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Two islands top of the world
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Dominican Republic wins 3rd Baseball
World Classic, Puerto Rico takes second place
Sigfredo Barros
THEY
were placed in the same elimination group and
managed to advance to the second round, from which
they left behind powerful teams to reach the final.
There is no doubt about it: the Dominican Republic
and Puerto Rico played the best games and their
ascent to the top is more than well-deserved.
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Dominicans celebrate the
title
after defeating Puerto Rico 3-0.
Miguel Tejada’s
spectacular catch
in the eighth inning. Photo: AP |
The
winning team performed excellently throughout the
entire 3rd Classic, given that it is no small feat
to win seven consecutive times in a top-level
tournament, with a format which converted it into a
two-week plus two-day play off. Every game counts,
as opposed to any other baseball event.
In
the semifinal, the Dominican team was dominated
during four innings by the pitching of Dutch
left-hander Diegomar Maxwell, a highly skilled
pitcher who defeated South Korea and Cuba. They
gradually got used to his low-speed deliveries and
in the fifth inning, removed him from the mound with
a decisive crop of four runs.
It
is a fact that a group of batters such as Robinson
Canó, José Reyes, Edwin Encarnación, Miguel Tejada,
Hanley Ramírez and the others, are not easy to
dominate. Add to them pitchers who averaged two
earned runs in the first seven games, the equation
is complete, with the addition of something not
present in the first two Classics, the combativeness
of all the players involved.
Two
of the seven Dominican wins were at the cost of
their rival in the final, Puerto Rico, in close
scores, 4-2 and 2-0. But this did not deter the team
of Edwin Rodríguez – a man with experience in the
Major Leagues and a year as manager of the Florida
Marlins – who said to the press, “This isn’t just
another sports competition for us. We know what this
means for the Puerto Rican people, the interest and
desire to win could be felt in the dugout throughout
the games.”
Predictions always went against Puerto Rico. In the
eliminatory group, Venezuela was the favorite to
accompany the Dominican Republic to the second
round. But the Venezuelan team was left behind when
Luis Sojo’s team succumbed to the impetus of its
rivals and the poor performance of its batters.
Then, the Dominican Republic and the United States
became the favorites to reach the semifinals. Once
again the Puerto Rican team did not believe in the
apparent superiority of the U.S. and eliminated then
in a high-tension clash, decided by the minimum.
Finally, very few believed that they would be
capable of defeating Japan, two-time Classic
champions. But the Japanese machinery seized up, its
attack was reduced to a minimum expression and
Puerto Rico obtained one of the most important
victories in its history.
Two
little islands which grew in the face of the big
players. The 3rd Classic had a worthy pair of
finalists.
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