tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54545979586450979522024-03-13T09:25:28.878-07:00Dominican Baseball GuyA Blog about Dominican BaseballAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.comBlogger375125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-56607643516824828252015-10-06T19:35:00.000-07:002015-10-06T19:35:55.350-07:00Dominican players in MLB playoffs 2015: AL Wildcard EditionThe <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Astros" target="_blank">Astros</a> and the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Yankees" target="_blank">Yankees</a> have set their rosters for tonight's AL Wildcard at Yankee Stadium. Both teams can reset their 25-man rosters for the divisional round after the one game wildcard match up. So, it is only a mild surprise that the Astros decided to bring nine pitchers.<br />
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The Astros bring with them two Dominican players to New York. Eight of the nine pitchers are American, with <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/" target="_blank">Oliver Perez</a> hailing from Mexico. Drug kingpin <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn_Guzm%C3%A1n" target="_blank">Chapo Guzman</a> is probably a big fan of Perez, as he is from Culiacan, Sinaloa. The Tomateros de Culiacan have been very successful in the Mexican Pacific League, winning ten domestic titles and two Caribbean World Series.<br />
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There are four Latin players in the Astros infield group, but only one of them is from the Dominican Republic. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jonathan%20Villar" target="_blank">Jonathan Villar</a> is from La Vega, DR. Back in 2011 he was a <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2011/02/baseball-america-top-100-prospects.html" target="_blank">top 100 prospect</a>, and he has played with the Astros for the last three seasons and been one of their first outfielders off the bench. Villar has also played and started for the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Aguilas" target="_blank">Aguilas</a> in the Dominican Winter Baseball League, and had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcFfDBVvXwU" target="_blank">a home run in the playoffs back in January</a>. Unfortunately for Villar he is behind Puerto Rican sensational rookie <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Carlos%20Correa" target="_blank">Carlos Correa</a>, so he will likely be used only as a pinch hitter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-2nMkWmbEfqOJvBY3JQSgCzgG4wLxTPgPCZeNv98fOxL2qGirmEuXEgNiSO304x0WsebVsTFJ5nidnN7JxgOAqqz6WIB4zy0Q2_PTGA9WS9rnRLPhb-z3T0Q6rhsDvUyiY6KtN9ifi58/s1600/Dominican+baseball+player+in+2015+playoff+Carlos+Gomez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-2nMkWmbEfqOJvBY3JQSgCzgG4wLxTPgPCZeNv98fOxL2qGirmEuXEgNiSO304x0WsebVsTFJ5nidnN7JxgOAqqz6WIB4zy0Q2_PTGA9WS9rnRLPhb-z3T0Q6rhsDvUyiY6KtN9ifi58/s320/Dominican+baseball+player+in+2015+playoff+Carlos+Gomez.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carlos Gomez, known as Go-Go, will start in center field <br />for the Astros. Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/apardavila/21013149305/" target="_blank">Arturo Pardavila III on Flickr</a>.</td></tr>
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The only other Dominican player that the Astros bring to the AL Wildcard is outfielder <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Carlos%20Gomez" target="_blank">Carlos Gomez</a>. When he made his debut in 2007 with the Mets, Gomez was the youngest player in National League at 21 years old. He has since had a successful nine year MLB career and made two All-Star games with the Brewers before being traded to the Astros this year. He has been injured, but will be starting in center field. Carlos is from Santiago, so it is natural that he has played for the Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League for a number of years, even appearing with them after he became an All-Star.<br />
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While the Astros only have two Dominicans on the 2015 AL Wildcard roster, they also have three players from Venezuela, one from Mexico, and one from Puerto Rico. Not surprising considering their GM, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Luhnow" target="_blank">Jeff Luhnow</a>, speaks Spanish and has strong ties to Latin America as he grew up in Mexico City.<br />
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The Yankees on the other hand, bring three Dominican players to the wild card contest. Or four if you count <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Alex%20Rodriguez" target="_blank">Alex Rodriguez</a>, but considering he was born in Miami, I consider him an American player.<br />
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Two pitchers, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Ivan%20Nova" target="_blank">Ivan Nova</a> and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Luis%20Severino" target="_blank">Luis Severino</a> will be in the bullpen for the Yankees. Nova was one of the top prospects in all of baseball when he was coming up, and has had a fairly successful six years in the majors, posting a 4.33 ERA in over 600 innings. He is from Palenque and has played for <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Escogido" target="_blank">Escogido</a> in the Dominican Winter League. Severino has had a highly successful debut season this year, after being named to some AAA All-Star teams.<br />
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The third Dominican player that the Yankees have on the roster is a rookie that only played in two games. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Gary%20Sanchez" target="_blank">Gary Sanchez</a> is another can't miss prospect and has made All-Star teams at every level including a Futures team this year. This seems to be a move to get a young player some playoff experience. Gary is from the capital of Santo Domingo and has played for one of two great teams in the capitol, Escogido.<br />
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The winner of this one game wild card may reshuffle the roster before facing Kansas City in the next round.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-23610929766069765982015-02-26T17:41:00.001-08:002015-06-02T22:03:59.887-07:00A Look At David Ortiz’s Career<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5w5MN5QMz883aghEvWFhPbUopv7tcttV3x7eg4YlUhiJgpRhlUcci2zNMP5iphtekKh4QqtVqUjdBvNXU5Eca8FNuApEEKlVn9KJdvxxu7VzEUOgy_0LsktgM4wHO1UD2ibuOyi7Md2On/s1600/5667086389_ca37751b58_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5w5MN5QMz883aghEvWFhPbUopv7tcttV3x7eg4YlUhiJgpRhlUcci2zNMP5iphtekKh4QqtVqUjdBvNXU5Eca8FNuApEEKlVn9KJdvxxu7VzEUOgy_0LsktgM4wHO1UD2ibuOyi7Md2On/s1600/5667086389_ca37751b58_m.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Dominican player David Ortiz, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">photo by </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/5667086389" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Keith Allison on Flick</a></div>
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At age 39, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/David%20Ortiz" target="_blank">David Ortiz</a> is wrapping up a very successful career at the MLB level. He is ready to play out the last year of his contract with the Boston Red Sox, although they do have a team option for 2016 and 2017. If he does not perform at a high level this upcoming year, this could be the end for the slugger. It’s pretty amazing what he has been able to accomplish, especially with the way his career started.<br />
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Nearly every single person who follows baseball knows about Ortiz as a member of the Boston Red Sox. He has been in the middle of their lineup every year since the 2003 season. As a member of 3 World Series championships, he is going to be remembered as one of the most successful players in team history. However, some people don’t realize that he was a mediocre at best player for the Minnesota Twins for parts of 6 seasons.<br />
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Boston decided to go after the slugger after showing some signs of life in 2002. He was able to hit 20 home runs for the 1st time in his career, and the Red Sox needed someone to provide power in the middle of the lineup. He has never really been able to play a position, but he is one of the best hitters for power and average in this generation.<br />
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Since joining Boston, Ortiz has never hit below 23 home runs in a year. His best seasons were in 2005 and 2006, when he slugged 101 home runs and drove in 285 during a 2-year stretch. Even in his age 37 season <br />
2 seasons ago, he was still able to. 38 home runs while driving in 103. That got him in the top 10 in MVP voting for the 1st time since 2007.<br />
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Big Papi is known for his consistency in the regular season, but you become a legend in Boston with outstanding playoff performances. He was named the 2004 American League championship series MVP as <br />
Boston went on to win the title, and then in 2013 he was MVP of the World Series. Many people look at his performance in 2013 as one of the best ever, as he hit .688 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI against the Cardinals.<br />
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Most would agree that he has been able to put up Hall of Fame caliber numbers, but we all know by now that those with any connection at all to performance-enhancing drugs will find it difficult to make it to Cooperstown. Regardless of whether or not he gets recognized there, people in <a href="https://www.fanduel.com/fantasy-baseball" target="_blank">fantasy baseball 2015</a> are still going to count on him even though he is about to be 40 years old. Not only that, but he will be remembered in Boston forever thanks to his work on and off the field.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-36875854945467380112013-10-02T16:06:00.002-07:002013-10-02T16:06:58.547-07:00NL Wildcard Game Features Two Dominican PitchersThe last week of the regular season got the Dominican Baseball Guy excited for baseball again. As, a Rangers fan we have had some tough years in the playoffs, and this year was no different. After making it to a wildcard play-in game they lost to the Devil Rays.
I am not a fan of one wildcard team, so I think two is rather ridiculous.<br />
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Play 162 games to let a wildcard team sneak in and get hot, beat a team like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Seattle_Mariners_season">Mariners in their record wins year of 2001</a> have to play a wildcard team? But as a fan of a team that just sneaked into the wildcard play-in game, I must say I loved it. It was an exciting week no whether your team was playing or not.<br />
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And then as a fan of Dominican baseball I get this treat last night. Two Dominican starting pitches: <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/national-league-wild-card-game-a-dominican-duel-between-francisco-liriano-johnny-cueto?ymd=20130930&content_id=62248260&vkey=news_mlb">Francisco Liriano versus Johnny Cueto</a>. Johnny Cueto <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/national-league-wild-card-game-a-dominican-duel-between-francisco-liriano-johnny-cueto?ymd=20130930&content_id=62248260&vkey=news_mlb" target="_blank">told MLB.com what the game means to him and his country</a>:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I want to tell my people in the Dominican Republic to follow this game. "There are two Dominicans on the mound. I want to give advice to all the youth in the Dominican that you have to work hard and to continue working hard to do things like this.</span></blockquote>
<a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Francisco%20Liriano" target="_blank">Francisco Lirano</a> dominated, and the Pirates won easily. His up and down play has been well followed here at the Dominican Baseball Guy. A true natural in my opionion. A near Cy Young and Rookie of the Year sweep in 2006 before getting hurt in August. He never really recovered from Tommy John surgery...until 2010 really. An entire missed season (2007) and two bad years.<br />
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Then in 2010 he returned to the Dominican Republic to play Winter Ball. He had an insane winter season, leading Escogido to the championship and then pitched well in the Caribbean World Series. It was cool having a guy of his magnitude playing daily in the Dominican Winter League that year. But he was still erratic.<br />
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After another Cy Young-worthy year in 2010 he had a down year in 2011 and 2012, and then signed with Pittsburgh for this year. And everything seemed to click -16-8 and a 3.02 ERA. And last night in the NL Wildcard game was one of the good nights. His slider was as good as it has ever been, with Reds batters swinging at it in the grass two feet from home. Vintage Liriano, allowing one run in seven innings.<br />
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The Reds scored another run in the 8th, but they were never really in it. Andrew McCutchon was doing his thing running all over the bases. He had two hits and two walks. It seemed like he was on the bases all night. Marlon Byrd had two RBI and Russel Martin had two homers. The game was over by the 4th inning the way Liriano was pitching.<br />
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The other Dominican pitcher did not fair too well. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Johnny%20Cueto" target="_blank">Johnny Cueto</a> was said to have been rattled by the raucous Pittsburgh crowd. To which manager Dusty Baker said at the post-game presser: "he did not get rattled he just couldn't hit his pitches. He played in the Dominican Winter League and all that, and if you have been down there you know how intense those games are."<br />
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Interesting side note. I love that quote. Baker insulting the reporter by implying that he has never been to a Dominican Winter League game at the same time as brushing off his questions as ridiculous.<br /><br />In the end it was all Liriano. "We had the expectancy to win," Andrew McCutchen said to the AP. "When he showed up with his suit on, that got me hyped up."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Dominican pitcher Francisco Liriano with Twins, photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hinnosaar/3432999465/">Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar on Flickr</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-33612521787159286072013-07-16T15:11:00.000-07:002013-10-02T15:38:06.219-07:00Record nine Dominicans to play in MLB All-Star Game<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Ortizpoint.jpg/317px-Ortizpoint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="File:Ortizpoint.jpg" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Ortizpoint.jpg/317px-Ortizpoint.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican player David Ortiz is appearing in his <br />
9th All-Star Game. Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/adonovan/466136748" target="_blank">Aaron Donovan</a>.</td></tr>
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The <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2013/">2013 MLB All-Star Game</a> features a a record nine Dominican baseball players. The total number of Latin and Dominican players has been on the upswing over the last decade-plus, and those higher numbers of total players undoubtedly leads to more Latins and Dominicans participating in the mid-summer classic. Last year in the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2012/07/2012-mlb-all-star-rosters-feature-8.html">2012 All-Star Game eight Dominican players were featured</a> in the game.</div>
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The American League All-Star roster features starters and perennial All-Stars <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Robinson%20Can%C3%B3" target="_blank">Robinson Cano</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Bautista" target="_blank">Jose Bautista</a>, and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/David%20Ortiz" target="_blank">David Ortiz</a>. It also features Dominicans <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Bortolo%20Colon" target="_blank">Bortolo Colon</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jhonny%20Peralta" target="_blank">Jhonny Peralta</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Nelson%20Cruz" target="_blank">Nelson Cruz</a>, and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Edwin%20Encarnacion" target="_blank">Edwin Encarnacion</a>. No shortage of drama here, as you can see that Colon, Peralta, and Cruz are all mired in steroid accusations and could be suspended before the end of the year. But alas, they have been named to the team.<br />
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Featured on the National League roster are just two Dominican players. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jean%20Segura" target="_blank">Jean Segura</a> is appearing in <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/brewers-jean-segura-makes-it-into-all-star-game-in-a-flash-b9954729z1-215613731.html" target="_blank">his first All-Star game</a>, after just a little over a years in the majors. He had a respectable season for part of last year with the Brewers, and then he tore up the Dominican Winter League in the off-season with the Gigantes del Cibao. The other Dominican player on the National League roster is Segura's teammate in Milwaukee <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Carlos%20Gomez" target="_blank">Carlos Gomez</a>.<br />
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This is the Dominican players that plan to play as of now. The Dominican Baseball Guy is somewhat perplexed at the All-Star carosuel. I beleive Colon is out due to injury or he is a replacement player, but is not playing. I thought Cruz was out injured as well. Big Papi will probably come up once, swing for the fences, and sit down. Who really knows?<br />
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In the end, nine Dominican players have been named to the 2013 MLB All-Star game. We will all tune in tonight to see which ones play.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-90107927010638139242013-03-23T13:10:00.000-07:002013-04-16T13:14:11.297-07:00What The Dominican Republic Proved In The World Baseball Classic<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="File:José Reyes on April 2, 2013.jpg" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Jos%C3%A9_Reyes_on_April_2%2C_2013.jpg/370px-Jos%C3%A9_Reyes_on_April_2%2C_2013.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="247" /></td></tr>
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Dominican player Jose Reyes led team Dominican </div>
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to World Baseball Classic championship. </div>
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Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/james_in_to/8614806423/">james_in_to'</a></div>
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Another World Baseball Classic has come and gone, and once again, overall fan interest was hit and miss. In the United States, even the games including the home country were dismissed as nothing more than exhibitions. However, starting with the Dominican Republic’s win over the United States of America, those watching the event could tell how much this competition meant to the small island.<br />
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After beating Puerto Rico in the final 3-0, the Dominican Republic capped off the tournament with an 8-0 record. Head coach Tony Pena knew going in he had a strong team, but winning eight games in a row in baseball against the best players in the world is no easy task.<br />
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When the United States and the Dominican Republic got together in Miami, the crowd was pro-Dominican. The team played with passion, celebrating runs and strikeouts like Little Leaguers. While some old school baseball fans frowned at this, the team continued to play with passion for their country.<br />
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The team played the game, and the tournament for that matter, the way organizers wanted it to be played when it was first developed. Baseball is no longer in the Olympics, so this is the premier international event. The Dominican Republic did not send all of their stars, but <a href="https://www.fanduel.com/fantasy-baseball">fantasy baseball</a> favorites <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Robinson%20Can%C3%B3">Robinson Cano</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Hanley%20Ramirez">Hanley Ramirez</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Reyes">Jose Reyes</a>, and more definitely made sure the team had talent.<br />
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After dominating the tournament, the Dominican Republic can officially say that the best baseball is played on their island. People can obviously debate that claim in a number of ways, but they proved it at this moment on the field. If more countries can follow their methods, the World Baseball Classic could rival that of the World Cup in soccer or the Olympics in basketball. It just takes getting the best players to play with pride for their home country.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-85346877693764505512013-03-07T17:46:00.000-08:002013-03-07T17:47:28.337-08:00Can the Dominican Republic Win the World Baseball Classic?After a semi final loss in the first World Baseball Classic, and a national catastrophe first-round exit in 2009, the Dominican Republic has the pressure of the nation on them to win their first world title in the unilateral national sport. Even Dominican President Danilo Medina recently implored the Dominican team to 'lift up the country' with their World Baseball Classic performance.<br />
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Anything less than winning the whole thing will be a disappointment in the country with more MLB players per capita than any country in the world. There were <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2012/04/dominican-baseball-players-on-mlb.html" target="_blank">95 Dominican Baseball Players on MLB Rosters 2012</a>, which was 11% of the league. Virtually everyone in the country has an opinion about baseball, known as 'pelota' or simply 'ball' in the Dominican Republic.<br />
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Dominican short stop <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Reyes" target="_blank">Jose Reyes</a> talked with USA Today. "The first two Classics were a bit disappointing for us. We had great teams and didn't do much," said Reyes. "This time we want to bring the crown back to the Dominican people."<br />
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Dominican native and MLB veteran <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Moises%20Alou" target="_blank">Moises Alou</a> has been a successful General Manager for Escogido in the Dominican Winter League, and he is heading up the World Baseball Classic team as well. He has replaced the power laden lineup from 2009 with a lineup based on speed and contact. Dominican players like Reyes, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Erick%20Aybar" target="_blank">Erick Aybar</a> and Alejandro De Aza fit that mold. Even the power heavy players like <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Robinson%20Can%C3%B3" target="_blank">Robinson Cano</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Hanley%20Ramirez" target="_blank">Hanley Ramirez</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Edwin%20Encarnacion" target="_blank">Edwin Encarnacion</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Carlos%20Santana" target="_blank">Carlos Santana</a> and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Nelson%20Cruz" target="_blank">Nelson Cruz</a> are more rounded than power players like <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Bautista" target="_blank">Jose Bautista</a> and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/David%20Ortiz" target="_blank">David Ortiz</a> in previous years.<br />
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The bookies tend to agree with Alou and the Dominican public. <a href="http://linemakers.sportingnews.com/mlb/2013-02-28/world-baseball-classic-odds-betting-lines-favorites-us-dominican-japan-s-korea" target="_blank">The Dominican Republic is a 3-1 co-favorite to win the World Baseball Classic</a>. The team has backed up this confidence from the public in their two exhibition games, <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130305&content_id=42298236&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb" target="_blank">beating the Phillies with 30 hits</a> Tuesday and <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/06/3270633/recap-ny-yankees-vs-dominican.html" target="_blank">downing the Yankees 8-2</a> on Wedensday.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Tony_Pena_April_2012.jpg/400px-Tony_Pena_April_2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="File:Tony Pena April 2012.jpg" border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Tony_Pena_April_2012.jpg/400px-Tony_Pena_April_2012.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican Republic World Baseball <br />
Classic manager, Tony Pena, is currently<br />
bench coach for the Yankees.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Dominicans, led by Yankee bench coach and former big league Dominican native <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Tony%20Pena" target="_blank">Tony Pena</a>, look to build on this chemistry. Their first game is Thursday evening in Pool C in San Juan, Puerto Rico.<br />
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Team Dominican Republic could even add <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Adrian%20Beltre" target="_blank">Adrian Beltre</a> to the All-Star heavy lineup in the second round. "We take a lot of pride in trying to be the best we can. We have a lot of players that play in the big leagues, so we have quite a list of players," Beltre told ESPN. "Coming into the Classic the first time, we thought we'd do a better job than we did as a team. After that, we didn't meet our expectations, and I think the fans and the players were more into it because they know we can do better."<br />
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"Every three or four years, they expect us to do well. They look forward to it."</div>
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Tony Pena is a legend in the Dominican Republic. Expect him to bring together all the high priced talent and lead them to the final round. On paper they are certainly one of the top two teams, along with the USA. They should see Asian bracket winners Japan and Cuba in the final round.<br />
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<b>Pool: </b>C — San Juan, Puerto Rico<br />
<b>First Dominican Republic game: </b>Thursday, March 7 — vs. Venezuela</div>
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<b>Infield:</b> <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Robinson%20Can%C3%B3" target="_blank">Robinson Cano</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Reyes" target="_blank">Jose Reyes</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Hanley%20Ramirez" target="_blank">Hanley Ramirez</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Luery%20Garcia" target="_blank">Leury Garcia</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Miguel%20Tejada" target="_blank">Miguel Tejada</a><br />
<b>Outfield:</b> <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Nelson%20Cruz" target="_blank">Nelson Cruz</a>, Alejandro de Aza, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Eury%20Perez" target="_blank">Eury Perez</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Ricardo%20Nanita" target="_blank">Ricardo Nanita</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Moises%20Sierra" target="_blank">Moises Sierra</a></div>
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<b>Starters:</b> <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Edinson%20Volquez" target="_blank">Edinson Volquez</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Wandy%20Rodriguez" target="_blank">Wandy Rodriguez</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Sam%20Deduno" target="_blank">Sam Deduno</a><br />
<b>Bullpen: </b><a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Fernando%20Rodney" target="_blank">Fernando Rodney</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Santiago%20Casilla" target="_blank">Santiago Casilla</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Octavio%20Dotel" target="_blank">Octavio Dotel</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Veras" target="_blank">Jose Veras</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Valverde" target="_blank">Jose Valverde</a><br />
<b>Catchers: </b><a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Francisco%20Pena">Francisco Pena</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Carlos%20Santana">Carlos Santana</a><br />
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For more information on the tournament see <a href="http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/" target="_blank">the official World Baseball Classic site</a>.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-26170039090089893682012-10-30T13:20:00.000-07:002015-06-03T13:26:00.197-07:00What Next For The New York Yankees by Mybookie.ag<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wDyBwtFoVdkC5rlAF-4syNPHIUnN7Bet4y4-RWJHaqF5vZZ3O2tVAlmRqNfdL8rRebHuM1vKwcw_MNwHxmDjnpLRvcJCcQKrCEQ7fOiiIv2HsP9UcNQMcBavUlUrL6XcTwvFIddB6JPt/s1600/dominican+baseball+player+alex+rodriguez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wDyBwtFoVdkC5rlAF-4syNPHIUnN7Bet4y4-RWJHaqF5vZZ3O2tVAlmRqNfdL8rRebHuM1vKwcw_MNwHxmDjnpLRvcJCcQKrCEQ7fOiiIv2HsP9UcNQMcBavUlUrL6XcTwvFIddB6JPt/s320/dominican+baseball+player+alex+rodriguez.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican player Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees <br />
seek another AL title, photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/7417824644/in/photolist-ciuhQm-tDvamm-sGNfk7-tnmEV2-9JN478-9JMYhH-9JQR7y-9JR4PQ-9K86fY-9JRGih-9JQx1Q-9JQACJ-9K7XCC-9JNWBk-9JNKx6-9JR6o9-d7mSiC-akvTB4-ahiAPX-bYTTnY-8EpDhZ-fQudUP-fQqZzW-fNeZX4-4wj5Hb-agJduY-agJKbq-agJJgs-agFqM4-s7qsCJ-9JQud5-9JN22n-6mwiGX-dhKHH8-4wj3Z7-6UBm1S-7VEGop-fQFDHs-4wj4bo-9JR4eo-d7k3nG-agGyyL-fQan1B-7eRXbf-6mwiDn-6Uwv1H-5fBWFB-6hc657-agFMh6-6mwkaa" target="_blank">Keith Allison on Flick</a></td></tr>
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The New York Yankees are excited and relieved in equal measures with the return of <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Alex%20Rodriguez" target="_blank">Alex Rodriguez</a> at a very crucial stage of their campaign. Rodriguez will be looking to help his team equal the season’s longest winning streak when they face the struggling Oakland Athletics on Thursday night. Just last week, Hal Steinbrenner, the owner, said that Rodriguez is a great asset, although not everyone in New York is as thrilled about his return after he was suspended the whole of last season for using a banned substance. The designated hitter, at 39 years of age, was instrumental in the three game sweep of Kansas City who are the reigning AL champions. He hit a three run shot on the 4-2 victory on Wednesday for his 11th homer of the season. He marked an impressive 1,995 RBIs to overtake Lou Gehrig 1,993 RBIs to record the most in the history of AL. It is also a great opportunity for those who wish to get involved in the betting battle. <a href="http://mybookie.ag/sports-betting/mlb/yankees-oakland-odds-preview/">Check it out, the MLB odds in this betting preview to make the best decisions</a>.<br />
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In the 2013 season, Rodriguez featured in only 44 appearances for his team after being sidelined with a hip surgery. In an interview, he admitted that despite being out of any baseball action for 2 years, he feels like he is in a good place, happy and having fun. He saw the spell as an opportunity to rest and get his energy back; the reason why he saw this spell as a blessing in disguise. He feels explosive as he seeks to build on his .375 average in the last 13 encounters with the A’s, but he hasn’t faced them since 3 years ago. Strong pitching is the other thing that places New York in a better position to match its season’s best four-game winning streak. <br />
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The other player on our radar is <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gametracker/preview/MLB_20150528_NYY@OAK">CC Sabathia</a>. This season, he has had his worst performance ever, despite going for nine straight years without injury. Sabathia was responsible for six of the 10 Texas’ 10 runs on Saturday’s 15-4 loss. However, the six-time all-star has won his previous two road starts where he owns a 3.48 ERA after six starts compared to the 11.77ERA at home. After losing his two starts in 2013 against the A’s he has a 6.00 ERA.<br />
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Out of the 8 on road matches, the Yankees have dropped seven of them and nine of the 10 matches in Oakland. However, the A’s still hold the worst record at home at 6-16 given that they have lost six of the seven home games after the 3-2 loss on Wednesday to Detroit. Kendall Graveman will be the man that Oakland will be turning to after he has impressed since he was recalled from Triple-A Nashville. The right-hander has never faced the Yankees, but he featured on the opening day roster, although he went 1-2 in four starts before he was sent down with an 8.27 ERA. Graveman was impressed with his performance as he told the MLB official website that he felt comfortable in the game. His movements were good, he located the fastball impressively and whenever he was required to change his speed, he did it well.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-50064216833135111732012-10-23T15:16:00.000-07:002012-10-27T15:28:21.399-07:009 Dominican players on World Series rostersAnyone that has ever visited the Dominican Baseball Guy blog knows that Dominican players have figured prominently at all levels of Major League Baseball in recent years. The total number of <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2012/04/dominican-baseball-players-on-mlb.html" target="_blank">Dominican baseball players on MLB rosters 2012</a> was 11% this year. That number has remained steady and grown in recent years, and it holds up in the playoffs for the most part.<br />
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This year there are nine Dominican players in the World Series out of a total of 50 players. The total 18% of players coming from the Dominican Republic nearly doubles that regular season percentage. Further, according to Latino Voices on the Huffington post, <a href="http://ht.ly/eLOEx" target="_blank">22 Latino will play in the World Series</a>. Nearly half of the World Series players come from Latin America!<br />
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And that means the Dominican Republic and Venezuela for the most part. The two countries are the Latin baseball power houses of the MLB. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2012/10/23/world-series-venezuela-nine-players-giants-cardinals/1652749/" target="_blank">USA Today</a> and the <a href="http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/a-world-series-with-a-venezuelan-accent/?ref=baseball" target="_blank">New York Times</a> felt the need to point out the banner year for Venezuelan players in the World Series, as there are also nine Venezuelan players, including the recent triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera. And they failed to mention the equal number of Dominican Republic baseball players in this year's World Series.<br />
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Dominican players have featured so prominently in both the regular season and the playoffs in recent years, that perhaps major publications do not see it as newsworthy that their are a lot of Dominicans in the World Series. Last year there were <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Dominicans%20in%20Playoffs" target="_blank">eight Dominican players in the World Series</a>. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Pedro%20Martinez" target="_blank">Pedro Martinez</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/David%20Ortiz" target="_blank">David Ortiz</a>, and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Manny%20Ramirez" target="_blank">Manny Ramirez</a>, among other Dominican players, have dominated on the biggest baseball stage of them all.<br />
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Dominican natives have summed up what it means to have their countrymen competing on the biggest stage. A librarian in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic said years ago that "we root for whichever team has more Dominicans. They remind me of players that I have seen in my own town, so we want them to do well and represent our country."<br />
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Juan Uriste, another Dominican baseball fan from San Francisco de Macoris told the Dominican baseball guy through email that "Dominicans are following the series closely as always, but we don't know who to root for because both teams have several Dominican players each."<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/001U8244_Ram%C3%B3n_Santiago.jpg/382px-001U8244_Ram%C3%B3n_Santiago.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="File:001U8244 Ramón Santiago.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/001U8244_Ram%C3%B3n_Santiago.jpg/382px-001U8244_Ram%C3%B3n_Santiago.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican baseball player Ramon Santiago could<br />
feature prominently in 2012 World Series,<br />
photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/3582794093" target="_blank">Keith Allison on Flickr</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They have their choice of the Tigers who feature six Dominicans on their active roster: <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jhonny%20Peralta">Jhonny Peralta</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Al%20Alburquerque">Al Alburquerque</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jaquin%20Benoit">Joaquin Benoit</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Octavio%20Dotel">Octavio Dotel</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Valverde">Jose Valverde</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Ramon%20Santiago">Ramon Santiago</a>. Or, the Giants who have pitchers <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Santiago%20Casilla">Santiago Casilla</a> and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Guillermo%20Mota">Guillermo Mota</a>, and position player <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Joaqu%C3%ADn%20%C3%81rias">Joaquín Árias</a> on their World Series roster.<br />
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Pretty incredible that a country of just 15 million people could put that many players in the World Series, compared to the 300 million people and the 25 or so American players competing. The percentages are simply astounding.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-5252912583364079062012-10-19T14:04:00.001-07:002012-10-27T15:07:11.262-07:00Dominican players in MLB playoffs 2012: NLCS editionThe 2012 NLCS is under way and the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Cardinals" target="_blank">Cardinals</a> currently lead the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Giants" target="_blank">Giants</a> 3-1, and are looking to clinch the series tonight in San Francisco. There are some Dominican players in this years NLCS, but not as many as we have seen in other playoff series.
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The Cardinals have a whopping zero Dominican players on their roster, after having one of the top Dominican baseball players of all-time on their roster for over a decade, in <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Albert%20Pujols" target="_blank">Albert Pujols</a>. They do have <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Miakel%20Cleto" target="_blank">Miakel Cleto</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Victor%20Marte" target="_blank">Victor Marte</a>, and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Rafael%20Furcal" target="_blank">Rafael Furcal</a> on their 40-man roster.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Furcal, the twelve year MLB veteran was a major part of the Cardinals World Series championship last year and a big part of the team this year, as he made his third All-Star game. Also a former Dominican Winter Baseball League player and a Caribbean Series All-Star in 2008, Furcal injured his elbow at the end of August and has not played since.<br />
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The Giants have several Dominicans on their active roster for the NLCS. Playing for the Giants will be pitchers <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Santiago%20Casilla" target="_blank">Santiago Casilla</a> and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Guillermo%20Mota" target="_blank">Guillermo Mota</a>, and position player <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Joaqu%C3%ADn%20%C3%81rias" target="_blank">Joaquín Árias</a>.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7375203732_eea1d3cd5a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7375203732_eea1d3cd5a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican player Jaoquin Arias is one of three Dominican<br />
players on active rosters in 2012 NLCS, photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/auntijuli/7375203732/" target="_blank">Aunti Juli</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Interesting that Árias appeared in 112 regular season games, even though he was not an everyday player. He seemed to be the first pinch hitter off the Giants bench and has continued that role through four games of the NLCS. Thus far, the two year MLB player has appeared in five post season games and has three hits.<br />
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Santiago Casilla is in his ninth MLB season, and got his first chance to be an everyday closer this season. With 25 saves on the year and a 2.24 ERA, Casilla was entrenched as the closer until he injured his fingers. The Giants then went with a closer by committee approach, but Casilla could still be called upon to close some NLCS games. So far in the playoffs, he has pitched 4.1 innings and allowed just one earned run.<br />
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Guillermo Mota has been a solid mid-inning reliever in the big leagues since 2002. He appeared in 26 games this year with the Giants, and has pitched 1.2 innings in the playoffs and allowed four runs. A 21.6 ERA is not a great start, so I doubt to see him much more unless the Giants are in a bind.<br />
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While the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2012/10/dominican-players-in-mlb-2012-playoffs.html" target="_blank">Dominican players in MLB playoffs on American League rosters</a> was 16% of all players, in the NLCS only 6% of the players are Dominican natives, way off the overall MLB percentage of Dominican players.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-9541890579181204452012-10-13T19:01:00.000-07:002012-10-13T19:04:25.320-07:00Dominican players in MLB 2012 playoffs: ALCS edition<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbGtrD2lqy8phyphenhyphenyb8yS-HR3yRRLmfspnXGqwzzHztEWC0qpy133Vx2qsw9FA1D3Cjk5DVp9syJDojbmorh8xnD6cp9L352GsnHLmtAOl7aYej0powUDclCfbTiPafLsQ6ljm8uLYm4YMK/s1600/3876703821_54f4368371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Robinson Cano had a great week for the Yankees" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbGtrD2lqy8phyphenhyphenyb8yS-HR3yRRLmfspnXGqwzzHztEWC0qpy133Vx2qsw9FA1D3Cjk5DVp9syJDojbmorh8xnD6cp9L352GsnHLmtAOl7aYej0powUDclCfbTiPafLsQ6ljm8uLYm4YMK/s400/3876703821_54f4368371.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Look for Dominican player Robinson Cano </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">to be </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">major factor </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">in the 2012 ALCS. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/3876703821/" style="font-size: small;">Keith Allison on Flickr</a></div>
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The ALCS is here, featuring the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Yankees" target="_blank">Yankees</a> and the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Tigers" target="_blank">Tigers</a>, and as usual there are a number of Dominicans players in this version of the league championship series.<br />
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The Yankees have <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Robinson%20Can%C3%B3" target="_blank">Robinson Cano</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Rafael%20Soriano" target="_blank">Rafael Soriano</a>, and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Alex%20Rodriguez" target="_blank">Alex Rodriguez</a>. Does he count? That subject has been broached time and time again here at the Dominican Baseball Guy and I say no, he is American not Dominican.<br />
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Already a Dominican legend half way through his career, Cano was a pre-season MVP candidate here at the Dominican Baseball Guy and he did not disappoint. Cano got went to his third strait All-Star game and should see his third strait Silver Slugger award. He was in the top-12 in the AL in average, home runs, and RBI. This could be his year to get the MVP of the ALCS is he can get some clutch hits.<br />
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Rafael Soriano is a haus at the back end of the Yankees bullpen. After Mariano Rivera went out with an injury, Soriano came in and did not miss a beat. He ended the year with 42 saves and a 1.17 WHIP. He also threw more than one strikeout per inning on the year. If he gets a chance to save some games he will do it at a very high percentage.<br />
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The Tigers feature six Dominicans on their active roster: <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jhonny%20Peralta" target="_blank">Jhonny Peralta</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Al%20Alburquerque" target="_blank">Al Alburquerque</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jaquin%20Benoit" target="_blank">Joaquin Benoit</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Octavio%20Dotel" target="_blank">Octavio Dotel</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Valverde" target="_blank">Jose Valverde</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Ramon%20Santiago" target="_blank">Ramon Santiago</a>. While they do not have the star power the Yankees have, they certainly have the numbers with six Dominican players out of their 25-man active roster.<br />
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Jose Valverde is another Dominican haus closer at the end of the Tigers bullpen. Throwing only a fastball and a splitter, Valverde epitomizes a power closer. He had the third longest saves streak ever back in 2011. Even though he blew a save last round, look for Valverde to be perfect if he gets any save opportunities.<br />
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The Tigers Dominican infielder Jhonny Peralta is little known for having been an everyday player over eight seasons. He actually played in the playoffs back in 2007 with the Indians...they made the playoffs that year? He made his one and only All-Star team last year with the Tigers, but was down from those numbers this year. But he is just the type of journey man player that could show up big in a playoff series.<br />
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The other Tigers will be coming off the bench, and should not factor in a major way.<br />
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The Yankees also have Dominican players <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Ivan%20Nova" target="_blank">Ivan Nova</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Zoilo%20Almonte" target="_blank">Zoilo Almonte</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Eduardo%20Nunez" target="_blank">Eduardo Nunez</a>, and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Melky%20Mesa" target="_blank">Melky Mesa</a> available on their 40-man roster. And the Tigers have <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Luis%20Marte" target="_blank">Luis Marte</a> on their 40-man.<br />
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Total, that comes out to eight Dominican players out of 50 on the ALCS active rosters, and 13 Dominicans out of 80 on the total rosters. Or 16% of the players in the ALCS are Dominican natives.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-83368057285523311042012-09-26T11:40:00.000-07:002013-07-25T16:04:47.369-07:00Review of Baseball Slots GameThe modern era is making sports which were once seen as being the province of certain parts of the world – for example baseball and the United States – genuinely global, and the huge popularity of baseball in the Dominican Republic is testament to this. There could be a number of explanations for this, including the increasing success of the country’s baseball team – who recently won the World Baseball Classic, and the number of players from the country competing in Major League Baseball now, but the rise of online sports betting probably played a part in it too.<br />
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After all these are two pastime which have been enthusiastically embraced across much of the world, because the rise in online sports betting has made it easy for people in any country to secure odds information and place bets on the MLB World Series – and other sports – wherever they might be based. Being able to follow and gamble on these matches online makes these sports much more appealing to people in other countries and, when you then factor in the availability of baseball slots games at online casino sites, you have further encouragement for people in places like the Dominican Republic to discover the joys of MLB baseball.<br />
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One of the best of these baseball slots games is undoubtedly Hot Shot found at places like <a href="http://www.jackpotcity.co.uk/mobile-casino/iphone-casino">Jackpot City</a>, a five reel, nine pay line video slot. From the minute you start it is baseball all the way, with the reel icons being of familiar baseball sights like pitchers, hitters, catchers’ mitts and a baseball, all set against the background of a lush green field. The sound effects utilized in Hot Shot are another reason why it is such a good game, with crowd sounds heard throughout, but rising from a murmur to a roar when you score a win with the gold trophy scatter symbol – while normal winning reels are greeted by the sound of a bat whacking a baseball. You stand a pretty good chance of winning money by playing Hot Shot too, thanks to the nine pay lines and the presence of a wild symbol (the burning baseball).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-1077037503696021322012-09-24T23:20:00.000-07:002012-10-13T19:47:03.594-07:00Dominican baseball player of the week: Wilin Rosario<a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Rockies" target="_blank">Rockies</a> rookie and Dominican baseball player <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Wilin%20Rosario" target="_blank">Wilin Rosario</a> is the latest winner of the Dominican Player of the Week here on the Dominican Baseball Guy blog. I dare you to write a sentence that has more derivations of 'Dominican baseball' than that last one.<br />
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The Dominican Rosario has a slew of minor league awards, but this appears to be his biggest award while playing in the big leagues. He was a Futures Game selection twice, a post-season and mid-season all-star in the AA Texas League, and won a few other minor league awards. The Dominican Baseball Guy got a chance to see <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2011/11/corpus-christi-hooks-game-photos-and.html" target="_blank">Wilin Rosario play while he was in the Texas League</a>.<br />
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He was considered a <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Wilin%20Rosario" target="_blank">top-100 prospect at the start of the 2011 season</a>. After six years in the minors, he made the jump from AA to the majors at the end of last year, and has never looked back. He has been an every day player for the Rockies this year, and has home runs and a .274 average, while playing the most important position on the field, catcher.<br />
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Last week, he hit a ridiculous .448, with 13 hits, 2 home runs, and 5 RBI. He should be the starting catcher for the Rockies for many years to come.<br />
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Dominican baseball player Wilin Rosario is from Bonao, Dominican Republic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dominican baseball player of the week: Wilin Rosario" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6017/5897606763_b5f8285953.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Dominican player Wilin Rosario" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican baseball player Wilin Rosario playing catcher at the Texas League All-Star game, <br />
I promise he is there, photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27108728@N07/5897606763/" target="_blank">monstersweare on Flickr</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-28103962441941540662012-09-21T23:20:00.000-07:002012-09-24T23:34:27.212-07:00Dominican beisbol player Engel Beltre plays for Spain in WBCIn a scene only seen in those strange citizenship rules of international sports, Dominican beisbol player <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Engel%20Beltre" target="_blank">Engel Beltre</a> is <a href="http://sfgiants.scout.com/a.z?s=316&p=9&c=2&cid=1223698&nid=6195744&fhn=1" target="_blank">playing in World Baseball Classic qualifiers for Spain</a>. Even though Beltre is from the Dominican Republic, and grew up in his home country and in the United States, at least one of his grand parents was from Spain, so he can represent them in the WBC. For that matter, virtually the entire Spain team is from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, or the United States.<br />
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Beltre is one of the seemingly unending pipeline of Rangers prospects. The team protected him from free agency by placing him on their 40-man roster, but he is not with the team. He had a great year in double-A for the Rangers, and won the Texas League player of the month award for July.<br />
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It is hard to get on the field with the big league club though. Beltre is a center fielder with a plus arm and fielding ability, and hits for power and average and has plus speed. Despite this, he has a pretty good player in center ahead of him in <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Josh%20Hamilton" target="_blank">Josh Hamilton</a>.<br />
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In any case, Dominican beisbol player Engel Beltre should see a big league field in the next year or two, whether with the Rangers or another team.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7090/7007683963_020c499d0a_z.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican beisbol player Engel Beltre will play for Spain in the World Baseball Classic,<br />photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjl816/7007683963/" target="_blank">mikelachance816 on Flickr</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-78704881986264705752012-09-20T23:11:00.000-07:002012-09-24T23:21:13.008-07:00Dominican player Robinson Cano denies PED suspension rumorDominican player and Yankees second baseman<a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Robinson%20Can%C3%B3" target="_blank"> Robinson Cano</a> along with his agent, Scott Boras, yesterday said there was <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mlb/yankees/story/2012/09/20/robinson-cano-mlb-deny-yankee-2b-faces-a-suspension/57816204/1" target="_blank">no truth to rumors of Cano being suspended for performance-enhancing drugs</a>. Boras, told The New York Daily News that the rumors were false. He had traced the allegation to a rumor that originated in the Dominican Republic, a reporter in the U.S. and a rival agent.<br />
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Hard to stop a 'rumor' originating from the Dominican Republic. The rumor mill and oral communication in general is one of the top forms of communication in the Dominican Republic. I have often told people that are trying to contact Dominicans in the Dominican Republic to just go down there and start asking people. If you know what city a Dominican person is in, then I bet you can find them in half a day just by asking the first people you come across in whatever Dominican city you may be in.<br />
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But the 'U.S. reporter and the 'rival agent' obviously lack integrity if they were involved in this rumor in any way.</div>
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Cano has never really been suspected of performance enhancing drugs. His numbers have been consistently awesome since he was in the minor leagues and there is nothing in his injury history to suggest PEDs.</div>
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That was not the case last month, when Dominican player <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Melky%20Cabrera" target="_blank">Melky Cabrera</a> got <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2012/08/all-star-mvp-melky-cabrera-suspended.html" target="_blank">busted for PEDs and suspended 50 games</a>. Cabrera was in the midst of his best year ever, and coming in his seventh full-time big league season, the jump in stats were an anomaly that may have suggested PED use.</div>
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Cano's friendship with the fellow Dominican baseball player Cabrera fueled the suspicion that Cano could have failed a PED test. But it appears that the rumors were entirely false, and Cano hopes to focus on making the playoffs this season with the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Yankees" target="_blank">Yankees</a>.</div>
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"You can't control what people say," Cano told the New York Daily News. "There's a lot of negative stuff out there and I can't control that. I have to stay above that."</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Robinson Cano had a great week for the Yankees" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbGtrD2lqy8phyphenhyphenyb8yS-HR3yRRLmfspnXGqwzzHztEWC0qpy133Vx2qsw9FA1D3Cjk5DVp9syJDojbmorh8xnD6cp9L352GsnHLmtAOl7aYej0powUDclCfbTiPafLsQ6ljm8uLYm4YMK/s1600/3876703821_54f4368371.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arimo; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 16.666667938232422px;">Dominican beisbol player of the week Robinson Cano, by </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/3876703821/" style="background-color: white; color: #3060ac; font-family: Arimo; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 16.666667938232422px; text-decoration: none;">Keith Allison on Flickr</a>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-44125789006976788342012-09-17T14:53:00.000-07:002012-10-13T14:56:09.641-07:00Dominican baseball player of the week: Wily PeraltaDominican baseball player and rookie with the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Rockies" target="_blank">Rockies</a>, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Wily%20Peralta" target="_blank">Wily Peralta</a> is the latest winner of the Dominican baseball player of the week. Last week he went 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 9 strikeouts in 14 innings. Quite a line for a pitcher that made his first start on September 5th.<br />
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Peralta got his first call up in April, but the starter has received his first extended action in the last couple weeks. The Dominican pitcher received a slew of minor league awards, but the Dominican baseball player of the week is his first major big league award. He projects as a mid-rotation starter, and should get a chance to compete for a rotation spot next Spring Training with the Rockies.<br />
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He grew up in Samana, Dominican Republic, but moved to the capital in order to pursue baseball more seriously when he was just eleven.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-20709207904261915342012-09-12T14:31:00.000-07:002012-10-13T20:53:31.937-07:00Dominican baseball legend Manny Ramirez done, say it ain't so<div class="tr_bq">
It appears that Dominican baseball legend <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Manny%20Ramirez" target="_blank">Manny Ramirez</a> is finally done with baseball. Apparently <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/mlb/story/2012/09/12/manny-sometimes-i-miss-the-game-but-i-try-to-fill-that-void-by-taking-my-kids-to-their-games/57753116/1" target="_blank">he has found peace out of the game</a>, after appearing in 17 games in the A's minor league system this season. He left the A's affiliate in June, after not receiving a call up to the big league squad.</div>
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Ramirez is living in a gated community outside Miami, and is happy to be enjoying life with his wife and kids. And he gives much credit to his newly found faith in God. <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/mlb/story/2012/09/12/manny-sometimes-i-miss-the-game-but-i-try-to-fill-that-void-by-taking-my-kids-to-their-games/57753116/1" target="_blank">From Jorge L. Ortiz and the USA Today story</a>, "I feel good. My family's good. Thanks to God, I have a peace I'd never had. I have an incredible peace."<br />
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Like many former athletes, he is focusing on his family and his kids. "Sometimes I miss it, but I try to fill that void by taking my kids to their basketball games, their baseball games, taking them everywhere."</div>
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Manny continues about his evangelical faith: "If the Lord says that's it, they're not going to open the door for you, I would say, 'Thank you Lord for the opportunity you gave me,'" he said. "He controls the situation." </div>
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Please Lord, for the sake of the Dominican Baseball Guy and fans of Dominican baseball everywhere, tell Manny to go play in the Dominican Winter Baseball League this year!</div>
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Manny Ramirez is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="505" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilc47MF0iQ36oUhHXj-ZgIhEDT1qZ3qjNdWeyLKLD9B8RMpYm-JkQd8xn0QBVl1o6htGYUeeWVf_ETadyL4tA-PI5pSPmSLK-TB1B-NW0WGeVO5ivYNYRDpoiHM_9qH2ZQV57Z2KAzVQ_j/s640/Dominican+Manny+Ramirez.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Dominican baseball legend Manny Ramirez, photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/2416254335/">Keith Allison on Flickr</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-26290288659740159772012-09-09T13:38:00.000-07:002012-10-13T14:01:36.356-07:00Dominican boxer Joselito Collado loses to Jerry BelmontesDominican boxer <a href="http://www.caller.com/news/2012/sep/08/belmontes-back-in-the-ring-vs-collado/" target="_blank">Joselito Collado lost a unanimous decision to Jerry Belmontes</a> of Corpus Christi, Texas on Saturday. Collado fell to 13-2. Like much of the Dominican diaspora in the United States, Collado is a 'Dominican Yorker' and hails from Jamaica Queens, though he is originally from the Dominican Republic.<br />
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Belmontes is from the hometown of the Dominican Baseball Guy, Corpus Christi, so the match peaked my interest. At 23 years old and undefeated, Belmontes could see a title fight in the super-feather weight division in the coming years.<br />
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Everyone knows that baseball is the most popular sport in the Dominican Republic. I have commented here previously that basketball is becoming more popular, and I would venture to say that boxing could be the third most popular sport among Dominicans. Especially among Dominican-Americans, there are lots of boxers.<br />
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Among famous Dominican boxers are Joan Guzman, Elio Rojas, and Manuel Felix Diaz. Rojas held the WBC feather weight title in 2009 and Diaz won an Olympic gold medal in 2008. Edwin Rodriguez, a Dominican boxer that lives in Massachusetts is currently ranked in the top five by several boxing sanctioning organizations. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Dominican%20boxers" target="_blank">Dominican boxer Delvin Rodriguez lost a title fight</a> earlier this year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-34401721147829051272012-09-05T20:14:00.000-07:002012-09-25T20:40:59.139-07:00Major League Baseball extreme fatigue list includes 66 DominicansThe Dominican Winter Baseball League (<a href="http://ligadom.com/" target="_blank">LIDOM</a>) nowadays features mainly AA and AAA players, with a few major leaguers thrown in. There was a time when the LIDOM was mainly big leaguers, with a few minor leaguers thrown in. The time was that big leaguers returned to their Dominican homeland to play for their beloved hometown teams. That time has passed.<br />
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Miguel Tejada was perhaps of the hometown boys to play in the prime of his career with his Dominican Winter League team. Today, the big league clubs tell their players if they can play in the winter leagues and how many games. They may force an American player to go down and play twenty games, even though he wants to enjoy his off-season (see <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Mark%20Trumbo" target="_blank">Mark Trumbo</a>). Or they may tell a native of Santiago, Dominican Republic that he can not play with his hometown team because he has pitched too many innings.<br />
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Not more than a few years ago, MLB implemented an 'extreme fatigue list' to standardize player's ability to play in the Caribbean winter leagues. A player makes the fatigue list when they reach 160 innings for major league pitchers, 600 innings behind home plate for catchers, and 502 turns-at-bat for infielders and outfielders. These are negotiated for each position and also depend on whether playing time is accrued at the major or minor league levels, but these are rough numbers.<br />
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This year, <a href="http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2012/9/4/44985/MLB-record-ban-on-players-roils-Dominican-Winter-ball" target="_blank">the 'extreme fatigue list' includes a record 66 Dominican baseball players</a>. The list includes Ivan Nova, Fernando Martinez, Wilson Valdez, Jimmy Paredes, Emilio Bonifacio, Erick Aybar, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Esmil Rogers.<br />
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The fact is many of these players, especially the established big leaguers, would not be playing in the Dominican Winter Baseball League even if they were not on the 'extreme fatigue list.' These players are making too much money to risk injury for virtually no pay, in comparison to their big league salaries. But other fringe major leaguers or high level minor leaguers that need the extra pay check from a Dominican Winter Baseball League team would welcome the extra work and money.<br />
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With the 'extreme fatigue list' they are not given this option. If they are on this list, then the Major League club can hold them out of the Dominican Winter Baseball League. And in many cases, the clubs choose to use this option. It is not a good thing for the LIDOM because they lose players and have to draw from even lower levels of professional ball.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Dominican pitcher Ivan Nova is on the 'extreme fatigue list,' <br />photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/6128031037/" target="_blank">Keith Allison on Flickr</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-32837623155414805702012-09-03T11:42:00.000-07:002012-09-25T12:02:43.364-07:00Dominican player of the week: Pedro AlvarezThe <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Pirates" target="_blank">Pirates</a> are gravitating back toward their below .500 normal winning percentage after a stellar start to the year in which they looked like playoff material. They went 2-4 last week. But just because the team does badly, that does not mean that one of their players cannot be the player of the week.<br />
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Dominican player <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Pedro%20Alvarez" target="_blank">Pedro Alvarez</a> won the National League Player of the Week award, and by default that also makes him the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Dominican%20player%20of%20the%20week" target="_blank">Dominican Baseball Guy Player of the Week</a>. This is his second career NL Player of the Week Award and second time he has won the Dominican Baseball Guy Player of the Week award. He also won the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2012/05/dominican-player-of-week-pedro-alvarez.html" target="_blank">Dominican Player of the Week award back in May of this year</a>.<br />
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This week, Alvarez went 11 for 24 (.458) in the week that ended Sunday. He hit four home runs, two doubles and drove in eight runs.<br />
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The former Rookie of the Year winner, Alvarez is from Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dominican baseball player with the Pittsburg Pirates" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8141/7188768881_1539bba91d_b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Dominican player of the Week Pedro Alvarez" width="425" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 16.666667938232422px;">Dominican player of the Week Pedro Alvarez, photo by </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/7188768881/" style="background-color: white; color: #3060ac; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 16.666667938232422px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Keith Allison on Flick</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-38069991010768510072012-08-29T10:41:00.000-07:002012-09-25T11:20:55.916-07:00Dominican baseball player Jose Bautista to have season ending surgery<div>
Dominican baseball player <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Jose%20Bautista" target="_blank">Jose Bautista</a> burst on to the Major League Baseball scene two years ago and led the league in home runs. He did it again last year. And he was possibly on pace to lead the majors in home runs for a third strait year, as he had 27 home runs through 92 games.</div>
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But, after trying to work through a wrist injury much of the year, the 31-year-old Dominican Republic native was examined hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham on Monday and will have surgery sometime next week.<div>
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From the Blue Jays website:</div>
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"The only way I could have played again this year without having surgery was to do what we did. I tried, here's just too much instability in that tendon."</blockquote>
Perhaps Bautista could have toughed it out until the off-season to have surgery, but with the team mired at the bottom of the standings the surgery is the best route to take at this point.<br />
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The Dominican baseball player Bautista is a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger award winner. He is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dominican baseball player Jose Bautista to have season ending surgery" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QSXJ2WYrNicvVkgbuOiAC0As42wWxFpWglkVXOKKNfVvnCH3dZDB8IKmcyLze-gkQrDyiAEwOsspXH8DlOy_f5zhLzSXGjTKc2Qa-0_e7ktO2pMEpU_ANw90d6aYfLdOVD8bhyt_RMw4/s1600/3571205671_d51f1f95d5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Dominican baseball player Jose Bautista" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Jose Bautista, by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/3571205671">Keith Allison on Flickr</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-36657963692688071652012-08-28T23:40:00.000-07:002012-09-25T10:46:41.910-07:00Dominican player of the week: Oscar Taveras wins Texas League MVPDominican <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Oscar%20Taveras" target="_blank">Oscar Taveras</a> was <a href="http://articles.ky3.com/2012-08-28/top-prospect_33458592" target="_blank">recently named the MVP of the Texas League</a>. He actually dropped off a little from his A-ball numbers last year and only hit .322 with 22 homers, 89 RBIs, 10 steals and a .380 on-base percentage for Springfield.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Rangers" target="_blank">Cardinals</a> prospect Taveras has been on the Dominican Baseball Guy's radar all season. He played in the Texas League where the Dominican Baseball Guy was able to see him play live a few times against the Corpus Christi Hooks. He definitely 'looks' like an MLB player. Along with his batting numbers, he shows plus fielding ability in the outfield.<br />
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In addition to the Texas League player of the year award, he won a Texas League player of the week award this season and was selected to the MLB Futures Game. He also won two <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Dominican%20player%20of%20the%20week" target="_blank">Dominican Baseball Player of the Week</a> awards here on my site.<br />
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He is from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Expect to see him in the big leagues next year at some point.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-56909279108083539582012-08-24T17:08:00.000-07:002012-09-16T17:21:30.197-07:00Football in the Dominican RepublicAs any one that has ever visited the Dominican Baseball Guy knows, baseball is king, queen, and prince in the Dominican Republic. It is by far the most popular sport. If one was to add up the market share of each sport, I would estimate that baseball owns at least 80% of the money spent on sports or sports entertainment in the Dominican Republic.<br />
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The Dominican Baseball Guy has mentioned previously that basketball has become more popular in recent years. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Al%20Hortford" target="_blank">Al Hortford</a> and <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Francisco%20Garcia" target="_blank">Francisco Garcia</a> have led the way for Dominican players in the NBA. I would estimate that basketball takes about another 10% of that market for sports in the Dominican Republic.<br />
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And finally, American football has gained some popularity. Football is watched strictly as a spectator sport, and I am not aware of any major football teams in the Dominican Republic. But every Saturday and Sunday during football season, there are tons of Dominicans that like to watch football, even though they probably have never played the game.<br />
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One major reason that many Dominicans watch football is because they like to bet on the games. There are gambling parlors on seemingly every corner in major Dominican cities. And they are filled with Dominican men betting on all types of games. It is men...all men. A gambling parlor is no place for a woman, and gambling is an activity for men in the Dominican Republic.<br />
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If not in the Dominican Republic at a betting parlor, or not in Vegas, their are a few options to bet online. There are a number of websites for <a href="http://www.nflbetting.org/" target="_blank">NFL betting</a> online. Try that link for some options on where to place an NFL wager online.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-66364809860524395132012-08-23T12:02:00.003-07:002012-08-23T12:02:50.990-07:00Dominican baseball player Adrian Beltre three home runs in one gameThursday night the Dominican Baseball Guy was live tweeting when <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Adrian%20Beltre" target="_blank">Adrian Beltre</a> of the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Rangers" target="_blank">Rangers</a> had three home runs and five RBI through four innings against the <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Orioles" target="_blank">Orioles</a>. He was off to a record setting night, but alas that is all he got from the plate and he ended the night with just the three hits. The Rangers won the game 12-3.<div>
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RBIs have always been one of those curious stats. They have always been important, but they really depend on what the guys in front of you are doing. So, with three home runs, the Dominican baseball player Beltre had just five RBI.</div>
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Beltre is on pace for possibly his second 30 HR, 100 RBI, .300 average season of his career. He is a three time all-star. For a 15 year veteran he is not that old at 33. He was the youngest player in the big leagues when he came up at 19 years old in 1998.</div>
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But on this night, his three home runs were not even the most on his team this season. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Josh%20Hamilton" target="_blank">Josh Hamilton</a> hit four home runs in one game against the Orioles back on May 8th.</div>
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Dominican baseball player Adrian Beltre is from Santo Domingo.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dominican baseball player Adrian Beltre three home runs in one game" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Adri%C3%A1n_Beltr%C3%A9_2011_%281%29.jpg/605px-Adri%C3%A1n_Beltr%C3%A9_2011_%281%29.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Dominican baseball player Adrian Beltre" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican baseball player Adrian Beltre three home runs in one game, photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/5604722400/" target="_blank">Keith Allison on Flickr</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-32418654953241318972012-08-22T17:18:00.000-07:002012-08-22T17:18:20.037-07:00Dominican player Bartolo Colon suspended 50 games for steroidsOnce again we have a Dominican baseball player suspended for performance enhancing drugs. <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/Bartolo%20Colon" target="_blank">Bartolo Colon</a> was busted and <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/jon-heyman/19867752/bartolo-colon-fails-mlb-drug-test-in-line-for-50-game-suspension" target="_blank">handed a 50-game suspension</a> for a first time offender. That is the first time he has been convicted, not accused.<br />
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Just this past May, <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2011/05/mlb-investigating-bartolo-colon-off.html" target="_blank">MLB investigated an off-season surgery on Colon's elbow</a>. Doctors reportedly injected stem cells from Colon's back into his elbow, a procedure that did not violate MLB drug regulations. You would think he would try not do use illegal substances after that off-season, but in a statement he all but admits to the steroid use:<br />
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"I apologize to the fans, to my teammates and to the Oakland A's. I accept responsibility for my actions and I will serve my suspension as required by the Joint Drug Program."</blockquote>
I miss the days when players would at least lie and try and act like they had not been taking performance enhancing drugs. The Dominican Baseball Guy thought all along that is what the stem cells from his back that had him off to such a good season. But now I am not sure if it was the surgery or the PEDs or the fact that his is a really talented pitcher that led him to such a good year.<br />
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He has the surprising <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/search/label/A%27s" target="_blank">A's</a> in playoff contention and is 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA. And he had a <a href="http://www.dominicanbaseballguy.com/2012/08/dominican-pitcher-bartolo-colon-has-22.html" target="_blank">20-plus inning scoreless streak this season</a>. Now we will have to see what the A's will do without him because he will not be back until next year, because the A's are not making it to the second round of the playoffs.<br />
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Bartolo is from Altamira, Dominican Republic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dominican player Bartolo Colon suspended 50 games for steroids" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Bartolo_Col%C3%B3n_on_April_29%2C_2012.jpg/641px-Bartolo_Col%C3%B3n_on_April_29%2C_2012.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Dominican player Bartolo Colon" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dominican player Bartolo Colon suspended 50 games for steroids, photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/7125858805/" target="_blank">Keith Allison</a></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04513528352309358183noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5454597958645097952.post-62123753293031592062012-08-20T12:20:00.000-07:002012-08-22T12:23:00.953-07:00Dominican women fans of beisbol DominicanoIn the Dominican Republic, even the Dominican women are huge fans of baseball. It is a phenomena not seen in many places. Think of American women. Not many are hardcore football fans. The only place I have heard comparable to the Dominican women baseball fans is the women in Brazil, who are super knowledgeable of their Brazilian soccer.<br />
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As you know, there are Dominican baseball dancers at most of the Dominican Winter League games, but there are also tons of women in the stands. And one of those Dominican woman baseball fans likes the Dominican Baseball Guy. She sent me some photos:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRky6Zs3KSiRyB5vho90mt3k3vAp97SOd4hoDmMdNOxaZgvwuLDpsgfDU6b9o66-f0QdZvhYHvzjqJwJTMk00F_gZdqBfWSRHhZhkHD4RSryvrMJG7XXTPDHWQ8Rk3CYEemjg12E7PzDJY/s1600/Dominican+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dominican women fan of Dominican baseball" border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRky6Zs3KSiRyB5vho90mt3k3vAp97SOd4hoDmMdNOxaZgvwuLDpsgfDU6b9o66-f0QdZvhYHvzjqJwJTMk00F_gZdqBfWSRHhZhkHD4RSryvrMJG7XXTPDHWQ8Rk3CYEemjg12E7PzDJY/s320/Dominican+girl.jpg" title="Dominican women beisbol fans" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMKZQferoTI-PRV4PAPIPuWCdu6pkC-nqPdQZarg91yUGnu23PLIDSJySJibcxuMLcQ7BzPMhQ-4Hkz87qs2IgnT-e0w4YUrWpPAC2YpbSCTUMFX8xGiM9XZbxWAYGG1wn3H8XTDB0RSCs/s1600/chica+dominicana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dominican women fan of Dominican baseball" border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMKZQferoTI-PRV4PAPIPuWCdu6pkC-nqPdQZarg91yUGnu23PLIDSJySJibcxuMLcQ7BzPMhQ-4Hkz87qs2IgnT-e0w4YUrWpPAC2YpbSCTUMFX8xGiM9XZbxWAYGG1wn3H8XTDB0RSCs/s320/chica+dominicana.jpg" title="Dominican women baseball fans" width="320" /></a></div>
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