Davis, Aaron

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Western Oregon University Digital Commons@WOU Student Theses, Papers and Projects (History) Department of History 3-8-2004 Baseball in Latin America: Creating a Culture Around a Game Aaron Davis Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/his  Part of the Cultural History Commons, and the Latin American History Commons Baseball in Latin America:Creating a Culture Around a GameAaron DavisHistory 351Professor RectorMarch B, 2004Davis 2The influence of baseball has been present in theLatin Americas since the end of the 19th century. Latinoshave embraced America's national pastime and made it theirown, creating new outlooks on the game of baseball rarelyseen here in the united states. Many great players havecome from all island nations with the Dominican Republicand Cuba producing some of the greatest.had to over come many obstacles in theirThese people havelives but the oneconstant throughout these times was baseball. The game hasbeen prevalent in the carj-bbean for over 130 years and hasbecome a staple for Latin culture.When was baseball introduced to Lati_n America?"According to oral history, the game was brought backto cuba from the united states by a cuban student, NemesioGui11ot, in 1,866.,1 Since this time, baseball in thecaribbean nations has exploded. The first sign of baseballin the Dominican Republic was in 1g9l- by the Alomabrothers, two cubans who worked on the island. ..rt waseasy to adopt the game of baseball because they were soculturally close to the cubans and in part becauseDavis 3baseball was the game invented by and played by theAmericans, the symbols of power who were increasinglypresent. During the next few years the cubans taught thegame to their neighbors; even forming two teams-theCerveceria (brewery) and the Cauto (named after a river inCuba) -which would play each other throughout SantoDomingo. "2Baseball in the earlier years was very different thanwe view it today. A11 baseball diamonds were open fields;there were no home-run fences. The baseball was hand madeand poorly constructed. As the game progressed, the ballwould become increasingly softer and misshapen, thereforemaking it very difficult to hit the ball a far distance.There were no specifications on bats until i-993, thecurrent four-bal1, three-strike rule did not take effectuntil 1888. The most odd figure is that gloves were noteven worn until the 1880's and even with the introductionsof these gloves, some hardened veterans refused to wearthese hand-covers, making themselves seem tougher thanthose who did. Up until 1883, pitchers had to throwunderhand, like that of a softball pitcher. rn 1994, itwas allowed for them to throw overhand like pitchersDavis 4today throw. With all of these rules being implemented tothe game, baseball was beginning to take on a modern lookas we see it todayThroughout the early z}t}. century, amateur baseballteams were formed around the cities of Santo Domingo,Santiago and San Pedro de Macrois. There were only threeformal teams and they would compete in tournaments all overthe country performing in front on large venues all overthe island. Even though there were only three officialbaseball teams, there were many young men that would beginto start their own non-organized teams in every city in theDominican Republic. Throughout the first part of the1900's baseball would become a part of life that allDominicans would participate in, so begins the rise ofprofessi-onaI baseball in Latin America.When was the beginning of intra-Caribbean competition?"In L920 Puerto Rican and Cuban professional teamsvisited the Dominican Republic for a series of exhibitiongames. In playing teams from the other Caribbean islandsthe Dominican Republic found a way to demonstrateexceIlence."3 These contests by each country were aDavis 5demonstration on how far the game of baseball hadprogressed. rn only thirty years since the game had beenintroduced to the Caribbean nations, the competition hadgrown to such a high level. Cuba, the Dominican Republicand Puerto Rico felt as though they could compete with anyof the American teams, and they would prove that in thefollowing years to come. "fn t9t4 the entire country tooknotice when Enrique Hernandez pitched a no-hit, no-run gameagainst a team of Americans from the U.S. Nawy cruiserWashington.'4 This particular game would later gain greatimportance when the Dominican Republic was invaded by theU.S. Marines.In 1936, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo gained control ofthe Dominican Republic by force. He became a major fan ofthe game when the Dominican Baseball l,eague had beencreated. Knowing his people had a great love for the gameof baseba11, he dedicated the L937 Dominican BaseballLeague to his re-election. He renamed one of the teams"Ciudad Trujillo Dragons" after himself and the city ofSanto Domingo. Trujillo wanted that season to be memorableso he purchased the best players money could bry; suchplayers as Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Be11 and the all-timeDavis 6great Satchel Paige. "Many would remember that 1,937baseball league. Baseball was played at its best and itwould be the "Ciudad Trujillo Dragons" who would prevailand win the series, but it would come with much sacrificeto the country. "e Due to the financial to11 purchasing thesehigh priced ba11p1ayers, professional baseball would cometo an end for the next fourteen years. Many thought of thisas a blessing because it restricted the tight grasp andgreat pressure of professional baseball and allowedamateurs to grow into to great players on their own terms.Professional baseball returned in l-951- with the help ofwealthy citizens and a need to show their stature amonginternational competition. The Dominican Republic, alongwith Cuba, Venezuela and Puerto Rico, would compete inhighly competitj-ve tournaments to determine who had thebest teams that year.How did baseball arise in Puerto Rico?By the time the Spanish-American War had begun,baseball was very prevalent on the island of Puerto Rico."It had been brought to Puerto Rico in 1890 by a Spanishdiplomat who was introduced to the game in Cuba.,,s BaseballDavis 7became very appealing to sugar plantation owners who wouldhave their workers participate in the game to keep them outof trouble and keep the men's spirits high when they werenot working in the sugar fields. Shortly after theintroduction of the game to t,he island, so-cal1ed ..sugiarleagues" were popping up all over Puerto Rico. ..Governmentagencies, schools, and other industrial groups organizedbaseball teams as we11. "5Baseball began to explode in Puerto Rico after WorldWar I. Teams from the United States, Cuba and theDominican Republic were all invited to play during thewinter months when the weather was too harsh in the states.ft was a great opportunity for Americans to travel and seethe world, as well as play baseba11. Major leaguers suchas Leon Cadore and Heinie Zimmerman were among the firstAmericans to play baseball in Puerto Rico. This was veryimportant to the people of the caribbean because they feltas though they were not inferior to the Ameri-cans and ifthey could compete with them on the playing field, maybethey could compete in the world issues surrounding them.This was a giant step in right direction in relationshipswith the united States.Davis IHow did the revolution of 1-960 affect Cuban Baseball?From 1-871- to 1960, baseball flourished on the islandof Cuba. Some of the greatest players in the Caribbean andeven the world grew up playing baseball in Cuba. Up until1959, Cuba would hold massive winter baseball tournamentsfor all players around the world to participate in.Players such as Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Sandy Koufaxwere usually in attendance. These professional leaguesdissipated when Fidel Castro gained control over thegovernment. "Castro agreed that Communist ideals dictatethat many of the aspects most Americans find distastefulabout baseball - agents, high salaries, labor conflicts,team owrrers, and, above all, greed - no longer exist inCuban basebal1."10 Everything that Americans have come toexpect in Major League ball parks is everything that Cubansdislike about the American version of how the game isplayed. The baseball stadiums named after multinationalcorporations, the ridiculously high salaries of players.Cubans have a great passion for the game and feel as thoughAmericanization has tarnished the integrity of the game.Davis 9What does baseball mean to Latin America?"If you ask any Dominican what he is proudest of, he willread you a list of ba11p1ayers. This country doesn't havemuch, but we know we are the best in the world at one thing[baseba11]. That's not bragging, because it's true. Andwe plan to continue being the best in the world at it."7 Tothe average Dominican, baseball is a major source ofcultural pride. The instance a young boy is able to walkhe is exposed to the game of baseball. His entire life isbuilt around the idea that someday he may be one of thegreatest players the world has ever seen. In the DominicanRepublic, baseball is a way to escape a life of poverty.Baseball brings a sense of freedom to the Dominicans. Whenthey are on the baseball diamond, they get to show theirlove for the game, not always seen here in America.What is baseball like in the Dominican Republic today?Everln'rhere you go on the island of the DominicanRepublic you will find a baseball stadium or park, even inthe poorest of towns. Today more than one in every sixplayers in Major League Baseball is from Latin America,with the majority of these people coming from towns locatedDavis 10on the southeastern coast of the island. "The recruitingof young baseball players has become a year round job onthe island. More than twenty major league teams now havebaseball-traj-ning camps and prospective players."8 Thescouts from these teams are to hold tryouts throughout theisland. The people who are lucky enough to make one of theteams are usually boys ranging from seventeen to eighteenyears of age. From this point, they will be put on a teamthat travels throughout the Caribbean competing with otherteams on surrounding island nations. If these players showpromise throughout the summer league, they may then besigned by a Major League team and sent to the minor leaguesin hopes of one day making it the professionals. ft is avery long road, but many players have shown that they havethe ski11s necessary to compete with those of American ballplayers. One out of every six players in the Majors todayis Latino and that number with increase without a doubt inthe years to come.Baseball has been present in the Caribbean for over130 years. When thinking about all of the majoroccurrences the world has seen; Spanish-American War, WorldWar l, World War If, the Cuban Revolution and the Cold War,Davis L1it is astonishing that the integrity of the game ofbaseball in Latin American has stayed the same. Manypeople have made sure that the game had stayed true toform. There is no need for 60,000 seat stadiums that arebuilt by multi-mi11ion do11ar companies with playersearning salaries that could compete with the amount ofmoney many Third World countries earn. Latinos feel thatall you need to play the game of baseball is a bat, balland players. These values are what have made playing thegame in the Caribbean a way of 1ife. Without having muchto look forward to in 1ife, there was always baseba11.Davis 1,2End Notes1-. William F. McNeil, Baseball's Other A11-Stars: TheGreatest Players from the Winter Leaclue s in Cuba, PuertoRico and the Dominican Republic (New york, 2000) 91.2. Alan M.Dominican Dream.3. rbid. , l7 .4. rbid., 1,9Klein, Susarball: The American Game, The(Yale Uni-versity Press , L991,) 1"6McNeil, Baseball's Other A11-Stars, 1_36.rbid. , 136.K1ein, Sugarball, L5678 Horn, Rebecca. BasebaTT in the Dominican Today.September 2001.www. dominicanrepinfo . com/baseba11 . htm9. rbid.10. Eric Enders, The Game of Ball: An Antholoqy ofbaseball writing (Triple E, 2002)Davis 1-3BibliographyBjarkman, Peter C. Baseball with a Latin Beat: A Historyof the Latin American Game'Jefferson, NC: McFarland, cL994Emders, Eric.WritingsThe Game of Ball: An Antholoqy of BaseballNew York: Triple E, c2002K1ein, Alan M.DreamSugarball: The American Game, The DominicanYale University Press , c1-99!McNeil, William F. Baseball's Other A11-Stars: TheGreatest P s from the Winter Le s of Cuba,Puerto Rica and the Dominican Republic'Jefferson, NC: McFarland, c2000Regalgo, Samuel. Viva Baseball!: Latin Maior Leaguers andTheir S ecial HUrbana: University of fllinois press, cl-998Rucker, Mark & Bjarkman, Peter c. ..Smoke: The Romance andLore of Cuban Baseba11" Total Sports lTTustratedKingston, NY,2000Windell, Tim:Year RiseThe New Face of Baseball: The One-Hundredand Triumph of Latinos in America,s FavoriteSportNew York: Rayo,Winter, .Jonah:Leqendsc2002Beisbol ! : Latino Baseball Pioneers andNew York: Lee and Low Books, c200L

Baseball in Latin America: Creating a Culture Around a Game

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Baseball in Latin America: Creating a Culture Around a Game

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