Leading Off

The National Pastime
Kids in the Dominican Republic are incorrigible in their devotion to baseball, playing anywhere possible, by any means necessary. Here, in the shadow of satellite dishes that pull in U.S. games, youths in the small town of Bayaguana emulate their hero, Sammy Sosa.

Stick-to-itiveness
Poverty is the mother of invention for these Dominican youths, who are pictured with their favorite bats.

Diamond on the Rough
The bat may be a broomstick, the ball may be a rock, and the backstop may be a retread, but the game retains its allure.