History of baseball in Nicaragua

A batter of the Fieras del San Fernando, a Nicaraguan professional baseball team.
Baseball fans attending a Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League game.

Baseball is the national game of Nicaragua, and is one of the most popular sports in the country.[1] Nicaragua has a professional baseball league, the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League, consisting of four teams. The national baseball team has been successful in the past, mainly throughout the 1970s.[1] In many pick-up games, players have to improvise due to lack of equipment.[2] Often, grapefruits, and rocks are used as baseballs.[2] Nicaragua and near-by Panama are two countries who have baseball as their national sport, rather than soccer, the national sport of many Central American countries.[3]

History timeline

Early history

United States Marine Corps baseball team in Managua, Nicaragua, 1915.

Baseball was introduced in the 1880s by Albert Addlesberg, an American businessman living in Bluefields.[4] During this time, the area around Bluefields was known as the autonomous Mosquito Reserve and a strong British influence in the area was evidenced by the popularity of cricket. Addlesberg convinced two of the most popular cricket clubs to switch to baseball and supplied the locals with equipment he imported from New Orleans.[4] Two teams were created in 1887, the Southern and Four Roses.[3][4] They began to play in 1888 and baseball has been played on the Mosquito Coast almost continuously since that time, but the entire region has long since been incorporated into the Republic of Nicaragua. The first 'official' game took place in 1891 between Managua and Granada.[3][4] Carter Donaldson, who was the U.S. Consul in Nicaragua at the time, founded the first continuous team in 1904.[4] United States Marines stationed in Nicaragua in the early part of the 20th century were also credited for bringing the sport to the country, and popularizing it in the area.[2][3][5]

1960s and 1970s

Professional baseball came to an end in Nicaragua in 1967, after years of political and economic problems.[1] In the 1970s, however, baseball again became popular after the success of the Nicaragua national baseball team.[1]

"After all, to say Nicaraguans are baseball-crazy seems ludicrously inadequate. The game is part of the air people breathe; the crack of the bat permeates hot, tropical nights; it moves up from the barrios; the game even peppers the language with borrowed English expressions, like 'play ball,' and 'home run,' used in a colloquial sense."

— Toronto Star: September 29, 1996[6]

1980s and 1990s

In the 1980s, popularity of baseball in the country began to decline.[7] After the Nicaraguan civil war, baseball began to flourish again.[8] The policy of Nicaraguan professional baseball before the 1990s was to discourage the recruitment of Nicaraguan players by Major League Baseball scouts.[7] On August 6, 1990, the San Francisco Giants signed two players from Nicaragua, and considered building a baseball academy in a move that was seen as a step to normalizing the relationship between Nicaragua and Major League Baseball.[9] During the 1996 Nicaraguan presidential election, candidates, Arnoldo Alemán, and Daniel Ortega, promised increased funding for the Nicaraguan national baseball team.[6]

Present day

In the spring of 2004, professional baseball returned to Nicaragua for the first time since 1967.[1] In a typical modern-day game, teams have sets of cheerleaders, as well as team mascots, and marching bands who play throughout the game.[1] Dennis Martínez National Stadium, located in Managua, Nicaragua, is used by the Indios del Bóer of the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League.[1] The stadium has been described being in poor shape by many, including Nicaraguan native, and former Major League Baseball pitcher Dennis Martínez, whom the stadium is named after.[1] The World Baseball Classic has been criticized by NBC Sports writer Joe Connor, after the WBC invited national baseball teams from China, Australia, and Italy, over teams from Nicaragua, and Colombia, where the sport is considerably more popular.[10] In 2009 it was announced that a privately funded baseball academy would be built by the International Baseball Association in Villa El Carmen.[11]

Nicaraguans in Major League Baseball

Everth Cabrera is one of the three active Nicaraguan born Major League Baseball players.

Fourteen players born in Nicaragua have competed in Major League Baseball.[12] Currently, Everth Cabrera, Erasmo Ramirez, and Cheslor Cuthbert are the only three active Nicaraguan players in Major League Baseball. A fourth Nicaraguan, J. C. Ramírez, has pitched in Major League Baseball but is not currently on a major league roster.

Professional baseball in Nicaragua

The Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League (La Liga Nicaragüense de Beisbol Profesional in Spanish) is the professional baseball league in Nicaragua. There are four teams that compete against each other, the Indios del Bóer, the Tigres del Chinandega, the Leones de León, and the Orientales de Granada.[13][14][15][16] There is one defunct team, the Fieras del San Fernando.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Amy K. Nelson (February 12, 2007). "To play 'pro' ball, they went to Nicaragua". ESPN. sports.espn.go.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Stefan Smagula. "Nicaraguan Americans: Sports". Countries and their Culture. veryculture.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The Nation's Pride: Baseball" (PDF). University of Pittsburgh: University Center for International Studies. ucis.pitt.edu. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "A Short History of Nicaraguan Baseball". nicanews.com.ni. Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  5. ↑ Leslie Bornstein (August 19, 1985). "While War Rages, Baseball Remains The National Passion In Nicaragua". Sports Illustrated. sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Linda Diebel (September 29, 1996). "Baseball Nicaragua's real passion More than a game, 'It is our religion, our daily bread'". Toronto Star. pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  7. 1 2 William R. Long (October 25, 1985). "Baseball Blues Nicaragua: the National Sport Slides". Los Angeles Times. pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  8. ↑ Ridder Knight (June 26, 1992). "Baseball reborn in Nicaragua after years of civil upheaval". Chicago Tribune. pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  9. ↑ Kevin Baxter (August 6, 1990). "A Country Makes Baseball Comeback Nicaragua: Once the game was played well there, but war and politics intervened. With the war over, the nation and the game are rebuilding". Los Angeles Times. pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  10. ↑ Joe Connor (March 5, 2009). "How to improve the World Baseball Classic". NBC Sports. nbcsports.msnbc.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  11. ↑ Jesse Sanchez (December 17, 2009). "Academy planned for Nicaragua". Major League Baseball. mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  12. ↑ "11 players born in Nicaragua". Baseball-Reference. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Comunicado LNBP No. 29". La Liga Nicaragüense de Beisbol Profesional (in Spanish). lnbp.com.ni. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Tigres al liderato con racha de siete victorias". La Liga Nicaragüense de Beisbol Profesional (in Spanish). lnbp.com.ni. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Tigres con otro triunfo electrizante". La Liga Nicaragüense de Beisbol Profesional (in Spanish). lnbp.com.ni. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Comunicado LNBP No. 31". La Liga Nicaragüense de Beisbol Profesional (in Spanish). lnbp.com.ni. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
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