Another nation's pastime

Pan Am Games prove that in Dominican, baseball is king

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Going to a baseball game in the Dominican Republic is a bit like watching soccer in Brazil, surfing in Hawaii or potato peeling in Idaho. People here breathe this game. Stickball contests just materialize on side streets with ground rules unique to the confines of curbs, alleys, open windows and passing pedestrians. Hit one off Mrs. Sanchez as she dries her laundry and it's a double. Bounce one into her kitchen and it's an automatic out.

The atmosphere surrounding Team USA's 2-0 victory over the Dominicans Monday night at the Pan Am Games was electric. There was a steady rumble of drums and chanting as we approached Estadio Quisqueya. The late-arriving fans had to move single-file through a single general admission entrance in order to access the upper half of the 18,000-seat park. No one seemed to complain upon entry, especially in light of the armed soldiers standing nearby, and spectators stuck on the slow line were granted a little extra time to get inside the stadium when a bank of lights went out, delaying the game for half an hour. But once fans were inside the venue, the sprint was on, straight up the ramps.

Before the first pitch, the park was overflowing with standees dotting the aisles, encircling the runways and peeking out from between the railings. That 18,000 figure was merely a guide. Outside, you could see those who had been shut out surrounding those who had brought radios, which weren't very useful given the noise around them. Inevitably, the radio-holders yelled for quiet, which didn't often work.

U.S. outfielder Danny Putnam, who had three hits in the game, compared the atmosphere to playing in the College World Series. "There were 27,000 people in Omaha," Putnam said, "but this place was three times as loud. I couldn't hear myself call a fly ball."

The U.S. shut out the Domincans behind a great outing from Jered Weaver, who struck out four and allowed just one hit over 7 1/3 innings to extend his scoreless-innings streak to 40. It was a gritty victory for the team of collegians against an older squad that includes 13 former major leaguers. "I never expected anything like this," Weaver said afterward. "It's the experience of a lifetime. I always dreamed of wearing red, white and blue, but to do it here ... whatever happens in my career, I'll always remember this."

A few days earlier, Weaver had called his brother, Jeff, currently a pitcher with the New York Yankees, to get the scouting report for his teammates on Luis Polonia, an ex-Yankee, who collected both Dominican hits against the U.S., including one off reliever Huston Street.

As Weaver left the mound in the eighth inning, the Dominican fans' reaction to the right-hander from Long Beach State was split between polite applause and standing ovations. When you understand good baseball, you acknowledge it. The only person who was booed all evening was Dominican President Hipolito Mejia, who showed up in the third inning. Election update: don't bet the incumbent.

During I game, I spoke to Jose Luis Rodriguez, the sports editor of Listin Diario, the nation's leading daily newspaper. He wondered how big this contest was back in the States and what the television networks would do if a conflict arose between it and a major league game. Rodriguez is a passionate baseball fan. He was in California covering the Angels-Giants World Series last year. I had to break the news to Rodriguez that this game wasn't even a blip on the radar screen of the mass sports audience back home. "Nobody picked up the television rights?" Rodriguez asked. "Why not? Here, everybody's watching."

It may be unwise to overromanticize the love of the baseball here. Fewer distractions and fewer options also mean fewer opportunities. The boys in Santo Domingo and San Pedro de Macoris who grow up dreaming of playing shortstop like Alex Rodriguez don't have as many Plan Bs and Cs. That's why the dreams are bigger and the shouts louder. "This is why you put the uniform on," said U.S. skipper Ray Tanner. "There is no better place for a passionate game than the Dominican Republic."

Sports Illustrated staff writer Brian Cazeneuve covers Olympic sports for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com.

 

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