Sunday, April 10, 2005

Changing Face of Baseball

Latinos gain stature in the majors

Majority hail from Dominican Republic, where game also is a way out of poverty.

By Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Steve Perez / The Detroit News Tigers catcher Pudge Rodriguez, a fan favorite in Detroit, is from Puerto Rico. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

It is the flip side of the coin.

While the number of African-American players in major league baseball is dropping, the Latin player has never known such prominence.

Twenty-eight percent of the players on Opening Day rosters of Major League teams last season were Latino -- with many of African heritage.

The majority is from the Dominican Republic, a country roughly the size of New Hampshire and Vermont, with a population of 8.8 million.

On Opening Day 2004, there were 79 Dominicans on major league rosters, and 1,442 in the minor leagues.

Last season's American League MVP was Vladimir Guerrero of the Dominican Republic. The A.L. Cy Young award was won by Johan Santana of Venezuela. Last season's highest-paid player and pitcher -- Boston teammates Manny Ramirez ($22.5M) and Pedro Martinez ($17.5M) -- are Dominicans. Tigers catcher Pudge Rodriguez, a fan favorite, is from Puerto Rico and one of nine Latinos on the roster.

There are simple explanations for the Latin growth:

• That's where kids still grow up playing the game.

• That's where fields are still being used, and where it's easy to get pickup teams together.

• That's where baseball still reigns as an opportunity out of poverty.

"You see kids on baseball fields everywhere in the Dominican Republic," said Tigers hitting coach Bruce Fields.

"But there, it's far more of a way to provide for your family, depending on how good you become."

Juan Samuel, another Tigers coach, remembers what baseball meant to him while he was growing up in the Dominican Republic.

"We didn't even have the equipment to play it, but we played it," he said. "You might have one bat that everybody used, and a field that wasn't real good, but we learned to play."