Juan Marichal and Pepe Copello were in room 1504 of the Beverly Hotel in New York. The telephone rang. Jack Lang was calling. He was the secretary of the Major Leagues Baseball Writers Association. He said he wanted to see Juan in the morning in his office at the Sheraton Hotel.

Juan was in New York, among other things, for a live interview in NBC's «Today Show» that morning and also because it was near the date of the announcement of the new Cooperstown Immortals.

Marichal had been included in the ballots 5 years after his retirement, in 1981.

In that first opportunity he just received 237 votes, pretty far from the possibility of election. Only Bob Gibson had been chosen with 337 votes, leaving out such famous names as Don Drysdale, Gil Hodges and most of all Harmon Killebrew, who hit 573 homeruns lifetime

There was a great protest in the American press because Marichal and Killebrew were left out.

Even Gibson was emphatic when he commented «I don't think I was 100 points better than Marichal. The truth is I threw a lot harder, but he had great control and a lot of quality stuff>.

The Dominican press and many local sportsmen also complained bitterly. The expectations then moved on to January 1982, failing once again.

The new candidates were two big ones this time: Hank Aaron, with 755 homeruns, and Frank Robinson, with 586. They were both elected without any difficulty.

Juan, however, came in the third position with 305 votes, short only 7 to reach the required 75 per cent

As a consolation prize on February 18th, 1982, Juan was installed as immortal in the Hall of Fame of the San Francisco Bay.

Before that, on December 8th, 1981, Juan Antonio had been born, the first boy in the family of 6 children he had with Alma. The first five had all been girls, including the last one, Charlene, also born in Santo Domingo.

During the 1982 Christmas season, Marichal had sponsored a golf tournament in the city of Puerto Plata. One of his guests was John Roseboro, the same ballplayer that he had hit with his bat in that bloody fight in 1965. Roseboro had already forgiven him. To show that there were no hard feelings, he brought along his wife Barbara to give his full support to Juan for the Hall of Fame election.

So we are again back at the January 13th, 1983 scenario with Marichal and Pepe Copello leaving the television studio on their way to the Sheraton Hotel Centre, where Mr. Lang was waiting for them.

The news couldn't have been more exciting. Marichal was informed of his election together with Brooks Robinson, former third baseman of the Baltimore Orioles. Robinson had received 334 votes for a 91.1% while Juan had 313, for an 83.6%.

All the voices that were raised claiming for his election as a baseball immortal had, at long last, been heard. Justice had been served. Juan was going directly to the Hall of Fame.

Once back in his own country, he received all sorts of compliments both from government authorities and the people themselves

On July 31st of that same year the big moment came, at a great reunion in an open yard in front of the Cooperstown Museum and Library There were several thousand fans attending, including a large group of Dominicans that had been brought by Pepe and Margarita Copello

Next to Juan were his wife, children, and many of his dear friends Ramón and Johnny Naranjo, together with Freddy Mondesí, transmitted live for Dominican television via the Rahintel TV Station

Bowie Kuhn, the Major Leagues' Commissioner, proudly presented Juan: <His records were excellent, his leg kick will never be forgotten and neither will his love for this sport>.

Juan asked for permission to say a few words in Spanish, his native tongue.

This was the first time that this happened in Cooperstown. «I want to thank everyone on my behalf and also on behalf of my country, the Dominican Republic. It is a great honor to be here», Juan said, feeling both nervous and happy.

He was thinking about his mother, Doña Natividad, his brother Gonzalo, Viruta Pichardo, and so many others that had given him a helping hand in making his baseball career as extraordinary as it had been.

<Nobel Prize in Baseball»>, wrote the Dominican afternoon paper <El Nacional. > Four months before, on February 21st and 22nd, Juan had gone to visit Montecristi.

There he met all his former teammates from the Bermúdez amateur team with Papo Santos. They reminded him of his childhood, and even gave him the glove that he had used with the local team.

Emotions abounded and could not be contained. All this while, his mother Natividad could still not believe that her beloved son was a national hero. A baseball immortal in the Major Leagues. And all of this thanks to the baseball game That activity which had won over his heart a long time ago, even before he reached the age of 10, becoming a life time passion for him.

«El Manico» (The Youngest Brother), «El Monstruo de Laguna Verde> (The Monster of the Green Lake), «El Dandy Dominicano» (The Dominican Dandy) -some of the nicknames people have called him throughout his career- had at long last entered the illustrious Cooperstown family. He had definitely left behind that part of his life where the tractor, goats, cows and hens were important. Baseball had won.

FELIPE ALOU, MANAGER OF MONTREAL FOR 10 YEARS

FELIPE ALOU THE PIONEER, THE WINNER

BY ENRIQUE ROJAS.

Osvaldo Virgil was the first Dominican ever to play in the United States Major Leagues. This historical event took place on September 23rd, 1956 when Virgil appeared in the line-up of the New York Giants. However, Virgil, who became a ballplayer while attending an American school, was not entirely a product of Dominican baseball, even though this fact does not diminish the importance his debut had for his fellow countrymen Felipe Rojas Alou was the first born, raised, formed and signed ballplayer from the Dominican Republic to reach the Big Leagues. Alou had enough athletic conditions to participate in any sport other than baseball. He was signed on by Horacio Martínez, the first Dominican scout for the Giants, in 1956, exactly the same year that Virgil opened the doors for his countrymen.

At the moment when he signed to become a professional ballplayer, Alou had a few things going against his becoming a big leaguer: the racial issue had been overcome but it kept as an invisible wall against the non-white players; being a foreigner was yet another objection which the Afro-Americans did not have to deal with; and third and most important of all, the lack of confi-

FELIPE ALOU

dence Latins had in their own ability to play well. «When I was first signed, a sergeant from my country said I would never go above playing Class «A» ball.

In 1956, a sergeant was a top authority mainly because Haina was such a small town»>, Alou remembers. «That was the kind of support I got before I traveled outside my country for the first time. Nobody believed I would ever doubted my abilities sergeant ever be able to make it», added Alou <If that or maybe he was afraid I couldn't stand the pressure, he could have given me a word of advice, but he should have never written me off as a loser before the battle even started», said Alou.

It is quite possible that the sergeant in Haina had a lot of qualities, but projecting the talent of a ballplayer or evaluating the mental capacity of a man like Felipe Alou, were obviously not his strong points Two years after signing his first contract, Alou reached the Major Leagues and kept himself there, as a player, for 17 years. Since 1958 to this date, Alou has been close to the best baseball in the world and is one of the most respected figures in this industry. This outfielder hit .286 with 206 homeruns and 852 RBIs in 2,082 games in San Francisco, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Yankees, Montreal and Oakland. Felipe was the first Dominican star in the Major Leagues. Alou was not just any ballplayer In three different occasions he was chosen for the All-Star Games (1962, 66 and 68) and twice he was among the first 10 in the balloting for MVP in the National League (fifth in 1966 and tenth in 1968).

Alou was leader in hits twice (with 218 in 1966, and 210 in 1968), he was among the best seven hitters in the league in three diferent occasions and was the best lead-off man in baseball in 1966, when he hit .327 with 31 homers, six triples, 32 doubles, 122 runs scored and 74 RBIs with the Atlanta Braves.

Currently, after 30 years of retirement from active play, and after almost 400 Dominicans have reached the Major Leagues, Alou keeps himself among the first ones in his country in the principal offensive departments of all times. Alou is fourth in games played (2,082), turns at bat (7,339), hits (2,101) and

doubles (359); seventh in number of seasons played (17) and ninth in homeruns (206) and RBIs (852).

A BASEBALL FAMILY

Mateo and Jesús joined Felipe to form one of the most famous brothers' trilogies in the Major Leagues. Mateo made his debut with the Giants in 1960, even though it wasn't until he was transferred to the Pittsburgh Pirates that he became a real star. Jesús, the youngest of the three Alou, came in through the Giants' door to enter the big leagues in 1963. The Alou brothers made history on September 10th, 1963, in the Polo Grounds New York Stadiwhen they came to bat one right after the other during the eight inning of a game against the Mets.

The Giants were losing 3-0, when manager Alvin Dark called on Jesús to pinch-hit for shortstop José Pagán. In his first Major League's turn at bat, Jesús hit an inoffensive ground ball to shortstop. Then Dark brought in Mateo to pinch-hit for pitcher Bob Garibaldi. Mateo, who would later become

one of the finest hitters in the game, stroke out. Felipe, who had started out the game as the lead-off man in the Giants line-up, hit another ground ball. None of the Alou brothers could get the ball out of the infield during this historic event.

At least 17 other families have sent three or more brothers to the Big Leagues: five Delahanty, four O'Neill, and 15 other trios But only once have three brothers come to bat consecutively in the same inning and in an ascendant age order. When this happened, Jesús was 21 years old, Mateo 25 and Felipe 28.

On September 23rd, again playing the Mets, only this time in Candlestick Park at San Francisco, the Alou brothers wrote another page in the history of baseball when they appeared at the same time in the Giants' outfield. It was during the seventh inning. Mateo was in left field, Felipe went to centerfield to replace Willie Mays, and Jesús came in to play right field for Felipe. Once again, the three of them came to bat and were dominated in the eight inning, only this time the Giants won the game 13-4 with three homeruns by Willie McCovey. Mateo finished his career with the best batting average of the Alou brothers, .307. He was the National League's batting champ with a .342 average in 1966, and in 1969 he led the league in hits with 231 The only lefty in the family, Mateo hit seven times above .300. Jesús, a hitter without Felipe's power or Mateo's ability to make contact, hit .280 in 1,380 games in the Major Leagues. However, it is Moisés, Felipe's son, who is on his way to compiling the best numbers for the Alou family in the big leagues.

«A lot of people don't realize the tremendous personal and professional value of my son Moisés. He is a real hard-working athlete. He has had to overcome a lot of injuries and challenges in order to keep playing at the best level»>, said Felipe. <I admire my son more than any other ballplayer», Felipe added.

In his 13th season, at 37 years of age, Moisés enjoyed a fine period with the Chicago Cubs in the first half of the 2004 season. He led the team when his fellow countryman Sammy Sosa was out for over a month. Moisés kept the Cubs near the first place of the Central Division in the National League The

leftfielder was batting .288 with 18 homers and 47 RBIs in the first 70 games played by the Cubs. In 12-1/2 seasons with Pittsburgh, Montreal, Houston and Chicago, Moisés is hitting .300 with 257 homers and 1,033 RBIs. Moisés has hit over .300 in four different occasions and looked for his eight season having 20 or more homeruns, and his fifth with 100 or more RBIs.

Pitcher Mel Rojas, their nephew, has been the other Alou family member that got to the Major Leagues. Between 1990 and 1999, Rojas was 34-31 with 126 saved games and 3.82 ERA with the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers. Between 1994 and 1997, when he saved 97 games, Rojas was considered one of the best closers in baseball.

AN INDOMITABLE WARRIOR

Fear, panic, pressure and tension are common words among sportspersons. None of them, however, appear in Felipe Alou's vocabulary: «My parents taught me everything, especially not to be afraid. Fear is not something I really know», said Alou in May 2004.

At that time, San Francisco, the team managed by this Dominican since 2003, was playing a three game series with the Montreal Expos in Puerto Rico. They were trying hard to get out of one of the last places in the Western Division of the National League. The Giants had won 100 games in 2003, and just the year before had been five outs away from winning their first World Series since they moved out to San Francisco. However, they were of to a horrible season start in 2004 After two months of uncertainties, injuries and a slow start for most of their players; the Giants were coming into the third place of the division, behind the San Diego Padres and their forever rivals, Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Francisco press started to speculate on whether Alou was or wasn't too old to manage a team to a pennant race. That would make anybody lose sleep over but not Felipe Alou. «Never, never, not even when I was a player or a coach, or even when I managed the Montreal Expos for 10 years, did I wake up one day thinking about the possibility of losing my job. I have never

been afraid of something like that», said Alou. «This is the type of work that is measured in the long run and not on a day-to-day basis», added Alou, who is now close to 50 years in professional baseball.

San Francisco ended the month of April with a record of 10-14, five games away from the first place held by the Dodgers. On May 30th, they improved to 25-24, only two and a half games behind the Dodgers, and for June 27th they were in the first place of their division with 42-33 and a three game advantage.

With his 142-94 record in a season and a half managing the Giants, Alou brought up his global record to 833-811 in 11 and one half seasons as a Big League manager. «The Major League season is very long and it gives you the opportunity to recuperate. It has always been like that», said Alou, who was ratified by the Giants' top management as their manager for 2005, thus acknowledging his great performance. At the end of November 2002, the Giants signed Alou as the fifteenth manager of that ballclub since they moved out to San Francisco in 1958. For Alou this was like going back to his starting place. «To manage a Major League team is a privilege reserved for 30 men. But to be able to manage the same team that first opened its doors to you is what makes this job so special», said Alou Nevertheless, going to work for the Giants also meant an enormous amount of pressure for him.

The 2002 Giants had gone all the way to the World Series managed by one of the most popular people in San Francisco, Dusty Baker, and on top of it all, several stars had left the city after their loss to Anaheim in the fall series. Without second baseman Jeff Kent to back-up the great Barry Bonds in the line-up and without the closer Robb Nan in the bullpen, the Dominican took the Giants to winning 100 games and the Western Division title, before the Florida Marlins defeated them in the first round of the playoffs. <A lot of people doubted that I could do the job. Some even said that I was too old, others that I could not replace Baker, and some even suggested that I wouldn't get along well with Bonds», said Alou, now 70 years old. «I think they were all wrong The lack of support has always marked my career ever since the

very beginning. First it was that sergeant in my hometown and then many others have followed»><.

50 YEARS WINNING

Even before he left Haina, a small town south of Santo Domingo, Felipe

Alou has been a real winner.

The first of six children fathered by José Altagracia Rojas and Virginia Alou Reynoso, he was a member of the Dominican baseball selection that won the gold medal in the 1955 Pan-American Games. The baseball gold medal was the only one that the Dominican Republic ever won in a team sports until the female volleyball team won gold in the Pan-American games held in Santo Domingo in 2003.

Alou was also a good track and field athlete and he was a member of the national selection that participated in the 1955 Pan-American games held in Mexico City.

Being only 20 years old and without any knowledge at all about the world

beyond Haina, Alou headed towards the Giants' training camp in 1956. Due to the slow process at the American Consulate to get a United States visa, he arrived a little bit late for spring training.

During his first season in organized baseball, Alou hit .380 with 21 homeruns, 99 RBIs, 48 stolen bases, and 111 runs scored in 119 games in Cocoa (Class «A»). Two years later he became the second Dominican to make his debut in the Majors and the first one to leave directly from this island in route to the Big Leagues. Osvaldo Virgil, who had made his debut with the Giants in 1956, went to school and lived in the United States before he played in the Majors. This Dominican was a manager in the Minors for 12 years before he was appointed manager of the Montreal Expos in 1992. Ever since that time, he had a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable people in the game and has been an emblematical figure for baseball.

Alou is the eight best winning active manager in the Majors; he was Manager of the Year in the National League in 1994. That year Montreal was the best baseball team and was under way to their first playoffs when the players' strike stopped the season short and threatened to eradicate the game that is the favorite <national pastime» in the United States.

There was no crazy race for the pennant in September; there were no playoffs or World Series. However, the American Baseball Writers Association handed the individual awards to outstanding players and coaches, with Alou being selected as Manager of the Year.

A lot of people, among which are sports journalists, former players and Major League executives, believe that Felipe Alou will be in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame some day due in part to his great performance as a ballplayer, coach and manager. «<I remember all the challenges I had to overcome in order to be successful, and it seems to me like I have been in baseball for over a century», said Alou. «The first challenge was to convince my own people that a Dominican could get to the Major Leagues and do a good job there. Time and results have proven me right», he added.

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

FELIPE THE MANAGER

No other Dominican manager of any time may boast of having a résumé even close to Felipe's in professional baseball, neither in the Major nor the Minor Leagues, nor even in the Caribbean Winter Baseball. Three years after his retirement from active play, Alou made his managerial debut in 1977 and brought the West Palm Beach team, a branch of the Montreal Expos, to the first place of the Florida State League.

West Palm Beach, with a 77-65 record in the regular round, was defeated in the playofs for the championship but Alou left his particular mark of a successful man, now in a new stage of his career. Between 1978 and 1985, Alou was put in charge of Montreal's most important teams in the Class <A> strong and Double «A» leagues, only to be surprisingly returned to West Palm Beach in 1986. West Palm Beach, a small city located 60 miles north of Miami, had professional baseball teams since 1928; however, it wasn't until 1990 when, managed by Alou, they achieved their greatest glory. The Expos' branch led the Florida League with a 92-40 record, 14.5 games over the Vero Beach Dodgers, which finished second.

West Palm Beach defeated the Lakeland Tigers 2-1 in the semi finals, and Vero Beach 2-1 in the finals, in order to win the state championship guided by a 51 year old manager. Alou remained as the historical manager of that Florida team, which was the pioneer for the Expos, until they called him to replace Tom Runnells and take charge of the Big League team in May 1992.

At the same time of his tremendous accomplishments in the Minor Leagues, Alou became one of the most successful managers in the Caribbean Winter Baseball tournaments. Felipe was the manager for the Escogido Lions when they won the championship series in 1980-81, 81-82, 89-90 and 91-92. The February 1980 championship was a very rewarding one for him because it ended a long 12-year period by the Escogido without enjoying the sweet taste of victory. Alou brought the Lions to the first place of the regular season with

a 40-21 record, and they played against the Cibao Eagles in the final series.

The Escogido won the first game, lost the next three ones and the series was tied 4-4 after the first eight games of the playoffs scheduled for the best of nine games. With over 25 thousand fans present in the Quisqueya Stadium, the Eagles and the Lions were tied until the 13th inning when an American, lefty Jerry Agustine, walked Harry Spilman with the bases loaded so that the Escogido would leave the Eagles in the field.

Alou was also champion manager with the Caracas Lions, in the Winter Baseball League in Venezuela, during the 1979-80 season. In total, Alou managed for 12 seasons in the Minors (at the same time that he did it in the Caribbean) before preparing the first line-up for the Expos in the Majors. When Alou became their manager, the Expos had a record of 17-20 and were in the last places of the Eastern Division in the National League. Alou managed to get them back on the winning track and helped turn things around so the Expos had a 70-55 record the rest of the season, finishing in the second place, only nine games away from the Atlanta Braves. Alou would also be in the second place in 1993. Furthermore, his team had the best record in the National League, 74-40, when the players' strike cut the season short (on August 11th) during 1994.

For his performance that year, Alou was elected Manager of the Year in the National League. At the same time, the baseball world acknowledged that indeed he was the best manager of the Major Leagues, not only for his ability to win games but basically for his extraordinary talent to develop young players by turning them into real stars in a short period of time. Such is the case of outfielders Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom and Moisés Alou; the second baseman Delino Deshields and pitchers Pedro Martínez and John Wetteland. This practice of developing players and then selling them to the highest bidding teams had a negative effect on the Expos, to the point that they never finished ahead of the fourth position in four consecutive years, until they fired Alou in May 2001.

However, before his fall, which came as a result of Montreal's economic limitations and an austerity policy on the part of their management, Felipe made a gesture of extreme loyalty and sacrifice towards the Canadian franchise. During the 1998 winter the Dodgers appointed Kevin Malone as their General Manager. He had the mission of looking for an appropriate manager so that the club could come back to the first positions. The mega business News Corp., belonging to Australian millionaire Rupert Murdoch, had purchased the Dodgers to use them as an added attraction for the sports programs in his Fox Sports chain. Malone, who had worked with Alou in Montreal, had been given a lot of money to try to get Felipe. The Expos allowed the Dodgers to interview the Dominican manager. Malone went from Los Angeles to Haina to talk with Alou and apparently the deal was made. Alou received an offer of four million dollars for three seasons, one of the most fabulous contracts ever for a Big League manager. Notwithstanding the above, Alou tied his decision to a conversation with the owner of the Expos, Jefrey Loria, who at that time was struggling with the city of Montreal to have a new ballpark built. For Loria, it was of the utmost importance that Alou continue to manage the Expos, since this would help him get a much needed support from the Montreal taxpayers for the approval of the new stadium. Therefore, Alou rejected the Dodgers' offer, negotiated a new contract with the Expos and went on a crusade so that this franchise could get a new home. The stadium was never approved; Loria fired Felipe and later on sold the Expos, which are currently nomads in the world of baseball. At the present time, Alou enjoys a pleasant stay in San Francisco; a baseball-loving city where he started his career almost 50 years ago.

SAMMY SOSA

SUGAR CANE AND BASEBALL

In December 1998, the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, was reading his State of the Nation speech. Sammy Sosa was among the guests. That same month, Mrs. Hillary Clinton had invited Sammy to light the Christmas tree. This was a very special honor for a baseball player from the Dominican Republic.

In October of that same year, 2 months before, Sosa had been in New York visiting the St Patrick's Cathedral where Cardinal O'Connor had complimented him and together with the widow of former baseball star, Jackie Robinson, had given him a special prize to honor the memory of the first AfroAmerican player in the Major Leagues.

The Mayor of New York, Rudolph Guilliani, had also given him the keys to the city, which Sammy returned to the community, saying that the immigrants were really the ones who deserved them.

In November of that year, an All-Star team from the Big Leagues traveled to Japan for some exhibition games. Sammy was in that group and while in Japan he was worthy of a lot of tributes, including one from Emperor Hirohito himself.

In October, Sosa made the first pitch in the World Series opening game at

SAMMY SOSA

Yankee Stadium when they played the San Diego Padres for an eventual four game sweep.

It was right there, in that same Yankee Stadium, where he had batted the first hit of his career on June 16th, 1989 against the right-hander Andy Hawkins. Five days later, in Boston, he hit his first homerun against a future immortal Hall of Famer, Roger Clemens.

All these events were taking place in the life of a man who had once been a child in the dusty streets of the Consuelo Sugar Mill in San Pedro Macorís...and it was simply incredible.

During a long time, after his birth into the hands of a midwife, on the afternoon of November 12th, 1968, poverty had been his loyal companion, not only for him but also for his mother and his siblings

A pretty big family too, for at the beginning there were 5 children (3 boys and 2 girls), which later became 10, and the situation got real complicated Mireya Sosa, his mother, already had 5 children when her husband Juan Bautista Montero (also known as Inesito), abandoned her in 1975 Inesito, a sugar cane worker in Consuelo, would die months later in Azua, and the family was left without a fatherly figure. However, Inesito had left another 5 orphan children that, when added to Mireya's 5, made it a crowd of 10. This big group had to be fed.

To Mireya, this was no time to sit down and cry. Her first initiative was the home lottery business (raffles), then she followed suit with a bingo game in her own home; she also used to cook for others and did household chores. When Inesito's children decided to leave home, one by one, she was left with her original group of 5 including Maiky, Samuel's nickname. The family kept growing when Mireya decided, sometime later, to accept a new companion. Her new man was Carlos Peralta, a truck driver. Carlos also brought along his 3 children, which turned the group into 8. With Carlos' arrival they made a decision to move out from Consuelo, the old sugar mill in San Pedro de Macorís because there was a lot of poverty there.

Their first stop was Bayaguana, and then they stayed in San Luis for a while, another sugar mill located in the outskirts of that city. They finally came to Santo Domingo, taking up residence in the Villa Francisca neighborhood, practically in the center of the Dominican capital city.

Life in Villa Francisca was also marked by extreme poverty Young Maiky used to make some money shining shoes at the Enriquillo Park It was the end of the 70's They decided then to come back to their hometown, Macorís

But they did not go back to Consuelo

They managed to settle in a very poor neighborhood, Barrio Méjico, near the Tetelo Vargas Stadium The family was already in the center of this city where a new life awaited them all Samuel somehow took advantage of the new surroundings

His daily activities were carried out at the Duarte Park. There he kept shining shoes and also washed and took care of other people's cars.

Across the street from the park, there were several food and beverage business. Some Dominican ballplayers who were trying to become successful in the Majors, but who already had been able to purchase luxury cars, use to visit these places frequently.

Without even realizing it, Maiky started to offer his services to older players such as Pedro Guerrero, George Bell, Joaquín Andújar, Alfredo Grifin, Nelson Norman, and Jesús Frías.

Some of them, like Norman and Frías, had started playing baseball at the old ballpark in Barrio Nuevo, Consuelo.

One of Samuel's brothers, Luis, had tried to play baseball but his conditions were limited. It was Luis himself who first motivated the young shoeshiner into playing baseball and, at the beginning of the 80s, they started to teach him the game.

At that time, Luis had managed to get a job at the free zone in San Pedro de Macorís. Samuel had become friends with an American who was an investor in the free zone, Mr. Bill Chase.

Chase had first known Samuel as part of the shoe-shining group of kids that hung around the beach area, San Pedro's boardwalk. He liked the young boy, and when he was growing up, he gave him a baseball glove.

Chase had first known Samuel as part of the shoe-shining group of kids that hung around the beach area, San Pedro’s boardwalk. He liked the young boy, and when he was growing up, he gave him a baseball glove.

By mid-80s, they considered that Samuel was ready to be signed. Several

By mid-80s, they considered that Samuel was ready to be signed. Several attempts and promises came along.

attempts and promises came along

Amado Dinzey, a former player that used to work for the Texas Rangers

Amado Dinzey, a former player that used to work for the Texas Rangers saw him, and recommended him to his boss, Omar Minaya.

saw him, and recommended him to his boss, Omar Minaya

His chance came when Minaya was visiting a resort hotel in Puerto Plata He asked Dinzey and Luis to bring Samuel there...and that’s how it hap- pened. Minaya liked the ballplayer and he was signed on July 30", 1985.

His chance came when Minaya was visiting a resort hotel in Puerto Plata. He asked Dinzey and Luis to bring Samuel there...and that's how it happened. Minaya liked the ballplayer and he was signed on July 30th, 1985.

Maiky received 3,500 dollars, money that he used for different purposes Among his priorities were his mother and friends. For himself, he bought a bicycle.

Maiky received 3,500 dollars, money that he used for diferent purposes. Among his priorities were his mother and friends. For himself, he bought a bicycle.

How had Mireya’syoung son become a professional ballplayer?

How had Mireya's young son become a professional ballplayer?

SAMMY SOSA IS THE ONLY ONE WITH THREE SEASONS HITTING MORE THAN 60 HOMERS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES

How, if in Consuelo he had to run behind the sugar cane trucks to grab a few sticks with which to mitigate his hunger?

The truth is that baseball had become an obsession to get the family out of their extreme poverty.

They had been encouraged by the arrival of a strong muscular member of the Consuelo community, Ricardo Carty, who had been signed on as far back as 1959, and became quite successful in the Major Leagues. Every winter, Carty used to come to the sugar mill driving a huge Chevrolet car, giving out presents galore.

Or perhaps they had been motivated by the Oriental Stars' victory in 1968. During that month of February everyone in San Pedro de Macorís, and all around the sugar mills had big celebrations for playing in the oriental team were three local boys from Consuelo: Carty, Jaime Davis and Rafael -El Gallo- Batista. (It was Gallo Batista who scored the winning run in the final game against Escogido, on that memorable February 14th, St. Valentine's Day).

In the 80s, there were already other players from San Pedro de Macorís who had made it big in the Majors.

All these things were in the minds of Luis, his friend Héctor Sterling, and also young Maiky, who was no longer that small for at 17, when he was signed, he was almost 6 ft. tall and weighed 150 lbs.

The first step had been taken. So next year Samuel played in the Texas Minor League system in Sarasota. With the first money he made he built a small house for his mother Mireya, in their same neighborhood, Barrio Méjico. Those first few dollars didn't amount to much. It wasn't the big deal, but it was a good start.

Big changes were under way Poverty would be overcome

A DIFFERENT MAN

On September 12th, 1998, in Chicago's Wrigley Field the names Maiky and Samuel had long ago disappeared. Now at bat was Sammy Sosa, and facing him was his countryman Valerio de los Santos, a left handed pitcher.

Sammy hit the ball out of the park for homerun number 60, and the American fans, inside and out of the ballpark, were very excited. That homer was the continuation of the big battle in which Sammy and Mark McGwire had been engaged for weeks and months.

Everyone got involved in this battle, baseball fans as well as those who weren't, got carried away.

People from the United States, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and of course, the Dominican Republic.

At that time, McGwire had already broken the 61 homeruns season record held by Roger Maris since 1961. 37 years had gone by since that record was set and no one had even come close to breaking it.

But McGwire had gone even farther. His 60th homer was on September 5th against the Mexican, Dennis Reyes, with Cincinnati. On the 7th he hit his number 61 against Mike Morgan, from the Cubs, which means that Sammy was present at that game. He would also watch number 62.

Saint Louis was the place and what happened afterwards was simply extraordinary. When McGwire hit his homer over the left field, Sammy, who was playing right field then, immediately ran to first base and when McGwire finished running the bases, they enthusiastically embraced.

The image of McGwire lifting Sammy from the waist would remain forever in the minds of everyone there. McGwire had tied the record, and Sosa, by sheer coincidence, had been there to congratulate him.

This was a very meaningful occasion since Sammy had decided, over two months ago, not to challenge McGwire with his possibility of breaking this record.

From the very beginning of this «homerun battle», Sammy always said that McGwire «<is the man, he's the one with the greater possibility of doing it. I'll just be happy to help my team go on to the playoffs», he declared over and over again. This not only showed what an extraordinary athlete he was, but also a generous one with the kindest feelings.

He not only won the hearts of the American fans but also of the people from the entire continent.

McGwire finally hit his 62nd homerun the next day against Steve Trachsell, and right in front of Sammy. They were playing in St. Louis, home of the Cardinals and also McGwire's. The ritual was again the same.

The Cubs' slugger would reach his goal the very next day when he hit his 60th homer, on September 13th.

On that date, Sammy hit two homeruns, numbers 61 and 62, also breaking Maris' old record.

The sports world, and also the non-sports one, went crazy.

A lot more was yet to come, since the month was only in its 13th day.

After that, McGwire continued in route to his record breaking 70 homers.

He hit one in each game on September 15th, 18th, 20th, and 25th, 2 on the 26th against Montreal and 2 on the 27th, also while playing Montreal. The last 5 homers were during a three-game series with the Expos.

It was ironic that Montreal's manager then was also a Dominican, Felipe

Alou He had declared that his staff would pitch normally to McGwire. Felipe wanted everyone to understand, even though he did not use those exact words, that he would not be the one to interfere with this show What happened to Sammy? After his 2 homers on the 13th, he hit number 63 on the 16th in San Diego. Then there was a long stretch, and 64 and 65 came on the 23rd in Milwaukee, against another native, Rafael Roque, and Ron Henderson.

His number 66, last of the season, came off his bat on September 25th against José Lima, from Houston, and there was something very funny there. At that time, McGwire had 65, which means they were tied. When Sammy hit his 66 he became the leader, but that lasted for only 45 minutes. After this, McGwire hit his 66 in the game with the Expos. In the last series played by the Cubs, the Dominican wasn't able to hit any more homers, while McGwire kept on going until he reached 70. Chicago moved on to the post-season, McGwire won the homerun title and Sammy, everyone's heart. This was so true that afterwards Sammy was given the MVP award in the National League.

(Another Latin player, Puerto Rican, Juan Igor González, won it in the American League).

Sammy Sosa, the kid that used to be called Maiky, had become an almost international idol.

Money was no longer a problem, Mireya would no longer have to organize raffles, nor wash or cook for others. His goal had been accomplished.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

Looking back, Sosa and his family could hardly believe he had gone so far. When he first signed with Texas, in 1985, he started to travel to the Minors and worked real hard.

He played for an entire year in Class «A,» another in Double «A,» and while in this circuit he was brought up to the Big League team in 1989.

There he met Julio César Franco, another product of Consuelo's sugar cane dusty fields.

In fact, his teammate Franco became a sort of counselor which would certainly help him a lot.

But Sammy came back to the Minors the following year, and from there he was sent over to the Chicago White Sox.

He visited the Vancouver team in Canada, the White Sox's Triple <A> team, until he found a place with the Big League team.

His future, of course, was not in that side of the city. Not at Comiskey Park.

It was on the other side, in Wrigley Field, and that's where the White Sox sent him in March, 1992 in an exchange involving his countryman George Bell, who also happened to come from his hometown.

Bell was sort of special to Sammy because he had been the first Dominican to get an MVP in the Major Leagues, in 1987, while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays Bell hit 47 homeruns with 134 RBIs

So, he became familiar with the Cubs and their sad history of not having been able to win a World Series since 1908.

His real production began in 1993 when he was able to combine 30-30 in homers and stolen bases. He would do it again two years later, before the start of his great 1998 season.

Sosa recalls the great influence that trainer Jeff Pentland had on his career. He was a specialist in several sports whose advice completely changed his batting techniques. Pentland also motivated him to study diferent techniques, to practice constantly and to be disciplined in his work.

Meanwhile, Sosa always visited San Pedro during the winter time. He used to give out baseball gear and money to his former pals in the Duarte Park, even to those who were already grown men but had shined shoes with him.

As far as his personal life was concerned, in 1991 he had married his wife Sonia, a beautiful woman who used to work as an entertainer in a television

station in the Dominican Republic. Kenia was his first daughter and another three children would come over the following years.

He purchased a new house in Santo Domingo, apartments in Miami and Chicago, and even a villa in Casa de Campo, La Romana.

In the baseball field the battle with McGwire continued in 1999 when they also amazed the sports world. They competed against each other during the entire year. Sammy was again second with 63, while McGwire repeated his terrific numbers going over the fence in 65 occasions.

In the year 2000, however there was a radical change. McGwire suddenly became injured in one of his knees and his vision started to fail. He wasn't able to see the pitches made to him, which was attributed to the use of supplementary forbidden substances (androteneidone), that the player himself had previously admitted taking.

That year McGwire hit 32 homeruns for he only participated in 89 games.

Sammy hit 50, ironically leading the league for the first time and thus getting his first title in this department.

In 2001, McGwire's health problems were still there so he only played in 97 games. He hit 29 homeruns for a grand total of 583 lifetime. He didn't come back in 2002.

Sammy did very well that year. He came back to the magical number of 60 homers, hitting 64, becoming the first and only player having three seasons with at least 60 homeruns.

However, Sammy was only part of the real show that year. A new, rejuvenated Bonds came back into action with a 73 homeruns season and everyone was flabbergasted.

Bonds would come down to 46 in 2002 for he had received 198 bases on balls, breaking his own record for the year before when he got 177 walks. Sosa hit 49 homeruns and led the league for the second time.

The year 2003 was sort of special for this Dominican player. A health prob-

IN 2004

SAMMY SOSA WAS IN THE 7TH PLACE OF THE ALLTIME HOMERUN HITTERS

lem with the toenail of his right foot combined with a broken bat that just happened to have cork inside, made Sammy miss out over a month of play.

lem with the toenail of his right foot combined with a broken bat that just happened to have cork inside, made Sammy miss out over a month of play.

The cork bat caused a great deal of talk Sammy admitted that it was a bat which he used for batting practices and at some other times, but that it had fined, beenamistaketouseitthatnightonJune3™ He and asaresultofwhichhemissed7games.Hewasout June|[thtothe17",

The cork bat caused a great deal of talk Sammy admitted that it was a bat which he used for batting practices and at some other times, but that it had been a mistake to use it that night on June 3rd. He apologized and was fined, as a result of which he missed 7 games. He was out from June 11th to the 17th.

The Chief Umpire that called out the sanction was Tim McClelland.

he had used before and had been brought over to the Cooperstown Hall of

i i ee Shee found in any other

The Chief Umpire that called out the sanction TimMcClelland However, Fame or were in exhibition ments. No anomaly was the Baseball Commissioner’s at Wrigley Field, as a souvenir of his bats. apologized was from was office x-rayed some 25 bats which for his accomplish-

However, the Baseball Commissioner's office x-rayed some 25 bats which he had used before and had been brought over to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame or were in exhibition at Wrigley Field, as a souvenir for his accomplishments. No anomaly was found in any other of his bats.

Sammy finalized the season with 40 homers but he had already entered the 500 club.

DOMINICAN BASEBALL

He started the season with 499, and his 500th was hit on April 4th in Cincinnati, against right handed Scott Sullivan. Bonds ended the season with 45, and Jim Thome became the homerun leader in the league with 47. What is left for him now is to keep moving ahead on the list of the best alltime homerun hitters.

As of August 2004, Sosa had already gotten ahead of Reggie Jackson, in the 8th position lifetime, with over 563 homers. He had also left behind such famous names as Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Schmidt.

His great homerun production in the 5-year period (1998-2002) had made it easier for him to set some new records.

-His 292 homers in that period of time represented the highest amount ever for any player in history, besides being the only one with 3 seasons hitting over 60 homers.

-In 2003 he broke the record for most homeruns ever hit by a Cub player, which Ernie Banks (512) held.

-His 4 seasons with over 50 homeruns put him right next to Mark McGwire and Babe Ruth, both also with 4, a very special group.

-He owns the record for both leagues for most homeruns in a five-year period (292), for 6 years (328), for 7 years (368) for 8 years (404), and for 9 years (429).

-Up to 8 consecutive seasons with over 100 RBIs, forming part of an exclusive group right next to immortals Hall of Famers Mel Ott and Willie Mays.

-In 1998 he set a new record for most homeruns hit during a single month with 20, in June.

-He is the only member of the Cubs to combine 30-30 (homeruns and stolen bases, a combination of speed and power), which he did twice, in 1993 and 1995.

-Together with McGwire, he was chosen 1998 Man of the Year by Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News.

-In 1998 he received the Roberto Clemente Award for Man of the Year selected by Major League Baseball.

-He was elected the Most Valuable Player in the Major League tour to Japan in 1998, batting 24-12 for a .500 average, with 3 homeruns and 9 RBIs.

-In 1999 he was chosen as part of the Cubs' Team of the Century.

-In June 8th, 2003 he got the 2,000th hit of his entire career, a single of the Yankees' Mexican pitcher, Juan Acevedo

BASEBALL IS EQUAL TO MONEY

It is quite possible that one out of every thousand players in baseball has as many accomplishments as Sammy Sosa. Or maybe one in a million.

Mireya Sosa and her entire family are indeed very happy that her son was one of the lucky ones.

Money has abounded in ways they never even dreamed of.

When he first signed on with the Texas Major League team in 1989, he was making 68 thousand dollars.

The Dominican peso was then 9 to 1

The Cubs paid him 2 9 millions in 1994, 5 5 millions in 1997, 9 millions in 1999, 12 millions in 2001, and 16 millions in 2004.

Poverty is now part of the family's history. As was eating sugar cane when there was nothing else around.

Maiky is altogether another man; he has an immense fortune, mansions, cars, holdings, fame and glory.

Oh! If only the midwife, who brought him to life on that November 12th, 1968 afternoon, in an extremely poor home, located among the sugar cane fields of the Consuelo Sugar Mill in San Pedro de Macorís, could see him now.

Surely she'd cry with joy.

PEDRO MARTÍNEZ

MARTÍNEZ, WINNER OF 3 CY YOUNG AWARDS

When Alex Rodríguez signed the historic contract of 252 million dollars for 10 years with the Texas Rangers, during the winter of 2001, Americans wondered

Some people were crushed. They did not conceive so much money for just one athlete.

Dominicans also marveled.

They were proud that a ballplayer descendant from their country, such as Alex, would be the lucky one. However, it's only fair to say, Dominican fans had already felt this way some years ago.

It was in November, 1998 when another local player, Pedro Martínez, became the best paid player in the Major Leagues. The contract then was for 75 millions for 6 years, and Boston announced it with a fanfare. There was even an option for a seventh year for 17.5 millions (2004) that was taken by the club.

Boston had enough reasons for the entire racket for they had gotten someone who would go on to become the best pitcher in the business over the following years

So good, we would say, that during a 5 year period he got 3 Cy Youngs, an award which is given each year to the best pitcher of the season. Pedro got

PEDRO

PEDRO MARTÍNEZ

his first one before coming over to Boston, in 1997, while he was with the Montreal Expos.

With the Red Sox he won his second one in 1999, and immediately thereafter, in 2000, he won a third. That is to say that in just 4 years he had won 3 Cy Young's, and those were major accomplishments indeed

Besides, during the following years, he would really show the world how good a pitcher he was In five diferent occasions he led the league in ERA, and has kept, ever since, a won-lost average over 700, the number one in the history of the game

Who was this young pitcher, barely 175 lbs , and 5' 11"?

At the beginning Pedro was simply known as Ramón's (Martínez) younger brother He was trying to make room for himself with the Los Angeles Dodgers

During the years that followed, Ramón would become an excellent pitcher. He won 20 games in 1990, pitched a no-hit, no-run game to Florida in 1995 and stroke out 18 hitters in Atlanta in a 9 inning game.

In view of those fine credentials, it was not dificult at all to make one's debut as the younger brother. But it wasn't about that at all. Pedro would advance with his own resources and would go as high up in the ladder as to leave behind his own brother. Things would take a different turn altogether. Pedro was signed in 1988, and he played his first two championship series in the Dominican Republic's Summer League. Then, based on his own merits, he jumped over to the American Major Leagues.

He was coming from a broken and poor home. His mother, Leopoldina Martínez, was a native from Hato Mayor and had come to Santo Domingo to perform domestic chores. This included washing and ironing clothes to get a little extra money.

His father, Paulino Jaime, was a very special man. He made a living by working as a watchman first with the Government and then in private homes. At one of these homes, he met the woman who would go on to become his wife.

DOMINICAN

They used to live in the highest part of the city (Ensanche Capotillo), where their first two children, Ramón and Luz María, were born They then moved out to Manoguayabo, a poor people's neighborhood located in the outskirts of Santo Domingo. Other children were born then; one of them would be Pedro.

Paulino Jaime was a great baseball fan. He used to be a pitcher and, according to people that saw him pitch in Manoguayabo, he was very good.

Family members attribute to Paulino the talent inherited by both Ramón and Pedro. (A third brother, Jesús, was signed during the 90s, but he was not successful. He was left-handed).

Some time later, Pedro's parents separated but he still kept in touch with his father and so did Ramón. Both of them looked after his visual and other health problems. Leopoldina and Paulino finally formed new homes and went separate ways.

It was from this family situation that Pedro left for stardom.

PEDRO MARTÍNEZ ARRIVED IN BOSTON IN 1998

When the Dodgers signed him on in 1988 several people became his advisors. First of all, there was Rafael Ávila, Chief of the Dodgers' scouts, with whom Pedro would not have a friendly relationship over the years. Pedro was strong willed and a rebel. Ávila demanded discipline. Afterwards, there was Eleodoro Arias, a former amateur pitcher, and Elvio Jiménez who used to be a professional outfielder and Licey's coach. With these two he maintained a good, close relationship even after he became a successful Major Leaguer.

He was in the Minors for a couple of more years before coming to the Majors in 1992. His relationship with the Dodgers' manager, Tom LaSorda, and their General Manager, Fred Claire was also unfortunate. With the Dodgers he was an intermediate relief pitcher, winning 10 games with 5 loses in 1993 and 2.61 ERA. Pedro had some good stuff and in every league that he worked he used to strike out more hitters than innings pitched. That year he stroke out 119 in 107 innings, but the Dodgers did not seem to realize that they had a valuable diamond in their hands. At the end of that season they needed a second baseman so they went to the market looking for one. They found Delino Deshields in Montreal and made the change one -to-one in November 19th of that same year.

For those days there was already a verbal disagreement between Pedro, LaSorda, and the rest of the Dodgers' executives.

The decision to change him was made because the organization did not really trust Pedro as a good starting pitcher. They used to say that with his low height and thin frame, he did not have a future as a starting pitcher.

Pedro himself made this comment. And, of course, he himself would see to it that they were proven wrong.

In Montreal he found a new friend, almost like a father to him because he trusted him so much. His name: Felipe Alou, manager of the Expos since the year before.

As of 1994, Pedro became a starting pitcher for the Expos. He kept learn-

ing and improving until he had his first really good year in 1997, with a record of 17-8, and 1 90 ERA to lead the league

But what became really outstanding in his performance were the 305 strike outs in 241 1 innings pitched His average was 11 4 strike outs per each 9 innings pitched He amazed the baseball world by winning the National League's Cy Young Award

He also amazed the Dominican world for he was the first native pitcher ever to win such award. There was a lot of frustration behind with Juan Marichal, who never received one even though he had a brilliant career winning over 20 games in 6 different occasions.

When he came back to the country, he received a warm hero's welcome and could barely find the time to attend all the activities held in his honor.

As it frequently happened at that time, Montreal did not have enough money with which to pay him so they decided to trade him before he became a free agent. He could have stayed another year with the Expos, but it was much better for this franchise to get new, young personnel, and release its star pitcher.

This is how he got to Boston with his big contract. The deal was made in November 18th, 1997 and the Expos received 2 young pitchers, Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr., from Venezuela.

Pedro arrived at a ball club under a lot of pressure. The last time they had won a World Series was back in 1918, while their neighbors, the Yankees were frequent champions.

Two years after winning the pennant, in 1920, Boston would sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, giving baseball, and this franchise in particular, a new face.

After this transaction, Ruth transformed baseball with his homeruns-<Ruth invented the homerun», was the popular phrase-. And the Yankees would win 26 world crowns ever since that time. Boston however, did not win again until 2004.

So the popular phrase that the Red Sox were marked with the «Bambino's curse» originated at that time

In Boston, Pedro would become involved in this legend, sometimes for better, some for worse

His battles against the Yankees became epic encounters

Sometimes he defeated them, like that unforgettable September 10th, 1999 when he threw a one-hit game and stroke out 17

At another times, he failed In all truth, the Yankees have been the toughest team for Pedro ever since he came over to the American League.

At one point, in the middle of the effervescence between the two teams, Pedro referred to the Bambino saying that they could put him in the line-up since that would not be a problem for him.

He said this in a harsh tone, and people in New York did not take it well, which only served to light the fire even more. But this was not about talking. Pedro became such a giant while in Boston. In his first year with them he was 19-7 and 2.89, and over the next two years he was simply superb.

PEDRO MARTÍNEZ

In 1999 he won the pitching Triple Crown with 23-4, was leader in ERA with 2.07, striking out 313 in 231.1 innings; extraordinary numbers indeed. His strike out percent went up to 13.2 for each 9 innings. He got his second Cy Young

And again he repeated the story with a third award in 2000 when he finished the season 18-6, and an extremely low 1 74 ERA, to lead the league

The 2001 season was a major set back in his career, because injuries in his right elbow prevented him from normal play and he was just 7-3 while undergoing intense physical therapy He was trying to avoid surgery

He came back in 2002 with 20-4 clearly demonstrating that his good stuff was still there That year there was a great dispute for he barely lost the Cy Young to Barry Zito, from Oakland.

When the 2004 season started, his record of 166 wins, 67 losses gave him a 712 average, making him the number one lifetime for pitchers with over 200 decisions.

He had 2,426 strike outs in 2,079 innings, and he had already gone over Juan Marichal among the Dominicans. (Juan ended up with 2,303).

He was also the ERA leader 5 times, and strike out leader another 3 times.

A terrific career, a permanent struggle against those people who never believed he had a chance at success because of his slender built.

As far as his personal life is concerned, he has maintained complete discretion and absolute secrecy. He has never admitted publicly whether or not he ever got married or how many children he has. He keeps asking people to respect this part of his life.

«Pedro, The Big One» has been his nickname for the longest while. That young boy from Manoguayabo still continues to reveal how big he really is in the playing field. He has been one of the all-time best.

ALEX RODRÍGUEZ OR THE PERFECT YOUNGSTER

IN 2001 ALEX RODRÍGUEZ SIGNED THE RICHEST CONTRACT IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES

The world of baseball was shaken up and down in the winter of the year 2000 when the Texas Rangers announced the contract they had just signed with ballplayer Alex Rodríguez.

The time lapse was 10 years and the amount involved was 252 million dollars, a contract only dreamed of by a movie star

But there he was, Tom Hicks in person, owner of the Texas team, glowing with pride upon acquiring the baseball player that is said to be the most complete one in the Major Leagues at this time. He was, in addition, the most sought after free agent to come along in a long time.

Alex had just finished his compulsory 6-year stay with the Seattle Mariners, the club that selected him as their number one pick back in June 1993.

At that time, his dream of becoming a professional athlete had come true.

Seattle, on the other hand, didn't have enough money to pay him what he was worth. In fact, they had been getting rid of their best players when they changed their star pitcher Randy Johnson, 2 years before.

They also had plans to negotiate their other star, outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr , which they would do a little later on

In Seattle his life hadn't been at all that bad.

ALEX RODRÍGUEZ

As far as team performance is concerned, they had been in the post-season 3 times since Alex first started to come up to the Majors sporadically in 1994

By the time he started to play full-time in 1996, he had already gotten a batting champ title and other honors. The fans treated him well and the money was increasing.

When the 6-year period was over, he wanted to try out as a free agent. There were many bids and a lot of teams were interested, but Texas retained the best player

Ironically though, things were not going well at all for Texas But that was not the case for him, since during his first three years in the Majors, Alex had the best statistics of his career

He was leader in homeruns for three consecutive years which was a rather unusual achievement, thus he became only the third batter to do so since 1932 (Only Harmon Killebrew, from Minnesota, had done it in 1962-64, and Grifey Jr., with Seattle in 1997-99).

He became the short stop with most homeruns in one single season, breaking Ernie Banks' old record of 47, set in 1950. He did this in only his first year with Texas, when he hit 55 homers.

In the defense, he finally broke the spell that he was more of a hitter rather than a defensive player, when he got 2 Golden Gloves in a row as the best short in the league during 2002 and 2003 The Venezuelan, Omar Vizquel, had won the Golden Glove in the American League for 9 consecutive years

There was, however, something that bothered him a lot for which he was not to blame Texas had been in the last place of their division during the three years he was there, and this fact, of course, disturbed him Something had to be done, but it was entirely out of his hands It was the team owner himself, Mr. Hicks, who took the initiative.

In March 2004, Rodríguez was transferred to the New York Yankees, the costlier and most complete team in the Major Leagues. As a result of this transaction, Texas received another Dominican player, Alfonso Soriano, and

would continue to pay a considerable portion of Alex's salary. Besides, he would be going to the club that had won more crowns in all the history of the game, the team with the best winning tradition in the Majors.

That is how Alex finally got to play for his hometown team, New York, where he was born on July 27th, 1975. Up to that moment, everything was fitting in smoothly.

He had some truly remarkable personal achievements; he was the best paid player in the Big Leagues; he would belong to the best team and the one with the best winning tradition: the New York Yankees.

He had surprised everybody once again when he accepted to change to third base, leaving his old shortstop position where he had won 2 consecutive Golden Gloves.

Derek Jeter, his friend during those first few years in the Majors, would continue to play position 6 for the Yankees, and Alex would move over to the «hot corner».

Craig Nettles, a former star player in this position, was brought in by the

ALEX RODRÍGUEZ AUTOGRAPHS SOUVENIRS

Yankees to tutor Alex during the trainings and teach him the secrets of a good third baseman.

Once with the Yankees, the challenges ahead of him were both different in nature yet relevant. It wasn't only a matter of becoming successful in his new position; there was also the need to help the team continue on the winning track, which they had accomplished during 6 consecutive years. Helping his team get to the post-season, and perhaps to another World Series.

Another challenge altogether.

At that point, while playing for Texas, Alex had 3 seasons in a row hitting over 40 homeruns (52, 57 and 47), and in each one of these he had led the league.

In New York, no other right-handed hitter had 40 homers since Joe DiMaggio hit 46 back in 1937. The Yankee Stadium is a ballpark made for lefties, not exactly favoring right-handed hitters.

The challenges and obstacles were present again in the life of the young 29 year old player.

ABOVE ALL, A DOMINICAN

Alex was born in New York on the night of July 27th, 1975, in a Manhattan Hospital.

His father, Víctor Rodríguez, and his mother, Lourdes Navarro, had emigrated there individually looking for the same thing as all immigrants: to improve their standard of living. Víctor was a native from San Juan de la Maguana, and there he had been a good amateur catcher. He even played softball well.

Víctor and Lourdes met in Santo Domingo, but they were married in New York. After the wedding, Víctor used to work in a shoe store. Lourdes used to get up early every day, at 4 o'clock in the morning, in order to take the train that would bring her over to General Motors. She worked in an assembly line. When young Alex was growing up, his father gave him a plastic baseball bat. This was the first baseball gear that the little one ever saw.

When his parents had managed to save a small amount of money, they decided to return to the Dominican Republic, which they did They moved into a neighborhood close to the Malecón (the seashore) in the 7th Kilometer of the Independencia Avenue. Alex would be around 4 years old then. His parents started running a pharmacy. There were two other brothers. In Santo Domingo, young Alex was growing up in a playing/school environment and by the time he was 7 years old, the family business was not going well and neither was his parents' relationship. They decided to go back to the United States, but this time they changed their course. Miami was their new destiny. While they were living in Miami there was a gloomy situation in the family. His father decided to move to New York on his own, promising his young son that he would return soon.

He never came back, and that event would forever be stuck to the mind of young Alex who at that time was barely 8 years old. <I was never able to understand how a father could abandon his family. Maybe I can see him at some point and he can explain it to me», said Alex in an autobiography when he was already an adult.

Doña Lourdes was both a father and a mother to her children. She worked as a waitress in a restaurant in order to support them. Alex recalls that one night his mother came home quite happy because she had gotten many tips. She threw dollar bills and coins on top of the table so that Alex could count the money. There were 40 dollars, a considerable amount, which surprised the child. Afterwards, life became a routine. They got used to not having a father and they were all quite busy at school and work. Doña Lourdes worked hard to raise her youngsters.

The doors to baseball were opened to him by the force of gravity. There was a school nearby that had a good baseball program for youngsters, directed by Juan Diego Arteaga, a gentleman of Cuban descent. Alex tells that he used to go there every day to watch both practices and games. One of those days, the catcher was out so Mr. Arteaga asked him if he

wanted to play and if he could catch the ball, to which Alex readily agreed. It was at that precise moment that he started the new relationship with baseball which would change his life.

He became a close friend of Arteaga's son, called J D , who also played baseball. Later on he would meet Eddy Rodríguez, a man that also ran a baseball program and who would become his coach and counselor. His lifetime friend.

Alex's baseball career started to take shape at the Westminster Christian High School. There he learned to play short, to strengthen his body and to hit the ball Little by little, he became a star who knew no boundaries

During the years that followed he was to become deeply saddened by Mr. Arteaga's death. He had suffered a heart attack, so Alex became even closer to his son, J.D.

He became a big baseball star He was leader of his team in the prep na-

ALEX RODRÍGUEZ

THE DAY OF HIS PRESENTATION

AT THE YANKEE STADIUM

DOMINICAN

tional championships and scouts from several colleges were already keeping an eye on him, and so were the Major Leagues'.

In 1992 he was part of the National Junior team, an honor reserved for the very best. He developed so fast that they didn't even allow him to go to College When he finished high school, he was already appearing in the amateur draft of the United States, being chosen by the Seattle Mariners as their number one pick. That was back in June, 1993.

Before all these events, the late Mr. Arteaga had made him a member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami, the youth organization which would welcome him forever.

As a member of the National Junior Team, Alex traveled to Mexico on a tour when the news about Hurricane Andrews took him by surprise. This hurricane devastated the city of Miami. He spent three days without being able to communicate at all with his family. of his school program, he had also played American Football and

As part

Basketball This latter sport he enjoys quite a bit and still practices it whenever he can.

THE MILLIONAIRE

It is only fair to admit that Alex Rodríguez did not have the kind of upbringing typical to most Dominican ballplayers, since almost all of them grew up in a situation of extreme poverty.

He was not fortunate enough to be raised in a wealthy environment, but the fact that he was born in New York and that his parents had an adequate cultural level, made his childhood a whole lot easier It's quite possible that his family's moves to different places and his father's leaving when he was only 8 might have been his principal difficulties in life.

At any rate, it must have been very pleasant to learn that he would eventually become a millionaire, when he was chosen as the number one pick on June 3rd, 1993 draft. The big money would arrive once and for all.

Fernando Arguelles, a scout with the Mariners, was responsible for his recommendation and signing. In fact, the first contract signed by Alex was good for three and money was divided to be paid over a three-year period years so the In each one of those 3 years he would receive the amount of 442,333 dollars, for a total of US$1,326,999.

What did this mean? First of all, that Doña Lourdes would be able to quit her job in the restaurant. That she could now take a break from the long working hours. Now she would be able to afford to buy her <own house»>.

The father? Don Víctor was out of the picture at that time and it would be quite a while, until after Rodríguez became successful in the Major Leagues, before they would see each other again.

Finally that day came and peace was re-established between father and son, even though it didn't involve the mother. Above everything else, the son forgave the father who continued to be away from the family Each one went on their separate ways, with new companions.

The contract also included special clauses which mostly dealt with Alex's talent. Seattle agreed to bring him up to their Big League team every year during the month of September. This clause applied even to the first year when they sent him over to Class «A» baseball.

That is the reason why in his record appears that he made his Major League's debut in 1994, the first year of his participation in organized baseball. His presentation took place on July 8th, during a game played in Boston. That day Alex went 3-0, but he had a couple of hits in next day's game. «The show just began for you», Griffey Jr., the star of the team, told him then.

During that first year, something really funny happened Alex started in Class «A», then he went to Double «A», then to the Big Leagues, but before the end of the season, Seattle returned him to the Minors, only this time he'd go to Triple A. That means that he played in all four baseball levels over a period of 6 months. When Seattle brought him up, he was only 18 years

old. He would become the youngest player in the last 15 years. He played in 17 games and his average was .204, without any homers.

When the season was over in the United States, Alex took the opportunity to play some winter baseball with the Escogido Lions. He showed his talent in the Dominican ballparks but was unable to hit well In 80 turns at bat his average was .175, so he left.

The following year he started the season in Jacksonville, in Double «A»>, until he was called up again, well into the season. In 1995 he started out in Calgary, Triple «A», but then came up to the Big Leagues appearing in 48 games, hitting 5 homers and averaging .232. He was still pretty raw, but only in appearance.

However, Seattle had already decided to give him a regular position as of 1996. That's exactly what they did and he had a remarkable season, batting 358, 36 homeruns, 12 RBIs, 141 runs scored and 54 doubles.

Alex won the batting champ title and everyone was pretty sure that he would never have another season quite like that one, with such ideal statistics. But this would not turn out to be completely true.

His future had many other things in stock for him, such as his three years leading the league in homeruns, all of them with Texas.

His MVP award in the American League in 2003, with a 298 batting average, 47 homers and 118 RBIs. His two Golden Gloves, making him the best shortstop in the league for 2 years in a row. As an example, in 2003, he was leader in fielding percentage with 989 and only 8 errors.

In 2003 he won the Hank Aaron Award for the third consecutive year, as the most offensive player in his league.

On April 2nd, 2003 he hit his 300th homerun against Ramón Ortiz, from Anaheim, becoming the youngest player in the history of the Major Leagues to reach that number (27 years, 249 days). The previous record was held by Jimmie Fox.

In 2004 he became the youngest player to hit 350 homeruns, breaking Ken Grifey, Jr.'s record. His accomplishments during his first 9 seasons in the Major

Leagues are exceptional, being close to 400 homeruns in a short period of only 9 years.

Ever since his debut on a full-time basis, in 1996, he has been elected every year to the All-Star game, except in 1999. In 2004, he was chosen in his new position as third baseman.

He has followed the example set by his principal idol, Cal Ripken, completely dedicating himself to the game. Twice, in 2001 and 2002, he has been leader in games played reaching the maximum of 162. He was leader in hits in 1998 with 213, in total bases in three occasions, in doubles in 1998 with 54, in RBIs in 2002 with 142. His tremendous production in the offense is unstoppable and in the defense he improves more and more every day

EVERYTHING PERFECT

Once, when Alex first started to play in Seattle in 1995-96, he arrived at the ballpark a lot earlier than the rest of his teammates... or so he thought.

He found two of them working out in the weight-lifting room.

He went out to the field and he also found Edgar Martínez, the Puerto Rican, taking batting practices.

The following day, practice was over at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Alex stayed at the ballpark and at 6 he went out to the field again. He saw Edgar Martínez practicing.

Why do you practice so much? Alex asked Edgar.

«Discipline. Only intense practice gives you good results»>, Martínez replied. Likewise, he also learned a few things from Cal Ripken that would be forever present in his life

«You just have to be disciplined in your work and have a lot of respect for this game», Ripken told him one day in March, previous to the spring training games

That's the way his idols spoke to him He has learned a whole lot from them

His friend Derek Jeter was the star of the Yankees During a long time they

had been close friends who spent a lot of time together. When Alex had to go to New York he used to stay at Jeter's house. Jeter did the same whenever he came over to Seattle.

Finally, they are playing together, in the same team, in 2004.

Alex has won a lot of money, both in baseball and also in publicity.

His 10-year contract with Texas brings him around 22 millions per year.

In October, 2002, he wanted to give back some of the money he has earned.

So he made a 3.9 million dollar donation to the University of Miami.

Every winter he is the host of an annual dinner which collects funds for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami. He is one of the 3 speakers for this organization. The other 2 are Colin Powell and Hollywood actor Denzel Washington. What about his other country, the Dominican Republic?

Besides his short stay when he was a child, we have already mentioned his participation with the Escogido team in the 1994-1995 championship. He comes back every winter, spends some time with the sports journalists and makes a few donations here and there, without requesting a lot of publicity. In Miami he has the Alex Rodríguez's Foundation.

In the winter of 2002, he married Cynthia Scurtis, born in the United States but whose parents are Greek. He met her in a gym and they are expecting their first child at the end of 2004.

It is quite possible that he never even imagined that his sports career would develop in such a perfect way.

He has been an almost perfect athlete in the field and also a perfect role model for children and youngsters outside the ballpark. There is only one goal left for him to achieve, and he admits it in his short biography: «Some day I want to go to college and graduate. I don't know how I'll be able to do it but it's a promise I made to myself>.

Until now, at the end of 2004, Alexander Emmanuel Rodríguez Navarro has been an exceptional case.

The closest there is to being a Perfect Kid.

A SPECIAL GROUP

MANNY RAMÍREZ

The 2004 Major League season had multiple attractions for both Dominican and international fans. Many local baseball players participated and some of them had truly outstanding performances.

They form a special group and their names are well known: Manny Ramírez, Miguel Tejada, Vladimir Guerrero, and Albert Pujols.

In only a short time some of them have gone a long way, becoming very successful and projecting themselves in a brilliant way in the long run. Ramírez is one of the strongest and more efficient hitters baseball has seen in the past 20 years. His fast swing and his hitting power to all sides of the field, make him out to be a first class slugger.

At 31 years, Manny has been batting champ, leader in RBIs and has been selected to 7 All-Star Games. In addition, he is rapidly closing in on the 400 homerun mark, which he should reach during the 2005 season. Manny comes from a humble neighborhood in the oriental area of Santo Domingo. He became a baseball player in the city of New York, where he moved with his family when he was about 10 years sold.

He started to play at a public school located in Washington Heights. He

ALBERT PUJOLS

MANNY RAMIREZ

was a much-feared hitter at the George Washington High School, becoming the best year after year and winning all the baseball awards, particularly during 1989, 90 and 91

He had such a good performance in this school that in 1999 he was brought up to the Hall of Fame of the New York Athletic School organization, together with Bobby Thomson, pitcher John Franco, infielder Shawon Dunston and basketball player Nate -Tiny- Archibald.

He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians as their number 1 choice in round 13, in 1991. After his tour in the Minor Leagues circuit between 1991 and 1992, he made his debut in the Major Leagues in the 1993 season, immediately showing his explosive bat.

His first full season was 1994, but it isn't until 1995 that he starts to exhibit all his power when he produced 31 homeruns and 107 RBIs. He would then continue to progress steadily. In 1998 he hit 45 homeruns, and 44 the following year when he also had 165 RBIs, setting a new record for Latin players. After 2000, Manny tries out as a free agent and signs a long-term contract with Boston for 8 years and 160 million dollars. The youngster from Washington Heights had really gone up in the world. In 2002, he is batting champ in the American league with a .349 average, together with 33 homers and 107 RBIs. He is not only a powerful hitter who has a natural talent for bringing in runs He's also a high average slugger, as proven by his 317 lifetime at the start of the 2004 season, one of the best among active players. Manny was born on May 30th, 1972. Baseball specialists firmly believe that he has the ability to reach 600 homers throughout his career, mainly because of his youth and enormous batting strength. His talent is really exceptional.

ALBERT PUJOLS

During the 2002 winter Albert Pujols was visiting Santo Domingo. The neighborhoods and friendly faces he saw were indeed very familiar to him. Los Trinitarios, Villa Mella, Cristo Rey. In these popular areas he had spent

his childhood and part of his adolescence By mid-90, when he was 16 years old, he had already shown tremendous ability for the game of baseball. His family then moved to the state of Missouri, and the kid got a scholarship at Maple Woods College in Kansas City.

In the school league he was a remarkable athlete. In a short time, 1998, he graduated from Fort Osage High School, located in the Independence community of the same state. Twice he won awards as the best school baseball player in Missouri. So the platform was ready and the St. Louis Cardinals picked him up in round 13 of the 1999 draft.

What happened to Albert Pujols in the Minor Leagues? In 2001 he played Class A, Double A, and a little bit of Triple A, especially during the play offs. The Cards' Minor League system moved him around all diferent levels. Surprisingly enough, when the 2001 spring training arrived, Pujols was invited to join in since he was in a 40 player roster. He had only spent one year in the Minors when the average player usually stays in this league for around 3 or 4 years, sometimes even longer.

He was such an impressive ballplayer that the management decided to leave him as part of the regular Big League team since they were in need of a third baseman at that time

He pleasantly surprised everyone. Pujols had a fabulous season with 590 turns at bat, .329 average, 37 homeruns and 130 RBIs, and of course he won the Rookie of the Year Award.

This youngster made quite an impact in the league, not only in the Cardinals' organization. What came afterwards, during the two years that followed, was more of the same or even better.

In 2002 he hit .314, with 34 homers and 127 RBIs; in 2003 he did much better with .359, 43 homers and 124 RBIs. He was batting champ; leader in RBIs with 137, in hits with 212, in total bases with 394, in doubles with 51, in extra bases with 95.

It was indeed an exceptional season, and he was second only to Barry Bonds in the balloting for the National League's MVP

With all these accomplishments, he received a lot of attention, and was honored in many occasions. The ballplayers chose him «Player of the Year> in a voting organized by Major League Baseball. They also elected him as the most «Outstanding Player» of the Year.

The Sporting News selected him as the «Player of the Year,» he received the Hank Aaron Award in a balloting among sportscasters and journalists. This award is usually given to the best hitter in the league. Likewise, he got the <Silver Slugger> award in a voting where managers and coaches participate. He joined Rogers Hornsby as the only other player in the history of the Cardinals to put together 40 homeruns and 200 hits in the same season. Horsnby had done it in 1922 with 42-250.

In his first three years he hit 114 homeruns, tying with Ralph Kiner the Major Leagues' record for most homeruns during the first three seasons by any player. He joined José Canseco and Mark McGwire as the only ballplayers to have hit at least 30 homeruns in each of their first 3 seasons. And to demonstrate how good he really is in the offense, during those three years he only stroke out 227 times, while receiving 220 bases on balls.

In 2002, he was elected «Man of the Year» for the St. Louis Chapter of the Journalists Association, and the same distinction came from the Missouri Athletic Club, also for that same year. The Black Leagues' Hall of Fame gave him the «Larry Doby Award» in 2002.

In the defense, at the beginning St. Louis put him in third base, then left field and also at first. As of 2004 he has become their regular first baseman, which appears to be his best position.

As far as his personal life goes, Albert married Deidre in St. Louis, and they have two children, Isabella and A. J. Alberto Jr. Born in January 16th, 1980, his youth and his talent clearly indicate that he is under way to a great career that will go down in history. A noteworthy situation is the value of all his contracts, and the amount of money he has gotten as a result. In 2001 he played under the minimum salary ruling (300 thousand

dollars), in 2002 he was paid 600 thousand, and in 2003 his salary was increased to 900 thousand.

What happened then? In the 2003 winter he signed a huge 7-year contract for 100 million dollars Fortune had appeared at his doorstep on a short term basis, a lot sooner than the great majority of his colleagues.

At 6' 3", 235 lbs., from any point of view, he has an incredible performance already going for him.

MIGUEL TEJADA

Miguel Tejada is a net baseball product. His MVP award in the American League in 2002 was not a casual event. He has also received many other. awards in his country, as well as in the United States. Being still very young in his hometown, Baní, he used to go to school, work and above all, practice his baseball game. Between the ages of 10 and 15 he certainly went to school, but at the same time he used to work in constructions.

However, Miguel was a natural ballplayer.

MIGUEL TEJADA

He knew this, and so did his family. Therefore, in 1993, when the Oakland Athletics signed him on in Dominican ground, acting upon a recommendation made by Juan Marichal, they were happy because they hired an authentic baseball player.

Tejada had already made history in amateur baseball. He was always present in his province's amateur games, especially those where money was handed out to the best players.

Once a teenager, in the years previous to his signing on as a professional, people started to call him «La Guagua» («The Bus») because he was so good at bringing in runs. (Buses usually carry a large amount of people).

Tejada was born in Baní, in May 25th, 1976. After he became so successful, few people in his country realized he was from the South. Since he started out in the Dominican League, he always played for the Cibao Eagles, and the fans naturally assumed that he was from the Cibao region in the North of the Dominican Republic. But this wasn't so.

Before going to the Major Leagues, he had to work very hard in the Minors to find his way up. He remained in the Minor Leagues' system between 1994 and 1997, when, at long last, Oakland brought him up to the Big Leagues.

Even then, in 1998 he returned to Double A and Triple A, until he definitely made the big team on that same year.

Tejada took over as regular short stop for the Athletics, and his name was already known as that of an outstanding shortstop.

There were three excellent short stops dominating the league at that time: Alex Rodríguez, Derek Jeter and Nomar Garcíaparra.

Tejada had to fight real hard to become a member of this elite group

In 2001, for example, his average was 267, 31 homers and 113 RBIs, a wonderful season for category. But in his particular case, he was any other competing against those other guys whose batting average was usually above 300.

His best chance came up in 2002 when he was able to hit .308, in addition to 34 homeruns and 131 RBIs.

He not only increased his numbers that year.

He also got the MVP, an award not received by any of the other three shortstops until that time. (Alex would get it in 2003).

Garcíaparra had been batting champ twice, Alex too, and Jeter had been MVP in a World Series.

But his MVP award in 2002 definitely put Tejada among the best shorts in the league, those that combined an excellent glove plus extraordinary hitting. In 2003 he repeated his good numbers (278-27-106), and then went to free agency to sign a 5-year, 70 million dollars contract with the Baltimore Orioles.

«The Bus» had really gone quite far. He has been one of the most talented Dominican players from the beginning of the century, and it looks as though he will remain among the very best for quite some time.

VLADIMIR GUERRERO

Vladimir Guerrero has been known as one of the best players in the Major Leagues ever since his debut in 1996.

But also, as one of the underestimated ones.

He is very quiet and hardly ever talks. In fact, almost 10 years after playing in the Big Leagues, he still needs a translator for interviews with the American press His records indicate that he didn't have much schooling but that he has been able to use his great ability to play ball in a natural way.

Practically almost all baseball books say that he was born in Nizao, a small town located in the province of Baní. But that is not the truth.

Vladimir and his brothers, Wilton and Julio, also professional ballplayers, were actually born in Don Gregorio, a small community near Nizao, about an hour from Santo Domingo, where he still lives with his father and brothers.

He is part of a family of 5, 4 of which are boys.

Several thousand people live in Don Gregorio. Vladimir, of course, is the center of attention there.

He is an important part of the community, for after having made a fortune in baseball, he has invested part of his resources there, thus creating new jobs for the people.

He has a company that supplies construction materials, and has also invested in agriculture and commercial fishing.

During the winter, anyone can travel to Don Gregorio without a previous appointment, and is likely to find Vladimir in the softball field playing with his lifetime friends.

Or perhaps having a beer in any bar there.

Vladimir built a very large house in mid-2004, for his plans are to remain living in Don Gregorio. Even after winning 28 million dollars in a 5-year deal with Montreal that ended in 2003. In spite of the new 72 million dollar contract for 6 years with Anaheim, which he signed on January 12th, 2004.

VLADIMIR GUERRERO

So much money and he continues to live in this small town where the standard of living is quite low? Vladimir is like that.

During his years in Montreal whenever the team played at the Olympic Stadium, he used to donate the tickets to 30 children from low income families so they could watch the game. These tickets were VIP and he also paid for their food during the game

He is doing the same thing now with his new team, Anaheim. He speaks through his bat and his glove. From his position in the right field, he has shown one of the strongest arms in modern baseball.

In 2002, he became part of an elite group of only 5 ballplayers, in the entire history of the Major Leagues, to have a 300 plus average, 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored during five consecutive seasons. He did this from 1998 to 2002.

The other members of this very special group are such illustrious names as Lou Gehrig (9 years, 1929-37), Babe Ruth (7 years, 1926-32), Jimmie Foxx (5 years, 1932-36) and Frank Thomas (5 years, 1993-97).

At the onset of the 2004 season, Vladimir has already become a .323 lifetime hitter, which places him among the first 5 for active players

When he hit his 200th homer in 2003, he was the second younger player to do so. He equaled Ken Griffey, Jr. (26 years, 182 days, the same as Grifey Jr.).

Besides, that same year he was only the 5th player to have two consecutive seasons with 30-30 (stolen bases and homeruns), joining Willie Mays (1956-57), Bobby Bonds (1977-78), Ron Gant (1990-91), and Barry Bonds (1995-97).

This performance was so spectacular that he was short only 2 homeruns for the 40-40 (38 homers and 40 stolen bases), something that has been done only by three other players.

When he left the Montreal Expos, he took with him the record for most homers lifetime in the franchise with 234, leaving Andrew Dawson behind with 225. Vladimir was born in February 26th, 1976 His mother, María Altagracia

Alvino, did household chores. His father, Damián Guerrero, worked in his own truck transporting construction materials.

They all lived quite modestly for money was not abundant. They went through elementary school and after they were grown-ups, Vladimir and Wilton tried to finish high school.

Since he has remained living among his own people, in his hometown, and investing his money there, they now call him «The town's God».

He has done quite a lot in baseball, and has a solid reputation as one of the best in the game. He was the American League's All-Star right fielder in 2004, his 5th participation in this important game.

Very soon, perhaps in 2005, he should go over the 300 homerun mark.

People often say he has no limits. We'll just have to wait and see.

IMMORTAL BASEBALL PLAYERS

Since the Dominican Republic is basically a baseball country, it's logical to suppose that its principal immortals come from the so called «King of Sports.> In the international level, however, several Dominican ballplayers have received such a distinction.

Above all, pitcher Juan Marichal, seems to stand out. The first and only Dominican elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, that small city in the State of New York. Marichal is, of course, also a member of the Dominican Republic's Hall of Fame. Several others have been declared immortals in small towns or even in big American cities, because they just happened to play for their teams when they were in the Minors.

Such is the case with Mario Melvin Soto, an immortal with the Cincinnati Reds, with which team he had a brilliant career in the Major Leagues. Marichal himself is also an immortal in the city of San Francisco and their baseball team, the Giants.

Julián Javier was installed as immortal in the city of Columbus, where he played in the Minors when he belonged to the Pittsburgh Pirates' organiza-

tion. Javier would become successful in the Majors with the St. Louis Cardinals, but the city of Charleston remembers him with a lot of affection.

The Dominican Sports Hall of Fame is the institution that every year honors the best in our sports. They have been doing this since 1967 when the first ceremony took place, and so far, they have held 38 consecutive events.

Until October 2004, a total of 267 national and foreign sportsmen, including athletes and sports promoters, have been admitted to this Hall of Fame.

Out of this total, 83 belong to the game of baseball, about 31%.

It's quite a large group and includes such prominent figures as Marichal, the 3 Alou brothers (Felipe, Mateo and Jesús), the Olivo brothers (Guayubín and Chichí), Manuel Mota, Javier, and Winston Llenas, among others.

Ironically, one of the greatest baseball executives of all times in the Dominican Republic, Domingo Ernesto -Monchín- Pichardo, is a distinguished member among those immortals in the Hall of Fame for his merits as a table tennis (ping pong) athlete during the 50s.

Pichardo is also part of a group of Dominicans in the Caribbean Series' Hall of Fame, which started in 1996. High-caliber baseball players such as Pedro Borbón, Ricardo Carty, George Bell and Manuel Mota are there too.

This group of 83 Dominican baseball immortals includes some promoters, those people who helped to form the teams or who otherwise had an outstanding participation in the playing field either as managers or in other positions.

Let's have a look at this list and review some details related to the best known immortals throughout the different stages of our baseball.

LUIS ALFAU: He was one of the pioneers in forming baseball teams in the first decades of the 20th Century. He founded the New Club team, before the 20s, and some time later he also participated in the creation of the Escogido Lions Baseball Club on February 17th, 1921. He was also part of the integration of the Trujillo City Dragons, in 1937, thanks to the merger between Escogido and Licey at that time. He became an immortal in the 1979 ceremony.

JOAQUÍN ANDÚJAR: A fine pitcher during the 80s and 90s, winner of 20 games twice in the Majors Andújar won 20 and lost 14 games in 1984 The following year he won 21, always with the St. Louis Cardinals. During his 13year career, he was 127-118 while playing for Houston, St. Louis and Oakland. In the Dominican League, he played with Escogido, Stars and Licey Tigers, for a total of 50 wins. Andújar also had his moments of glory when he won 2 World Series games in 1982 when St. Louis defeated the Milwaukee Brewers.

RAFAEL ÁVILA: A Cuban, who has had a very positive influence in Dominican baseball since his arrival here in 1972. At that time Ávila used to work for the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization and they sent him over here to supervise the work agreements with Dominican teams, especially Licey. This Cuban took up residence in this country which he has also adopted as his second homeland. Thanks to his initiative, in 1987 the Baseball Academy Campo Las Palmas was inaugurated in the Guerra zone, located in the outskirts of the capital city. This is perhaps the largest project of its kind ever to operate in this country. Campo Las Palmas was his creation, and as a result, our ballplayers started to develop and become successful in the Major Leagues when other teams followed through. Ávila also became involved with the national amateur baseball selections and was General Manager of the Eastern Sugar Caners when they won the national championship in 1995. He became an immortal in 1996.

THE BÁEZ BROTHERS: They are part of one of the famous trilogies of Dominican baseball players. Too bad that they played at a time when black athletes were not allowed in the Major Leagues. The Báez brothers were nicknamed <Grillo A», «Grillo B» and «Grillo C». Their real names were Pedro Antonio, Andrés Julio and Luis Arturo, in the same order as «A, B and C.> Grillo A, Pedro Antonio, played since he was 20 and turned out to be a good third baseman. He was manager of the Santiago team whose members were killed at the Rio Verde plane crash in 1948. His two brothers followed his

footsteps and played during the following decades. His youngest brother, Grillo C, played with Licey during the summer baseball season in 1951.

RAFAEL BATISTA: A genuine product from San Pedro de Macorís. He became a ballplayer at the Consuelo Sugar Mill. He was a first baseman, one of the most powerful left-handed hitters in Dominican winter ball. He played for the Oriental Stars for 20 years. He is the 5th best slugger in our baseball with 45 homeruns and leads several offense departments. In spite of his fine performance in his own country, he was not lucky in the Major Leagues. He became an immortal in 1991.

GEORGE BELL: One of the best homerun hitters in the country, Bell had a brilliant career in the Majors with the Toronto Blue Jays in the 80s. In 1987 he hit 47 homers, becoming the first Dominican ever to get an MVP award. In total he had 265 homeruns in his career and for several years he was leader among Dominicans. He was installed in the Hall of Fame in 1998 and is also a member of the Caribbean Series Hall of Fame.

PEDRO BORBÓN: He was the first authentic Dominican reliever in the

JOAQUÍN ANDUJAR

Majors, playing for Cincinnati's Big Red Machine in the 70s. He was a righthanded pitcher born in Mao He had 80 saves, 3 52 ERA and also played with the Licey Tigers in the Dominican League, being a key figure in their Caribbean Series titles in 1971 and 1973.

RICARDO CARTY: He's another son of the Consuelo Sugar Mill's baseball family in San Pedro de Macorís. He made his debut in the Major Leagues in 1964 with the Milwaukee Braves and his .330 average was enough to be considered for the Rookie of the Year Award. Afterwards, he would win the batting champ title in 1970 with a high .366 average, only the second Dominican to do so. He missed out the entire 1968 season when he had tuberculosis, but then he made a strong come back. He had a brilliant career in this country and was, for the longest while, the homerun leader of all times (until 2004) with 59. He became an immortal in 1989, and was part of the first of Caribbean Series' immortals in 1996 group

MIGUEL DILONÉ: He has been the most exciting baseball player in the entire history of Dominican baseball. He had an outstanding career with the Cibao

Eagles during the 70s and 80s, as an outfielder and fantastic base stealer. He was the first native player with the ability to fill the ballparks because his natural talent for stealing bases made him very famous. He still keeps the records for bases stolen with 395, and more hits with 877. In the Major Leagues he played for several teams but his best performance was with the Cleveland Indians. He became an Immortal in 2000 and has kept in baseball as a manager.

CÉSAR GERÓNIMO: Excellent centerfielder, one of the best all times. He had a great career with the Cincinnati Reds that dominated the National League during the 70s. He became known as a great defense «teacher>, getting 4 Golden Gloves. He participated in two World Series. He was also an important player for the Licey Tigers.

ALFREDO GRIFFIN: He was a well known short stop in the Big Leagues and also played in the Dominican League for 13 years with the Oriental Stars. He was the first Dominican to win the Rookie of the Year Award in 1979 while with the Toronto Blue Jays. He shared this award with an American, John Castino.

JULIÁN JAVIER: Even though the years have gone by, he still maintains his fame as the best defensive second baseman produced by the Dominican Republic. The quality of his defense projected him as the best in the National League during good many years, an honor he shared with other relevant figures. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and for the Cibao Eagles. After his retirement, he has kept close to professional baseball and has been manager for the Escogido, Eagles, Caymans and Cibao Giants. The baseball stadium in his hometown, San Francisco de Macorís, bears his name.

ENRIQUE LANTIGUA: For over 4 decades he was one of the most important figures in Dominican professional baseball. A first class catcher, he started to play during the 20s with teams from Santiago, his home town. He then played with Licey for a long period of time, even in the 50s. He was one of the promoters of the National Federation of Professional Baseball players in 1951, and from there he contributed a lot to the development of our baseball. He was manager of the Dominican champion team in the 1948 World Championship series and also in 1950.

WINSTON LLENAS: He has quite a long history in Dominican professional baseball. He was a successful athlete, playing third base with the Cibao Eagles for almost 20 years during the 60s and 70s. When he retired from active play, he became their Manager, General Manager, and President in different opportunities, contributing to many winning seasons for the Cibao team. He became a member of the Hall of Fame in 1990.

JUAN MARICHAL: He is the greatest pitcher produced by this country and also by Latin America. He won 243 games while losing only 142. He completed 244 games in his 18-year career in the Major Leagues. In the Dominican League he pitched for the Escogido in the 60s, regardless of the fact that he had won 20 games or pitched over 200 innings in the Majors. He became a Major League immortal in 1983, and in his own country in 1980.

MANUEL MOTA: Truly a remarkable Dominican player of all times. A bril-

liant centerfielder, played for 20 years in the Major Leagues with a lifetime average of 304 For a long time he owned the ML record for more hits as a pinch-hitter with 150, which was broken recently by Lenny Harris. In his country he played for the Licey and was their manager during several seasons. He was batting champ for three consecutive seasons, between 1962 and 1964, and his .333 average is the highest of all times. He became an immortal in his country in 1988.

GUAYUBÍN OLIVO: Left-handed pitcher, he was kind of a legend in Dominican baseball. In the 40s he had outstanding performances in several countries including the Puerto Rican League. In the 50s he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and in 1961 he made his debut in the Majors at the age of 41. He was in the Big Show for 3 years also playing briefly for the St. Louis Cardinals. In Dominican baseball, he was a star with the Licey Tigers. In 1960 he set the all-time record with 160 strike outs. His 86 wins represent the highest number in the league lifetime.

FEDERICO-CHICHÍ- OLIVO: Guayubín's brother has a remarkable history

JUAN MARICHAL

for he made his debut in the Major Leagues when he was 35 years old with the Milwaukee Braves. In his country he played for the Licey Tigers, Oriental Stars and Cibao Eagles. He owns the record for most innings pitched with 1,335. He also played in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Mexico.

ALONZO PERRY: American player of extraordinary quality. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, this fabulous athlete played first base, used to throw with his right hand but was a left-handed hitter. He came over to reinforce the Licey team from 1951 to 1958, and the following year he came back for a season with the Oriental Stars. In two seasons he was batting champ (1954 and 1957-58), and his lifetime average in the league was a solid .310. During almost 40 years he kept his record of 27 consecutive games hitting safely, and his 53 RBIs during the 1953 season are still a national record. He became an immortal in 1995.

ALOU BROTHERS: Felipe, Mateo and Jesús represent an exceptional family group in the history of Dominican baseball and Dominican sports as well They come from a humble family from the community of Haina in the National District. The Alou brothers became athletes because of their great determina-

tion and talent. Felipe, the oldest, was the first one to be successful in the Major Leagues when he made his debut in 1958 with the San Francisco Giants.

Felipe played for almost 20 years and upon retirement he was appointed manager for the Montreal Expos (1992) where he stayed for 10 years. Some time later he would also manage the San Francisco Giants. Mateo, an outfielder, was the only left-handed hitter and the first Dominican to win a batting champ when he ended with a .342 average in 1966 while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jesús was the last one to make it to the Majors but he had a good career there as well as in his country. Felipe was also successful as a manager in Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, in addition to being an experienced Minor League manager in the United States.

PEPE LUCAS: José Saint-Claire was his name. He was one of the best baseball players in the country during the 40s and 50s. He was a first class reinforcement player in the Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, Colombian and Cuban leagues. An excellent first baseman, he was elected the all-time best first baseman in Dominican baseball. He was manager of the Escogido team several times.

MARIO SOTO: A strong local pitcher born in Baní, he played for the Cincinnati Reds in the National League. He won 100 games and set a record for most strike outs for Latin pitchers when he had 274 in the 1982 season. Injuries in his pitching arm made him retire early when he was only 32 years old. In his country he was an excellent pitcher with the Escogido Lions.

TETELO VARGAS: Juan Esteban Vargas Marcano was born in Santo Domingo at the start of the 20th Century (1906), and is the owner of an incredible history as a ballplayer. He started to play when he was just 16 years old for the Escogido team in the early 20s. Over the next 30 years he was active in all the Caribbean Leagues: Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, and the American Black Leagues. In 1936 he came to play for the Oriental Stars and stayed here forever among the Dominican teams. In 1953 he was the batting champ of the summer championship series with an average of .355, at the age of 47. He is considered to be one of the best Dominican ballplayers of all times.

IMMORTAL BASEBALL PLAYERS IN THE HALL OF FAME OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

(BY YEAR OF SELECTION)

1967. Tetelo Vargas, Luis Ernesto Rodríguez -Burrulote-, Rafael Guerra -Fellito-, Pedro Alejandro San, Mateo De La Rosa, Fernando Miranda -Pindú-

1967. Enrique Hernández -Indio Bravo-, Francisco Rodríguez -Ninín-

1968. Ventura Escalante -Loro-, Juan Bautista Perdomo -Pajarito-

1969 Rafael Emilio Gómez -Sijo-, Horacio Martínez

1970. Manuel Henríquez, Enrique Lantigua

1971. Juan Delfino García -Bragañita-

1972. Rafael Amable Alvarado-Sonlley-, Diómedes Antonio Olivo-Guayubín-

1973. José Saint Claire -Pepe Lucas-, Luis Saint Claire -Guiguí Lucas-, Miguel Pinales-Turco Prieto-

1974. Diógenes Lara, Tulio H. Pina

1975. Rafael Vargas Marcano -Guagua-

1976. René Velásquez, Luis Castro -Niño El Zurdo-, Pedro A. Báez-Grillo A-

1977. Julián Javier

1978 Gustavo Lluberes, Juan Bautista Rodríguez -Gueba-

1979 Juan Marichal, Miguel Ruiz

1980. Federico Olivo -Chichí-

1981. Felipe Alou, Pedro González, Joaquín Suncar

1983. Andrés Julio Báez -Grillo B-, Mateo Rojas Alou

1984. Osvaldo Virgil, Luis Arturo Báez-Grillo C-

1984. Grupo de inmortales del Pabellón de la Fama en 2004.

1985. Manuel Cáceres Mora -Manolete-, Baldomero Ureña -Mero-

1986. Sijo Delmonte y Consuegra, Rafael Puesán -Mellizo-

1987. Olmedo Suarez, Rafael A. Vargas -Papito-

1988. Manuel Mota, Jesús Rojas Alou

1989. Ricardo Carty, Aquiles Martínez

1990. Winston Llenas -Chilote-, Juan Manuel Ortiz -Piñao1991. Alcibíades Colón, Rafael Batista, Cesarín Gerónimo, Silvano Quezada

1992. Pedro Borbón, Danilo Rivas

1993. Luis María Muñoz-Gallego-, Federico Velásquez

1994. Manuel Emilio Jiménez, Mario Soto

1995. Alonzo Perry, Ramón Eligio Vargas -Tetelito1996. Arnulfo Espinosa, Teodoro Martínez

1997. Humberto Evangelista, Dámaso García

1998. George Bell, Juan Ramón Ramos-Bombo1999. Joaquín Andújar, Fidel Mejía

2000. Elvio Jiménez, Miguel Diloné, Rufino Linares

2001. Ramón De Los Santos -Pintacora-, Elías Sosa

2002. Alfredo Griffin, Rafael Landestoy

2003. Tony Peña, Rafael Ramírez-Rafaelín2004. Bonny Castillo, Orlando Guerrero and Alejandro Peña.

BASEBALL, A SOURCE OF WEALTH

BY ENRIQUE ROJAS

Baseball is more than just a simple sport or entertainment. It is the only way for a lot of Dominicans to become rich, and it is also an important source of income for the country. Dominican ballplayers are not only amazing in the playing field, they have, at the same time, become the best group for income-generating purposes in the United States Major Leagues.

While Juan Marichal, the only Dominican ever elected to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, was only able to get one million dollars during his entire career of 16 brilliant years, dozens of his countrymen are at the top of the list among the best paid players in this day and age.

For the 2004 season, the best-paid players were: Manny Ramírez (22.5 millions), Alex Rodríguez (22 millions), Carlos Delgado (19.7 millions), Derek Jeter (18.6 millions) and Barry Bonds (18 millions).

Some Dominicans are the best paid in their respective teams: Ramírez (22.5 millions/Boston), Rodríguez (22 millions/Yankees), Sammy Sosa (16 millions/ Cubs), Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colón (11 millions each/Anaheim).

In December 2000 there were several financial transactions that petrified baseball fans.

PLAZA 30-30 OWNED

BY SAMMY SOSA IN SAN PEDRO DE MACORÍS

ALEXRODRÍGUEZ

The Texas Rangers signed with Dominican shortstop, Alex Rodríguez, the most fabulous contract in the entire history of professional sports: 10 years and 252 million dollars.

Rodríguez had become a free agent once his contract with the Seattle Mariners expired.

The contract between Rodríguez and the Rangers had doubled the amount of the previous biggest contract in sports, the one between Kevin Garnett and the NBA basketball team Minnesota Timber Wolves in 1997, for 126 million dollars and six years.

Just a few days later, Manny Ramírez, another Dominican, signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox for eight years and 160 million dollars. While Rodríguez earns approximately 25 million dollars per year, Ramírez makes 20 millions per season.

A while before, during the 1997 winter, the Red Sox had again made pitcher Pedro Martínez the richest ballplayer of all times with a six year contract for 75 million dollars. The deal included a seventh season for 17.5 millions, which brought up the cost of this pitcher to 92.5 millions for seven years.

Sammy Sosa, the powerful slugger, signed a four-year extension to his contract with the Chicago Cubs for 75 million dollars, before the 2002 season.

He was avoiding the free agency at the end of his previous contract, which was for 43 million dollars in four years.

In the winter of 2003 alone, four Dominican ballplayers got guaranteed contracts, which added up to 294 million dollars over the next few years. First baseman Albert Pujols signed an extension for seven years and 100 millions with the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols, the best hitter in the Major Leagues during his first three seasons, would not become a free agent until after 2006. Shortstop Miguel Tejada signed for six years and 72 millions with the Baltimore Orioles after becoming a free agent.

Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero received 70 millions for five years, and pitcher Bartolo Colón, 52 millions for four years from the Anaheim Angels.

Pedro Guerrero, an outfielder and first baseman, was the first Dominican millionaire in the Major Leagues when he earned 1,270,000 dollars in 1985 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Guerrero won 14,505,000 dollars in his last eight seasons (between 1985 and 1992) with the Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. This is the list of the wealthiest Dominicans of all times in the Major Leagues, including long-term contract income:

BALLPLAYER

Alex Rodríguez

Manny Ramírez 1993-2008 175,020,000

Sammy Sosa 1989-2005 124,443,000

Albert Pujols 2001-2010 101,700,000

Vladimir Guerrero 1997-2008 100,430,000

Pedro Martínez 1993-2004 93,694,000

Miguel Tejada 1997-2009 83,617,000

Bartolo Colón 1997-2007 68,870,000

Raúl Mondesí 1993-2004 65,470,000

Moisés Alou 1990-2005 64,165,000

A-ROD'S

CONTRACT. Alex Rodríguez, known in the United States as A-Rod, had clauses in his original contract, which made it unique at that time. When he was transferred from the Rangers to the New York Yankees in the 2003 winter, the contract had to be amended. One of the amended articles had to do with the fact that Rodríguez could become a free agent after the seventh year.

The original deal A-Rod had made with Tom Hicks, owner of the Rangers, indicated that he would make 21 million dollars during the first four years, 25 millions in 2005/2006 and 27 millions in the last four seasons. The Dominican received a 10 million dollar bonus once the contract was

signed, and he also has a guarantee that he must be the best-paid player in the Major Leagues during the last two years of his contract.

As of 2001, and until 2010, Rodríguez is winning 129,629 dollars for each game played by his team.

The MVP of the American League in 2003, winner of two consecutive Golden Gloves in shortstop, agreed to move over to third base and wearing number 13 instead of his traditional #3, in order to be transferred to the Yankees.

Rodríguez was exchanged for second baseman Alfonso Soriano, also a Dominican, plus another player to be agreed upon a later date. In this transaction, the Rangers agreed to pay 67 of the remaining 179 million dollars in A-Rod's contract. Rodríguez's arrival to the Yankees not only increased their payroll to the highest level ever, 184.5 million dollars; it also increased the diference between the most expensive team and the average one for this industry, which was 69 millions in 2004

Babe Ruth, whose number 3 is retired from the Yankees franchise, was the best-paid baseball player in the final years of the 20s and at the beginning of the 30s, including 1927 (70 thousand dollars) and 1930 (80 thousand dollars).

IMPACT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Major League Baseball brings into the Dominican Republic's economy more than 76 million dollars every year, according to a study carried out by the Office of the Commissioner in July 2003.

The investments made by these 30 teams and by the Major League Baseball's Commissioner Office itself, are a lot bigger than those coming from any other area of the Dominican economy.

According to this study: «Profile of the economic impact of the Major Leagues Industry in the Dominican Republic», the investment made by the Major Leagues in this country is 76 million dollars annually (exactly 76,001,305), besides creating 1,200 direct jobs and another 900 indirectly. The impact of this investment is felt in the generation of foreign currency,

creation of new jobs, and its expanded effects in poor communities and the informal sector. The economic impact of MLB in the Dominican Republic

can be divided into seven basic areas: Bonus payments to new players, running academies for players' development, salaries paid to Major Leagues ballplayers, salaries paid to Minor Leagues ballplayers, Dominican Summer League, observation trips to the Dominican Republic, donations and support to government institutions.

<This study was carried out in order for us to learn exactly what our real presence is in this country. A copy of said study was given to the Dominican Government», said Rafael Pérez, administrator of the MLB Commissioner's Office in Santo Domingo.

As per this study, the 79 Dominican players in the official rosters of the Major Leagues on the 2003 season's inaugural day, won 209,510,900 dollars in salaries alone. This amount increases as players are brought over from the Minor Leagues' to the Majors.

The MBL analysts believe that at least 20 percent of the salaries of the top

ALEX RODRÍGUEZ

Dominican players comes into the country. Likewise, 694 Dominicans playing in the United States Minor Leagues during that same period earned 4,377,500 dollars. The study contemplates that at least 50 per cent of that money comes directly to the Dominican Republic.

Between 2000 and 2003, baseball paid an average of 13.8 million dollars in bonus to young Dominican players when they turn pros.

Just as an example in 2001, 442 new ballplayers were signed for a total amount of 16,390,750 dollars.

The operation of 30 academies, sponsored by MLB, plus the only branch of the Commissioner's office in the world, represents for the baseball industry an investment of 14.7 million dollars annually. The Summer League (2.82 millions) and the observation trips (360 thousand dollars) are also an important investment.

«Also worth mentioning is the value added to the informal sector which operations depend exclusively on the presence of Major League baseball. Even though we do not put a figure to this value, we can assure that hun-

PEDRO MARTÍNEZ

dreds of people are involved in activities related to signing prospects», said the report.

This study also explains that possibly the biggest and most difficult item to calculate is the «name recognition» or having projected the name of the Dominican Republic to many other countries in the world through their foremost star players. «It's very important to have incentives and to protect this investment so that it is sustainable and permanent. The Dominican Republic enjoys this positive impact because of its great production of top quality baseball players, managers and executives».

«However, the investments made over the last years have been affected negatively by a series of events such as exaggerated lawsuits to the teams and the falsification of documents, all of which have resulted in cost increases, without failing to mention the forever present competition by other countries>, added the report

NATIVE PLAYERS WITH THE BEST SALARIES IN THE MLB

ALEX RODRÍGUEZ

1994 Seattle Mariners $442,333

1995 Seattle Mariners $442,333

1996 Seattle Mariners $442,334

1997 Seattle Mariners $1,062,500

1998 Seattle Mariners $2,162,500

1999 Seattle Mariners $3,112,500

2000 Seattle Mariners $4,362,500

2001 Texas Rangers $22,000,000

2002 Texas Rangers $22,000,000

2003 Texas Rangers $22,000,000

2004 NY Yankees $21,726,881 11 MLB $99,753,880

MANNY RAMÍREZ

1993 Cleveland Indians $109,000

1994 Cleveland Indians $111,000

1995 Cleveland Indians $150,000

1996 Cleveland Indians $1,100,000

1997 Cleveland Indians $2,100,000

1998 Cleveland Indians $2,850,000

1999 Cleveland Indians $4,350,000

2000 Cleveland Indians $4,250,000

2001 Boston Red Sox $13,050,000

2002 Boston Red Sox $15,462,727

2003 Boston Red Sox $20,000,000

2004 Boston Red Sox $20,409,542 12 MLB $83,942,269

PEDRO MARTÍNEZ

1993 Los Angeles Dodgers $119,000

1994 Montreal Expos $200,000

1995 Montreal Expos $270,000

1996 Montreal Expos $315,000

1997 Montreal Expos $3,615,000

1998 Boston Red Sox $7,575,000

1999 Boston Red Sox $11,100,000

2000 Boston Red Sox $11,500,000

2001 Boston Red Sox $13,000,000

2002 Boston Red Sox $14,000,000

2003 Boston Red Sox $15,500,000

2004 Boston Red Sox $17,500,000 12 MLB $93,694,000

SAMMY SOSA

1989 Texas Rangers $68,000

1990 Chicago White Sox $100,000

1991 Chicago White Sox $150,000

1992 Chicago Cubs $180,000

1993 Chicago Cubs $745,000

1994 Chicago Cubs $2,950,000

1995 Chicago Cubs $4,300,000

1996 Chicago Cubs $4,750,000

1997 Chicago Cubs $5,500,000

1998 Chicago Cubs $8,325,000

1999 Chicago Cubs $9,000,000

2000 Chicago Cubs $11,000,000

2001 Chicago Cubs $12,500,000

2002 Chicago Cubs $15,000,000

2003 Chicago Cubs $16,000,000

2004 Chicago Cubs $16,875,000 16 MLB $107,443,000

MOISÉS ALOU

1990 Pittsburgh Pirates $100,000

1992 Montreal Expos $110,500

1993 Montreal Expos $210,000

1994 Montreal Expos $1,415,000

1995 Montreal Expos $3,000,000

1996 Montreal Expos $3,050,000

1997 Florida Marlins $4,500,000

1998 Houston Astros $5,020,000

1999 Houston Astros $5,000,000

2000 Houston Astros $5,250,000

2001 Houston Astros $5,250,000

2002 Chicago Cubs $6,000,000

2003 Chicago Cubs $9,500,000

2004 Chicago Cubs $9,500,000

13 MLB $52,665,000

RAÚL MONDESÍ

1993 Los Angeles Dodgers

$109,000

1994.Los Angeles Dodgers. $126,000

1995 Los Angeles Dodgers $435,000

1996 Los Angeles Dodgers $950,000

1997 Los Angeles Dodgers $2,700,000

1998 Los Angeles Dodgers $5,500,000

1999. Los Angeles Dodgers. $9,000,000

2000 Toronto Blue Jays $10,000,000

2001 Toronto Blue Jays $11,500,000

2002 Toronto Blue Jays $11,000,000

2003 New York Yankees $13,000,000

2004 Piratas/Angels $1,150,000

12 MLB $65,470,000

VLADIMIR GUERRERO

1997 Montreal Expos $150,000

1998 Montreal Expos $230,000

1999 Montreal Expos $1,050,000

2000 Montreal Expos $3,500,000

2001 Montreal Expos $6,000,000

2002 Montreal Expos $8,000,000

2003 Montreal Expos $11,500,000

2004. Anaheim Angels. $11,000,000

8 MLB $41,430,000

MIGUEL TEJADA

1997 Oakland Athletics

$150,000

1998 Oakland Athletics $172,000

1999 Oakland Athletics $230,000

2000 Oakland Athletics $290,000

2001 Oakland Athletics $2,025,000

2002 Oakland Athletics $3,625,000

2003 Oakland Athletics $5,125,000

2004 Baltimore Orioles $4,788,958

8 MLB $16,405,958

ALBERT PUJOLS

2001 St Louis Cardinals $200,000

2002 St Louis Cardinals $600,000

2003 St Louis Cardinals $900,000

2004 St Louis Cardinals $7,000,000

4 MLB $8,700,000

BARTOLO COLÓN

1997 Cleveland Indians $150,000

1998 Cleveland Indians $180,000

1999. Cleveland Indians. $625,000

2000 Cleveland Indians $1,125,000

2001 Cleveland Indians $2,625,000

2002 Cleveland Indians $4,925,000

2003 Chicago White Sox $8,250,000

2004 Anaheim Angels $11,000,000

8 MLB $27,870,000

RAMÓN MARTÍNEZ

1989 Los Angeles Dodgers $85,000

1990 Los Angeles Dodgers $150,000

1991 Los Angeles Dodgers $485,000

1992. Los Angeles Dodgers. $725,000

1993 Los Angeles Dodgers $1,775,000

1994 Los Angeles Dodgers $2,687,500

1995 Los Angeles Dodgers $3,925,000

1996 Los Angeles Dodgers $4,800,000

1997 Los Angeles Dodgers $4,800,000

1998 Los Angeles Dodgers $4,800,000

1999 Boston Red Sox $1,500,000

2000 Boston Red Sox $6,320,000

12 MLB $32,052,000

JOSÉ OFFERMAN

1990. Los Angeles Dodgers. $100,000

1991 Los Angeles Dodgers $115,000

1992 Los Angeles Dodgers $135,000

1993 Los Angeles Dodgers $300,000

1994 Los Angeles Dodgers $515,000

1995 Los Angeles Dodgers $1,600,000

1996 Kansas City Royals $1,100,000

1997 Kansas City Royals $1,600,000

1998 Kansas City Royals $2,000,000

1999 Boston Red Sox $4,950,000

2000 Boston Red Sox $5,750,000

2001 Boston Red Sox $6,750,000

2002 Boston Red Sox $6,750,000

2004 Minnesota Twins $500,000

14 MLB $32,165,000

EXPORT PRODUCT

For the longest while the Dominican Republic used to export sugar cane, being as it was, its principal product. Also, gold from Cotuí and Ferro-nickel from Bonao.

In more recent times, tourism and the money sent by Dominicans living abroad have come up as the main generators of foreign currency. What about baseball and the Dominican players? They should also be added to this small list because baseball has come to be, by itself, a great generator of foreign currency

A report by Major League Baseball indicates that in 2003, this sole activity generated 76 million dollars to the Dominican Republic, that is to say over three thousand million pesos, which had a tremendous impact in the Dominican economy.

This amount represented a little bit more than 3 percent of the Nation's budget for that same year.

How can baseball produce so much money? In salaries paid to Major and Minor Leagues' ballplayers, in sponsoring of the Dominican Summer League, in the operation and maintenance of several baseball academies, in supervision trips, and in donations to diferent programs and institutions.

CINCINNATI AND MINNESOTA TEAMS IN THE SUMMER LEAGUE

MIGUEL TEJADA

PRACTICING

The economic aspects of this study indicate that, in salaries alone, during 2003 Dominican ballplayers in the Majors received 209 million dollars. This amount increased to nearly 230 millions for 2004.

The MLB study concludes that around 20% of this total comes directly to the country. The rest of the money is either invested or deposited abroad.

In the Minor Leagues. (both in the United States and the Dominican Summer League) there were 694 Dominican players earning over 4 million dollars. Some 442 players received a bonus when they were signed on in 2003.

13.8 million dollars were paid to them, certainly a considerable amount that stays in the Dominican Republic. The baseball academies or training schools operating in this country spent another 14.7 millions in operation, maintenance and personnel.

In the Summer League, where almost 600 ballplayers participate, 2.8 million dollars were spent in salaries for athletes, coaches and support personnel. The academies created over 1,200 direct new jobs plus 900 indirect ones, since they are open all year-round.

CHILDREN

BASEBALL IN SAN PEDRO DE MACORÍS

ALL OVER THE WORLD

Exporting Dominican ballplayers abroad has been customary since the start of the 20th Century, when our baseball first started to become involved with the other Caribbean Leagues.

In the 20s, for example, even though Tetelo Vargas was still a very young boy, he was already well known in the Puerto Rican baseball and his fame extended throughout the entire area. What followed during the 30s and 40s was an even bigger presence of our players in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela, including the American Black Leagues.

The names of Guigui Lucas, Pepe Lucas, Horacio Martínez, and Tetelo Vargas became famous as reinforcements to those leagues.

In fact, a group of eight Dominicans played in the American Black Leagues, which quality was comparable to the «White Major Leagues». They were pitchers Pedro Alejandro San who played for the Cuban Stars team for 3 years as of 1926; Sijo Gómez who played in 1929 for this same ball club, and also Gustavo Lluberes in 1936.

Ninín Rodríguez, first baseman, played in 1931 for the Cuban House of David; Tetelo Vargas, centerfielder, played for 7 seasons (since 1931), with five diferent teams: Cuban House of David, New York Cubans, Havana Red Sox, Cuban Stars and Brooklyn Eagles.

Horacio Martínez, short stop, in 1935 and 1947 was with the Cuban Stars and New York Cubans; catcher Enrique Lantigua participated in 1935 with the New York Cubans, and Andrés Julio Báez, Grillo B, another pitcher, played in 1940 for the New York Cubans. They all set a precedent by becoming successful based on their great ability to play ball. They were also hired frequently to reinforce local teams in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia and Panama. However, the real expansion started in the 50s when the racial barrier disappeared in the Major Leagues, and they started to sign Dominican players.

Osvaldo Virgil led the way when he made his debut with the New York

Giants in September 1956. Felipe Alou, Rudy Hernández and Juan Marichal followed him.

Towards the end of 2004, a total of 385 Dominicans had already been through the Major Leagues over 5 decades. However, our ballplayers abroad had not limited themselves to the above-mentioned countries.

During the 70s Dominican players also started to travel to the Far East, and some have been hired to play in the Japanese League.

In that decade Winston Llenas, Rafael Batista, Mateo Alou and Ramón de los Santos became our first exports to Japan.

Later on, Luis de los Santos, Julio César Franco, Timoniel Pérez, Alfonso Soriano, Héctor Almonte, Domingo Guzmán, Ramón Ramírez, Martín Vargas, Luis Ortiz, Tony Fernández, Balbino Gálvez, Edison Reynoso, Ramón Tatis, José Mayobanex Fernández, José Núñez and Félix José also played there.

In the early 90s, a Japanese team, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, opened its own baseball academy in San Pedro de Macorís, and since then it has been operating under the direction of Cesarín Gerónimo.

Many Dominicans signed in this academy travel directly to Japan, from where stars the like of Alfonso Soriano have come out. (Hiroshima sold his contract to the Yankees and Soriano then came to the United States baseball in 1999).

Taiwan and Korea have also hired Dominicans. A good number of local players have participated in these two countries both of which have professional leagues.

This list includes some players that have already been in Japan, among which are Héctor Almonte, Luis de los Santos, Ángel González, Sandy Guerrero, Juan Castillo, Frank Laureano, Leo García, Silvestre Campusano, Robinson Pérez Checo, Freddy Tiburcio, Mike Guerrero, Andrés Santana, Luis Pérez, Charlie Peña, Bernie Tatis.

Likewise, Vladimir Pérez, Domingo Michel, Apolinar García, Manny Francois, Héctor Roa, José Rafael González, Efraín Valdez, Julián Martínez, Carlos Rivera, Denio González, Ravelo Manzanillo.

CHILDREN PLAYING IN THE CONSUELO SUGAR MILL IN SAN PEDRO DE MACORÍS

In Mexico we have had an incredibly large presence. Hundreds of Dominican players have participated in Mexican leagues, the summer one as well as the Pacific, which is a winter league.

Manny Alexander, José Báez, Sergio Beltré, Ricardo Carty, Alcibíades Colón, Juan Espino, Sergio Isambert, Walter James, Manuel Emilio Jiménez, Juan Luis Joa, Ricardo Joseph, Rufino Linares, Rafael Liranzo, Víctor Mata, Samuel Mejía, Leo Ortiz, Julio César Paula, Rubén Robles.

In the past Olmedo Suárez, José Vidal Nicolás, Pepe Lucas, Guayubín Olivo, Secundino Almonte, Milcíades Olivo, Santiago Guzmán and Elías Sosa also played in Mexico. In a smaller level, one can find Dominican ballplayers in professional or semi-professional leagues in Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Italy, Spain, Holland, Australia, and other European countries in which baseball is played.

COACHES AND MANAGERS

On the other hand, there are dozens of coaches and trainers disseminated in large and not-so-large countries. They manage baseball teams and also teach the game

There are a lot of Dominicans working as coaches and managers in the United States' Minor Leagues. Three Dominicans have already become Major League managers, and two of them are still active for the 2004 season.

Felipe Alou is in his second year with the San Francisco Giants after managing the Montreal Expos for 10 years.

Tony Peña is also in his second season with the Kansas City Royals, after winning the Manager of the Year Award in the American League in 2003.

Luis Pujols managed the Detroit Tigers in 2002, when he became only the second Dominican to occupy such a position.

IN A RUSTIC BALLPARK, POOR CHILDREN PLAY BASEBALL LOOKING FOR A BRIGTHER FUTURE

Throughout our history, we have also had several Major League coaches at different times.

Osvaldo Virgil worked as a coach since 1975 with the San Francisco Giants. He then spent several years with Montreal, San Diego and Seattle.

Manny Acta is a coach for the Montreal Expos since 2002; Jesús Alou worked for Houston in 1979; Carlos J Bernhardt for the Baltimore Orioles in 1998; Leonel Carrión for Montreal in 1988; William Castro has been pitching/bullpen coach for Milwaukee for 12 years, since 1992.

Epifanio Guerrero was Toronto's coach in 1981; Ramón Henderson works as bullpen coach in Philadelphia since 1998; Rafael Landestoy was a coach for Montreal, the Mets, and Detroit; Julio Linares in Houston during 1994 and 96; Winston Llenas in Toronto in 1988; Samuel Mejía in Seattle during the 1993-99 period; Manuel Mota is a coach with the Dodgers since 1980, and has been in several positions.

Nelson Norman worked for Boston in 2001; Tony Peña for Houston in 2002; Luis Pujols for Montreal, Detroit and Giants; Juan Samuel for Detroit since 1994; Luis Silverio for Kansas City since 2003; Rafael Santana for the White Sox since 2003; and Nelson Silverio was a bullpen coach for the Mets in 2004.

Ballplayers, managers, coaches, instructors.

Altogether they earn many million dollars every year and have turned baseball into another fine export product for the Dominican Republic.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE

The Great Finals, by Tony Peña

From Virgil on, by Félix García Estrella

Magazines of the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League, Dominican Republic 2001, 2002 and 2003 Editions

Our Baseball, by Osvaldo Rodríguez Suncar, 1995 and 1996 Editions

Magazine of the Hall of Fame of Dominican Sports, 2004 Edition

An Album to Remember, by Cuqui Córdoba, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1983 Editions

Dominicans in the Big Leagues, by Heriberto Morrison

Pedro Moving at High Speed, by Marcelino Ozuna

Press Guide of the Escogido Baseball Club, 1955-1996 and 2001-2002 Editions

Press Guide of the Licey Tigers, 1986-1987 and 2001-2002 Editions

Press Guide of the Cibao Eagles, 2003-2004 Edition

Sammy Sosa in 9 Innings, by Julio C Malone

Memories of the World Amateur Baseball Championships, 1971 Edition

The Giants from Within, by Nelson Abréu

Eastern Sugar Caners, 1986-1987 Magazine

History of Dominican Baseball: Tetelo Vargas, Osvaldo Virgil, by Cuqui Córdova

Dodgers Campo Las Palmas Magazine, 1997 Edition

Dominican Baseball, by Mario Álvarez Dugán and Fernando A Vicioso, 1966 Edition

A little bit of my things, by Fidencio Garris

Everything about the Oriental Stars, by Alberto Medina

History of the Escogido Red Lions, by Cuqui Córdova

Big Leagues Encyclopedia, McMillan 1979 Edition

Baseball Register, 1973, 1986, 1999 and 2004 Editions

General Archives of the Nation

Newspapers: Hoy, El Caribe and Listín Diario

Page 14

Licey 1907

Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 15

Licey's pitcher

Blanco y Negro, No 174,

January 21st, 1912

Page 17

Samuel Mendoza

Cuqui Córdova's files

Álbum del Recuerdo 1979, p 61

Page 18

San Pedro Team

PICTURES' SOURCE

ORLANDO INOA

Page 28

National Championship

La Cuna de América, 1912

Page 29

Championship Trophy

Carlos Juan Musa's collection

San Pedro de Macorís

Page 30

Lulú Pérez

Source: La Cuna de América

No 47, June 22nd, 1913 p 650

Page 31

Licey's game

La Cuna de América, No 17

Page 35

New Club in 1911

La Cuna de América, Nos 30-31

February 22nd, 1914, p 458

Page 35

New Club Team

Source: Eduardo Matos Díaz

Santo Domingo de Ayer, p 178

Page 36

Licey Park in 1913

Source: La Cuna de América

Nos 13-14, April 1915, p 218

Page 37

Paco Siraguasa

Rafael V Meyreles, Official

Baseball Rules 99

Page 19 P

New Club defeats

La Cuna de América, No 25

January 8th, 1914, p 379

Page 21

After the victory

Blanco y Negro, No 176

February 4th, 1912 p 75

Page 24

Licey in 1913

Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 26

The Brave Indian

Cuqui Córdova's files

November 9th, 1913

Page 32

New Club's players

La Cuna de América, No 26

January 12th, 1913

Page 32

Licey's players

La Cuna de América, No 26

January 12th, 1913

Page 33

San Carlos Team

Source: La Cuna de América, Nos 13-14

April 1915, p 226

Cuqui Córdova, Álbum del Recuerdo 1983, p 85

Page 37

Federico Fiallo

Color picture from Pascual Núñez over a photograph published by Cuqui Córdova, Álbum del Recuerdo 1979, p 98

Page 38

1913 Licey

La Cuna de América, No 26

January 12th, 1913

Page 39

1913 New Club

La Cuna de América, No 26

January 12th, 1913

Page 40

President Jiménes

La Cuna de América, Nos 13-14, April, 1915, p 214

Page 40

Mr Mueses

Blanco y Negro, No 174, January 21st, 1912

Page 43

Caricature Mefistofeles, No 219, March 24th, 1912

Page 44

Book of Rules

George Plimpton, et al , Baseball as America, p 20

Page 45

Fellito Guerra, Panfilia, No 112, December 30th, 1923

Page 47

Licey champion in 1924

Cuchito Álvarez, <Club Licey

Inc Today Celebrates 50 years of its foundation " , El Caribe, November 7th, 1957, p 16

Page 47

Delco Light

Renacimiento, No 233, August 21st, 1920

Page 49

Pedro Alejandro San Cuqui Cordova's files

Page 50

Pedro Miguel Caratini

William F McNeil, Baseball's other all stars, p 144

Page 50

Joaquín Suncar

Cuqui Córdova, «Yesterday's Baseball », Supplement Listin

Diario, September 19th, 1981, p 6

Page 51

Francisco A Rodríguez

Santo Domingo Gráfico, No 2, November 12th, 1921, p 19

Page 51

The president of Licey

Santo Domingo Gráfico, No 2, November 12th, 1921, p 19

Page 52

Licey Team

Antonio Lluberes' private files

Page 52

Licey's Queen

Enrique Santamaría,

Memories of Yesterday, p 23

Page 56

Escogido Team

La Cuna de América, May, 1921

Page 57

Play Ground

Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 61

Stadium's Grand Stands Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 64

Team's Pitchers

El Caribe, May 30th, 1954

Page 66

San Carlos Team

Manuel Salazar, Brief History

Page 69

Escogido in 1922

Manuel Salazar, Brief History

Page 71

Dominican Stars Team

Cuqui Córdova, «Yesterday's Baseball: Graphic Memory,»Listín Diario's Supplement, February 22nd, 1986, p

Page 73 3

Old Baseball Park Fototeca, AGN

Page 73

Santiago's Racetrack Octavio

Acevedo, Official trip to the countryside of the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo D , Tip El Progreso, 1919, p 11

Page 74

Tetelo Vargas

Enrique Santamaría, Remembering from yesterday to today, p 37

Page 75

Martín Dihigo

Mark Rucker and Peter C Bjarkman, Smoke The romance and lore of Cuban baseball, p 76

Page 76

Mero and Nonito

La Opinión, Vol 11, No 101, January 10th, 1925

Page 76

Alejandro Oms

Mark Rucker and Peter C Bjarkman, Smoke The romance and lore of Cuban baseball, p 85

Page 77

Ernesto and Burrulote La Opinión, Vol 11, No 101, January 10th, 1925

Page 80

Santo Domingo 1925

La Opinión No 121, Vol 14, May 30th, 1925

Page 81

Pedro Báez

Enrique Santamaría, Remembering from yesterday to today, p 36

Page 81

Francisco (Pancho) Coimbre

William F McNeil, Baseball's other All-Stars, p 147

Page 83

Martín Dihigo

Enrique Santamaría, Yesterday's memories, p 45

Page 83

The Vargas Brothers Cuqui Córdova, History of the Red Lions of the Escogido p 33

Page 84

Public in Santo Domingo Listín Diario, «Graphic Section,» November 18th, 1928

Page 84

Sandino Team El Caribe, March 30th, 1954, p 29

Page 86

Satchel Paige

Kyle McNary, Black Baseball A history of African-Americans & the National Game, London, PRC Publishing Ltd, 2003, p 153

Page 87

Julia Molina's Cup

Carlos Juan Musa's collection, San Pedro de Macorís

Page 89

General Trujillo Team Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 89

Tetelo Vargas

Bahoruco, year IV, No 199, June 16th, 1934, p 9

Page 90

Escogido Team

Cuqui Córdova, History of the Red Lions of Escogido, p 43

Page90

The Escogido

Cuqui Córdova, History of the Red Lions of Escogido, p 39

Page 92

Tetelo Vargas Stadium

Alberto Medina, Everything About the Oriental Stars Santo Domingo, Editora de Colores, 2003, p 26

Page 93

Perucho Formental

Mark Rucker and Peter C

Bjarkman, Smoke The romance and lore of Cuban baseball, p 136

Page 95

Paige, Grifin, Rodolfo

Cuqui Córdova, An Album to Remember 1980, p 50

Page 95

Sijo Gómez

Cuqui Córdova, an Album to Remember 1980, p 21

Page 96

Game held

Photograph of the Historical

Santiago files

Page 97

Cocaína García

Cuqui Córdova, «Yesterday's Baseball", Ahora, January 17th, 1971

Page 98

Santiago Team

Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 98

Johnny Mize

La Opinión, May 13th, 1937, p 6

Page 98

Pajarito Perdomo

Rafael V Meyreles, Baseball's Official Rules, p 29

Page 101

The Licey

Cuqui Córdova

Page 102

The General Team

Cuqui Córdova's file

Page 106

The Ponce Team

Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 107

Josh Gibson

John Holway, The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues, p 350

Page 107

Gustavo Lluberes

La Opinión, April 15th, 1936

Page 108

Tetelo Vargas

Mark Rucker and Peter C Bjarkman, Smoke The romance and lore of Cuban baseball, p 95

Page 112

Trujillo City

Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 113

Satchel Paige John B Holway, Josh and Satch, p 110

Page 116

Santiago Team

Rafael V Meyreles, Oficial Rules of Baseball, p 45

Page 121

1937 Championship

Listín Diario, May 22nd, 1937, p 1

Page 121

Games Prices

La Opinión, April 21st, 1937, p 2

Page 121

Movie's promotion

Listín Diario, January 6th, 1937, p 4

Page 122

Horacio Martínez AGN Fototeca, Conrado's Collection, negative No 4004

Page 123

Ventura Escalante Acción No 8, May 14th, 1942, p 62

Page 125

Jackie Robinson Corbis

Page 125

Luis Báez, Grillo C La Nación, February 5th, 1948, p 9

Page 126

Escogido in 1946

Cuqui Córdova, History of the Red Escogido Lions, p 67

Page 127

Trujillo autographs a baseball

La Nación, March 11th, 1948, p 1

Page 128

Molinuevo Park Fototeca AGN, Conrado's collection

Page 128

Santiago BBT Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 130

Licey Team 1940 Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 132

Pepe Lucas at bat Fototeca AGN, Conrado's Collection

Page 133

Charles A Dore Fototeca AGN, Conrado's Collection

Page 135

San Rafael Team Fototeca AGN, Conrado's Collection

Page 136

Bragaña García Fototeca AGN, Conrado's Collection

Page 136

Carlos McKinney Carlos McKinney's private files

Page 138

Brewers Fototeca AGN, Conrado's Collection

Page 139

Dominican Selection Cuqui Córdova, «Yesterday's Baseball,» Listín Diario, November 5th, 1983, p 5

Page 139

The Báez Brothers Fototeca AGN, Conrado's Collection

Page 140

Enrique Lantigua El Nacional, December 4th, 1985, p 45

Page 141

1954 Trophy

Juan Carlos Musa's collection, San Pedro de Macorís

Page 142

General Trujillo

El Caribe, October 24th, 1955

Page 143

Stars Champion Team

Pedro Justiniano Polanco's files, reproduced by Bienvenido Rojas, «Notes on Dominican Baseball 45 years of passion and excitement >El Siglo,September 29th, 1997, p

Page 145 6b

Play at the Stadium

Dominican Republic, Vol XII of America Collection

Page 145

Alonso Perry

El Caribe, September 11th, 1951, p 7

Page 145

Juan Marichal

Héctor J Cruz, Juan Marichal: The story of his life Santo Domingo, Alfa & Omega

Publishing House, 1983, p 42

Page 146

Trujillo Stadium

Projections of an Era, C T , Editora Montalvo, 1955

Page 146

La Normal Stadium, El Caribe, September 3rd, 1951, p 9

Cuqui Córdova's personal files

Héctor J Cruz's personal files

Page 147

Luis Rodríguez

Bienvenido Rojas, <Notes on Dominican Baseball 45 years of passion and excitement >El Siglo, September 22nd, 1997, p

Page 147

Pajarito Perdomo 5b.

El Caribe, March 30th, 1954

Page 148

Licey

Cuqui Córdova's files

Page 148

1952 Lions

Cuqui Córdova, History of the Red Lions of Escogido, p 96

Page 150

First Transmission

El Caribe, September 14th, 1952, p 9

Page 151

Martín Dihigo's conversation

El Caribe, May 25th, 1951, p 11

Page 151

Guayubín Olivo

Cuqui Córdova, An album to remember 1979, p 32

Page 151

Vicente Scarpatte

Yesterday's Baseball, Supplement

Listín Diario, June 24th, 1978, p 5

Page 152

Victory's parade

El Caribe, February 16th, 1959, p 17

Page 153

Representation

El Caribe, February 1st, 1959, p 18

Page 154

Mateo Rojas Alou

Segundo Vásquez's files

Page 154

Felipe Rojas Alou

El Caribe, February 15th, 1959, p 23

Page 155

José Arismendi Trujillo

El Caribe, February 14th, 1959, p 23

Page 157

The Credit Bank

El Caribe, December 25th, 1960, p 7

Page 157

Presidente Beer

El Caribe, January 11th, 1960, p 5

Page 158

President Joaquín Balaguer

El Caribe, October 23rd, 1960, p 1

Page 159

Juan Marichal

Segundo Vásquez's files

Page 161

Mateo Rojas Alou

El Caribe, November 13th, 1960, p 15

Page 161

The Alou Brothers

El Caribe, November 23rd, 1960,

p 16 Book: History of the Dodgers, 2004 edition

Magazine Hall of Fame of Cooperstown», 1995 edition

HÉCTOR J. CRUZ

BOOK: History of the Escogido, 1998 edition

Magazines of the Dominican Professional Baseball League, 2000, 2001 and 2002 editions

BOOK: History of the Dodgers, 2004 edition

Magazine "Hall of Fame of Cooperstown", 1995 edition

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ORLANDO INOA. A historian. He studied Sociology at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, where he became a faculty member from 1975 to 1999. He has an MBA in Latin American History from the University of Florida, and was a Dominican History professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, where he was also head of that department For many years he has been committed to research on Agrarian and Social History. His publications include a book: «Government and Farmers during the Trujillo Era,» and a bibliography on the Haitian subject published by the University of Puerto Rico. He is the author of an essay on Pedro Henríquez Ureña in Santo Domingo. The American editing firm Markus Wiener published his book «The Dominican People A documentary history,» which he co-authored with Ernesto Sagás. For several years he has been the director of Editora Cole and also editor for the Xinesquema magazine.

HÉCTOR J. CRUZ. A sports journalist with a long career of over 30 years covering sports events. He has been Chief Sports Editor for the El Nacional and Ultima Hora newspapers, as well as the Ahora magazine, and has also worked in the sports section of the morning paper Hoy. He writes a daily baseball column for the Listín Diario newspaper. His bibliography includes the following books: History of the Dominican Republic in Central American, Caribbean, Pan-American and Olympic Games; History of the National Games, biographies on boxer Fausto -Ceja-Rodríguez, and baseball pitcher Juan Marichal. Every year he publishes the Yearbook of Dominican Winter Baseball, the Yearbook on the participation of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Series and the Yearbook on the Dominicans in the Major Leagues. He has a television program specialized in sports and frequently appears in TV covering sports events.

VERIZON'S CULTURAL COLLECTION

VOLUME I

SANTO DOMINGO. PRAISE AND REMINISCENCE OF THE CITY

José Chez Checo Marcio Veloz Maggiolo Andrés L Mateo

VOLUME II

THE DOMINICAN XX CENTURY ECONOMY, POLITICS, THOUGHTS AND LITERATURE

Frank Moya Pons Mu-Kien Adriana Sang Juan Daniel Balcácer. Soledad Álvarez

VOLUME III

THE TELEPHONE. PRESENCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

José Chez Checo

VOLUME IV

1844-2000 DOMINICAN ART. PAINTS, DRAWINGS, GRAPHICS AND MURALS

Jeannette Miller María Ugarte

VOLUME V

1844-2000 DOMINICAN ART SCULPTURES, INSTALLATIONS, NON-TRADITIONAL MEANS AND VITRAL ART (STAINED-GLASS WINDOWS)

Jeannette Miller. María Ugarte

VOLUME VI

THE MERENGUE MUSIC AND DANCE OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Catana Pérez de Cuello Rafael Solano