Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:
Dominicans in the Major Leagues
Dominicans in the Major Leagues
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Julio M. Rodriguez
Associate Editors: Len Levin and Carl Riechers
Spanish translations by Reynaldo Cruz
ISBN (English ebook): 978-1-970159-58-5, $9.99
ISBN (English paperback): 978-1-970159-59-2, $34.95
ISBN (ebook in Spanish): 978-1-970159-60-8, $9.99
ISBN (Spanish paperback): 978-1-970159-61-5, $34.95
8.5″ x 11″, 432 pages
Any fan of present-day Major League Baseball recognizes that the Dominican Republic is well-represented by many key players throughout the sport. Around 800 natives of the Dominican Republic have played in the majors—a full 300 more than any other country, aside from the United States.
The first was Pedro Alejandro San, who pitched in the Eastern Colored League in 1926 for the Cuban Stars East. He was joined on the team the following year by Tetelo Vargas. A few years later, shortstop Horacio “Rabbit” Martinez joined the New York Cubans in 1935. Martinez took part in five Negro League All-Star Games.
The first Dominican to play in either the National or American League was Osvaldo “Ozzie” Virgil, in 1956 with the New York Giants, beginning a nine-year career.
In 1983, Juan Marichal—like Virgil, coming from Montecristi—became the first Dominican inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He has since been joined by Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero, and no one doubts that many more will follow, as Dominican stars continue to shine in the major leagues.
This book was created through the combined efforts of 41 members of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) and gathers biographies of 54 Dominican players, including not only the aforementioned players, but also David Ortiz, Felipe, Jesús, and Matty Alou, Sammy Sosa, Raul Mondesi, and Fernando Tatis. Also included is a recap of the Dominican team’s passionate, action-packed sweep of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Available in English and in Spanish language editions.
Any baseball fan today recognizes that the Dominican Republic is well represented by several key players throughout Major League Baseball. As this book goes to press, some 800 players native to the Dominican Republic have played in the majors—a total of 300 more than any country other than the United States.
The first was Pedro Alejandro San, who pitched in the Eastern Colored League in 1926 with the Cuban Stars East. The following year he joined the Tetelo Vargas team. A few years later, shortstop Horacio “El Conejo” Martínez joined the New York Cubans in 1935. Martínez appeared in five Negro Leagues All-Star Games.
The first Dominican to play in the National League or the American League was Osvaldo “Ozzie” Virgil, in 1956 with the New York Giants, beginning a nine-year career.
In 1983, Juan Marichal—a native of Montecristi like Virgil and San—became the first Dominican baseball player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Since then he has been joined by Pedro Martínez and Vladimir Guerrero, and no one doubts that many others will follow as the years go by.
This book was created through the combined efforts of 41 members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and brings together the biographies of 54 Dominican players. The book is available in English and Spanish.
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In Spanish!
About the SABR Digital Library
For more than 40 years, SABR and its members have led the way in publishing the best baseball historical and statistical research. Our publications program is shifting to take advantage of new methods of publishing. Not only will we continue to publish new books like Can He Play? A Look At Baseball Scouts and Their Profession (2011); Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the 19th Century (2013); Scandal on the South Side: The 1919 Chicago White Sox (2015); Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos (2016); The Pride of Smoketown: The 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords (2020); and Jackie Robinson: Perspectives on 42 (2021), which showcase the best efforts of SABR’s members, chapters and committees, but new technology makes it possible for us to bring out-of-print titles like The Fenway Project (2013); Go-Go to Glory: The 1959 Chicago White Sox (2019); and Green Cathedrals (2020) back again.
Visit SABR.org/ebooks to find all past titles and download your favorites. Books will be available in digital formats as well as paperbacks produced by “print on demand” (POD).
SABR members can download all Digital Library e-book editions for free and save 50% on purchase of the paperback editions. If you’re not a member, click here to join SABR.
Stay tuned throughout the year for new (and old!) titles that we’ll be adding to the SABR Digital Library. To learn more about SABR Publications, contact Publications Editor Cecilia Tan at [email protected].
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Originally published: February 22, 2022. Last Updated: February 23, 2022.
