Sports fans remember Fernando Rodney, who secured the first title for the Dominican Republic in World Baseball Classic history in 2013. For that year, Robinson Canó became the most valuable player.
Ten years later, Borinquen eliminated Quisqueya from the Clásico with a score of 5-2 runs. With this victory, Puerto Rico advances to the quarterfinals and faces a decisive match against Mexico, to go home or achieve its second victory.
This sporting event is held every three years, which brings together the 16 leading world baseball teams such as South Korea, Israel, the Netherlands, Cuba or Nicaragua. The first competition was held in 2006, positioning Japan as champion. Each event brings together the 16 leading teams in world baseball.
In 2023 it was held at the LoanDepot Park in Miami, United States, with the capacity to gather 36,742 fans, where the Dominicans lost to the Puerto Ricans. According to experts, this year the Puerto Ricans will lift the cup and take home US$1 million, surpassing their streak of being runner-up twice against the Dominican Republic (2013) and the United States (2017), respectively.
Sports editor Héctor Gómez said: “For Dominicans, the elimination of the Creole team constitutes a national tragedy. The team was given as one of the favorites in this fifth version of the tournament”.
And is not for less. In fact, 29.3% of Dominicans practice baseball, only below the 30.2% of basketball students. These are followed by 10.6% of volleyball; 7%, soccer; 6.1%, softball and 9.3% did not specify.
When breaking down the data, of the 35,678 surveyed by the National Statistics Office (ONE) indicated that 34.9% of men practice basketball and 35.1% baseball. Meanwhile, women dominate the practice of volleyball by 40.6%, compared to 2.9% of men.
lucrative contracts
As one of the largest sports leagues in the United States with millions of television viewers, MLB pays its players handsomely. This action is evidenced by the average player salary, which stood at US$4.41 million in 2022, according to Statista data.
This means just 7.5% more than in 2021, when it stood at US$4.1 million, for a slight decrease of 0.4% compared to 2020 when it totaled US$4.43 million.
This sport symbolizes a dream for many Dominican parents, with the possibility of seeing their children succeed in Major League Baseball (MLB) or as one of the players with the most fruitful contracts.
Achieving a millionaire firm is not impossible. Fernando Tatis Junior and Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres signed a $340 million and $300 million deal, respectively. While Rafael Devers, of the Red Sox, agreed to a revenue of US$331 million.
Alexander Rodríguez signed in 2001 with the Texas Rangers for US$252 million, while in 2007 he agreed with the New York Yankees for US$275 million, a difference of US$23 million. Julio Rodríguez reached a contract with the Seattle Mariners of US$210 million from 2023 to 2035, but with the option to dedicate a maximum of 18 years and about US$470 million.
According to the MLB, Wander Franco will earn $182 million between 2022 and 2032 with the Tampa Bay Rays. This shortstop stands out for having the largest deal in Major League history for a player who debuted in 2021. Likewise, Nelson Cruz and Juan Soto earn revenues of US$14 million and US$23 million, respectively, for the upcoming season. of the San Diego Padres.
Also, fans remember Edwin Encarnacion with a three-year, $60 million contract with the Cleveland Indians in 2017, while the minimum salary for a player stood at $700,000 last year. According to the data, between 2019 and 2020 they ranged between US$555,000 and US$563,500, while for 2021 it was set at US$570,500. In 2003 they barely totaled US$300,000.
fans
Baseball registers 500 million followers, below basketball, which has 825 million, and above rugby, with some 475 million fans.
But soccer is crowned the king of the sport with 4 billion fans, followed by cricket with 2.5 billion, hockey with 2 billion and tennis with 1 billion. Volleyball and table tennis report 900 million and 875 million, respectively.
Profits
According to Statista, the MLB had revenues of US$9.560 million, which corresponds to an average revenue of US$318.5 million per team. Profits are generated from sources such as broadcast rights, merchandise and ticket sales, and endorsements. Ticket sales alone amounted to US$2.86 billion in 2019.