Haitian stamp on DR baseball
Baseball-Reference.com, the obligatory baseball reference guide shows that 19, 519 persons, as of 25 May 2019, from 55 different countries (except Ed Porray who was born on the high seas in 1888), have played Major League Baseball. But Haiti, located between three major contributors of Major League players, had yet to export its first big leaguer.
All this come to the fore after Domingo German Polanco last week lit up the social media platforms when he told reporters that he was ‘also Haitian.” Turns out that Domingo German Polanco is the leading pitcher in the American League with nine victories. He is the star of the New York Yankees pitching staff.
A report in Diario Libre by Nathanael Perez Neró explains that because of prejudices and other social restraints it is unusual for a public person to refer to any Haitian lineage. (In Anthropology and History this is known as ‘subordinated popular culture’).
However, the list of Dominican-Haitian Major League Baseball players is actually a long one, with many real stars. Most of these players come from the areas around San Pedro de Macoris and La Romana, where the Haitian workforce in the cane fields was predominant for over a century.
Diario Libre explains that for instance, Tony “Cabeza” Fernández, known for his silky hands at the shortstop position, winner of four Gold Gloves and with five All-Star appearances, is perhaps the most outstanding representative of this group of players with a 45.3 WAR (Wins-Over-Replacement).
And there is the case of Alfonso Soriano, one of just eight Dominicans to hit more than 400 home runs, whose father is Haitian. He is officially Alfonso Guilleard Soriano, but his name was shortened in the American style to Alfonso Soriano, much like the Alou brothers whose real name is Rojas Alou).
Retired players Felix José and Esteban Yan have Haitian lineage. Also current players Miguel Angel (Jean) Sanó, currently the 3rd baseman for the Minnesota Twins, Felix Pie, Orlando Calixte, Wirfin Obispo, brothers Jandel and Emilio Gustave, Freddy Dolsi. The list also includes Vidal Brujan, who was the first choice in last year’s Dominican League draft and taken by the Toros of La Romana.
The Diario Libre feature explains that the mentioned ballplayers are just a sampling of those that were signed to play baseball. Sadly, there is another list of many, many more young men who could not be hired because they lacked the proper identification documents, such as a birth certificate or cédula. Take note that most Haitian migrants to the Dominican Republic cross over with no legal documentation as it is common to be undocumented in Haiti. Once in the Dominican Republic, some were not able to legalize their status in time to be recruited by the Major Leagues, and others didn’t get the best deals because of delays in the normalization.
For instance, the case of Calizto is typical. Born in Batey Lecheria in West Santo Domingo, he initially was offered a US$3 million dollar bonus in 2009, he eventually was able to get his papers in order and sign for US$1 million a year later by the Kansas City Royals. Calixte speaks fluent Kreyol, the native language in Haiti, and often shows both Haitian and Dominican flags on his social media sites.
Diario Libre reports that there are several promising prospects in the pipeline. Vidal Brujan is listed as the #64 prospect for all of the Major Leagues, according to Baseball America. There is speculation that Robert Puason, from La Romana of Haitian parents, could be offered a bonus of US$5 million.
Last July 2018, the Tampa Bay Rays paid a US$1.4 million bonus to the shortstop from San Pedro de Macoris, Alejandro Pie, their biggest bonus paid to an international player.
Lastly, there is Estevan Florial, who belongs to the New York Yankees and who is being marketed as the first Haitian to get into Major League Baseball. Although his passport says that he was born in Port-au-Prince, his parents say that he was born in southwestern Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, on the border with Haiti, as is stated in the Yankee press guide for 2018.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
June 3, 2019
Category: DR News |