Dominican Day at the Ballpark 2018 kicks off with honors for Yankees’ Miguel Andujar, Dellin Betances
https://youtu.be/lMOJjebAgkc The passion and pride players from the Dominican Republic bring to baseball will be celebrated in ballparks across the U.S. starting Aug. 29 at Yankee Stadium, the first of six Dominican Republic Day at the Park events this season. The series will offer a salute to past and present Dominican players who have given so much to the game and helped make the sport what it is today. “Baseball is woven into the fabric of Dominican culture and we are proud of the contributions of so many talented players from our country,” said Magaly Toribio, marketing advisor for the
HALL OF FAME: Vladimir Guerrero, 2018
VLADIMIR GUERRERO Right fielder Born: February 9, 1975 in Nizao, Dominican Republic Hall of Fame induction: 2018 Primary team: L.A./California Angels Hall of Fame plaque: “Dazzling five-tool talent from the Dominican Republic renowned for distinctive approach in batter’s box as well as aggressive style in the field and on the basepaths. Covered the plate with an attacking swing that produced a .318 career average and 449 home runs, reached 100-RBI mark 10 times and topped 30 homers eight times. Drove in 126 runs to earn 2004 A.L. most valuable player honors in first season with Angels after eight years as
Adrian Beltre’s climb up the all-time hits list hits a snag
By Robert Dominguez A hurting hammy put a sudden halt to Adrian Beltre’s historic march to Cooperstown. The Dominican native, who last year became the 31st player to collect 3,000 hits, on April 5 became baseball’s all-time hits leader among Latin American-born players when he smacked a second-inning double in a game against the Oakland Athletics. The two-bagger was Beltre’s 3,054 career hit, moving the Texas Rangers third baseman past Panamanian great Rod Carew. It also put Beltre into some further exalted company: The only other foreign-born Major Leaguer with more lifetime hits is Mariners outfielder/DH and Japanese icon Ichiro
Cooperstown bound: Vladimir Guerrero is a Hall of Fame lock
By Robert Dominguez Looks like Vladimir Guerrero is about to hit it over the fence in his second time up. The free-swinging Dominican slugger, who was at the crest of the wave of Latino baseball stars who swept over the game in the 1990s, is poised to become one of only a handful of players from Latin America and the Caribbean to make it into the Hall of Fame. Among a Murderer's Row of worthy candidates this year, Guerrero's chances of attaining baseball immortality on Jan. 24, when election results are announced, is looking strong. With just days to go,
Bombers backstop Gary Sanchez is LatinoBaseball’s 2017 Player of the Year
Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero (l.) and LatinoBaseball.com founder Ralph Paniagua (r.) present the 2017 LatinoBaseball Player of the Year award to Gary Sanchez at Yankee Stadium. By Robert Dominguez It’s still early, but it’s sure looking like the New York Yankees’ long tradition of excellence behind the plate will continue for another baseball generation. Catcher Gary Sanchez followed up his amazing rookie year in 2016 — 20 home runs in just 53 games after an early August call-up, to go with a .299 average and a rocket for an arm — with a stellar 2017 campaign that earned him
MLBPA gives fans chance to win $1 million on Series predictions
BY Robert Dominguez The 2017 World Series won’t only crown a new baseball champion — fans are getting a chance to win a cool million by correctly predicting the score of each game in addition to the player chosen as World Series MVP. As the series pitting the Los Angles Dodgers against the Houston Astros is set to start Tuesday, Oct. 24, at Dodger Stadium in L.A., registration is still open for the 2017 Infield Chatter $1 Million “Sweep The Series Challenge,” presented by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The first one million fans who register for the
Vladimir Guerrero gets his wings as member of Angels Hall of Fame
Vladimir Guerrero with Angels star Albert Pujols. (Photo by Omar Silva) By Robert Dominguez Vladimir Guerrero may have just missed getting into baseball’s Hall of Fame this year, but at least the former Angel managed to get his wings. The Dominican Republic native was inducted into the Anaheim Angels’ Hall of Fame in an on-field ceremony Aug. 26 — an honor that showed how important he is to Angels history considering Guerrero only played six seasons of his 16-year career with the team. But the hulking hitting star was a formidable presence in the middle of the Angels lineup, as
5 reasons why Ivan Rodriguez is a first-ballot Hall of Famer
When the Hall of Fame officially welcomed Ivan Rodriguez into its hallowed halls on July 27, it marked the induction of one of the best two-way catchers in baseball history. Rodriguez, whose 21-year career spanned from 1991-2011 and overlapped such behind-the-plate immortals as Mike Piazza and Carlton Fisk, wasn’t just an excellent hitter. He was a defensive master feared for his lethal throwing arm — “Pudge” threw out nearly half of all base runners that foolishly tried to challenge him. Despite the PED whispers that dogged him throughout the latter half of his career, Rodriguez’s first-ballot induction into the Hall
