My First Word - Baseball

How Baseball Changed Life In a Dominican Town on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday

Listening Date: April 21, 2010

“When you think of baseball, you might think of Cooperstown, N.Y. But it's San Pedro de Macoris, in the Dominican Republic, that's known as "the town where shortstops come from."

As of 2008, 79 boys and men from San Pedro had gone to the play in the major leagues -- including the likes of Sammy Sosa, Robinson Cano and Julio Franco."

To summarize this show in two sentences, it's about players who are from a Dominican Town that make it to the major leagues. It talks about how the lives of these players changed and how the town supported it.

I like reading/hearing about players whose lives changed drastically. This documentary is exactly what I'm looking for. I found it interesting hearing about all these players who "climbed the ladder" and found success. These players went from making a couple hundred dollars a year to millions of dollars, which is huge for their town. I'm happy for them but also jealous because I want to be paid to have fun. This documentary connected with two of my questions: "How did sports change the lives of people?" and "How did sports change a city or town?" If you listen to the show, baseball is the culture of this town, which kind of connects to my third question.

I learned new things about players I am already familiar with, such as Alfonso Soriano and Sammy Sosa. I look up to these players now, especially Alfonso Soriano (since he is still on the Cubs) because I admire players/people who work really hard to be successful. Sometimes when I look at professional athletes, I look at them as gifted people that were born with the skills needed for that sport. I can't make that judgment anymore after hearing this documentary.



“How Baseball Changed Life In a Dominican Town.” Weekend Edition Sunday. Writer Mark Kurlansky. National Public Radio. 17 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2010.