The star-studded Dominican Republic team wins their first World Baseball Classic tournament by defeating Puerto Rico by a score of 5-3.
The Dominican Republic team has always had a huge reputation with extremely high expectations. This year they finally came through in historic fashion. In World Baseball Classic history, no team has ever gone the entire tournament undefeated. This year’s Dominican Republic team did that with an 8-0 record.
They defeated Venezuela, Spain, and Puerto Rico in the first round. In the second round, they defeated Italy, the United States, and Puerto Rico. In the semifinals, they defeated the Kingdom of the Netherlands and for a third time, in the finals, they defeated Puerto Rico to be crowned champions.
In baseball, the Dominican Republic is one of the premiere countries, with more than 100 players on a Major League club. Players such as New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes, and Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez represented this year’s team. Notable players that were not on this year’s roster include Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista.
Second baseman Robinson Cano was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He had a .469 batting average (15-for-32) with two home runs, six runs batted in.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
