SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals gave a $3.1 million signing bonus to 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo, considered to be among the top amateur free agents from Latin America.
SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -- Glance through the list of important dates that Major League Baseball issues every year. There's Mother's Day in May, Father's Day in June and don't forget the Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game on July 12. What the calendar omits, however, is a date that has become the focal point in the procurement of Latin American amateur free-agents: July 2, the first day that MLB teams can sign 16-year-old international free-agent prospects who will be 17 years old by Sept. 1 of the following year is as unnoticed in the U.S. as it is front-page news in places such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Approximately 40 percent of the players in organized baseball were born outside the United States. Most of those players sign during the summer when they are 16 years old, a signing period that begins annually on July 2.
The goofy underwater shots of my husband and much-younger son grinning behind their masks always make me smile -- just the way a vacation photo should.
The Cubs are another team that's been scouting Pedro Martinez in the Dominican Republic, where he continues to throw regularly, according to National League sources.
Doctors, nurses and other health professionals in the Dominican Republic went on a 24-hour strike Thursday at public and Social Security Institute hospitals over a wage dispute, news reports said.
1. The World Baseball Classic arrived Tuesday night. Baseball became a truly global game when the Netherlands, the international baseball version of Buster Douglas, the 1980 U.S. hockey team and the Milan Indians rolled into one, put the tournament on the map by upsetting the heavily favored, star-studded Dominican Republic team, 2-1. Talk about shocking the world. Go crazy, Rotterdam, go crazy.
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Derek Jeter turning double plays with Dustin Pedroia. Chipper Jones and Adam Dunn taking extra batting practice. Roy Oswalt taking the No. 2 slot in the rotation behind Jake Peavy. Joel Hanrahan, John Grabow, Heath Bell and LaTroy Hawkins helping form the best bullpen in the world. Er, hold that last thought, given the bullpen getting Daschled in recent days. But the sights and sounds as the USA team gathered Monday confirmed the three-year wait is over: the most exciting baseball this side of October is here. The World Baseball Classic is back, and to borrow a phrase from the All-Star Game, this time it counts, America.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- The kid's mother had no teeth. The baseball scout sat with her in her home in the small village, trying to decipher the sounds she was making. The unintelligible words made his job even tougher. It used to be that a scout's role was to identify a player -- could he hit, run, throw and catch? -- but as he sat across the table from the woman trying to understand her, the scout was engaged in what has become the newest part of his job: literally trying to identify a player.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals gave a $3.1 million signing bonus to 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo, considered to be among the top amateur free agents from Latin America.
SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -- Glance through the list of important dates that Major League Baseball issues every year. There's Mother's Day in May, Father's Day in June and don't forget the Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game on July 12. What the calendar omits, however, is a date that has become the focal point in the procurement of Latin American amateur free-agents: July 2, the first day that MLB teams can sign 16-year-old international free-agent prospects who will be 17 years old by Sept. 1 of the following year is as unnoticed in the U.S. as it is front-page news in places such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Approximately 40 percent of the players in organized baseball were born outside the United States. Most of those players sign during the summer when they are 16 years old, a signing period that begins annually on July 2.
The goofy underwater shots of my husband and much-younger son grinning behind their masks always make me smile -- just the way a vacation photo should.
The Cubs are another team that's been scouting Pedro Martinez in the Dominican Republic, where he continues to throw regularly, according to National League sources.
Doctors, nurses and other health professionals in the Dominican Republic went on a 24-hour strike Thursday at public and Social Security Institute hospitals over a wage dispute, news reports said.
1. The World Baseball Classic arrived Tuesday night. Baseball became a truly global game when the Netherlands, the international baseball version of Buster Douglas, the 1980 U.S. hockey team and the Milan Indians rolled into one, put the tournament on the map by upsetting the heavily favored, star-studded Dominican Republic team, 2-1. Talk about shocking the world. Go crazy, Rotterdam, go crazy.
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Derek Jeter turning double plays with Dustin Pedroia. Chipper Jones and Adam Dunn taking extra batting practice. Roy Oswalt taking the No. 2 slot in the rotation behind Jake Peavy. Joel Hanrahan, John Grabow, Heath Bell and LaTroy Hawkins helping form the best bullpen in the world. Er, hold that last thought, given the bullpen getting Daschled in recent days. But the sights and sounds as the USA team gathered Monday confirmed the three-year wait is over: the most exciting baseball this side of October is here. The World Baseball Classic is back, and to borrow a phrase from the All-Star Game, this time it counts, America.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- The kid's mother had no teeth. The baseball scout sat with her in her home in the small village, trying to decipher the sounds she was making. The unintelligible words made his job even tougher. It used to be that a scout's role was to identify a player -- could he hit, run, throw and catch? -- but as he sat across the table from the woman trying to understand her, the scout was engaged in what has become the newest part of his job: literally trying to identify a player.
Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez continues to shuffle his top military commanders as he tries to make good on his recent promise to cleanse the government of corruption.
A top Washington Nationals prospect and recipient of the largest international signing bonus in team history is not who he appeared to be. Esmailyn Gonzalez, who is listed as 19 years old on the team's roster, is actually 23-year-old Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo, four sources have told SI.com.
Rescuers have found the body of a man who was one of six people aboard a small airplane that crashed Sunday evening near the northern shore of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Rescue crews scoured the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday for a plane that took off from the Dominican Republic en route to the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Dominican Republic Civil Aviation agency said.
Hurricane Gustav weakened to a tropical storm as it aimed for Caribbean waters Tuesday evening after crossing onto Haiti's southern peninsula as a Category 1 storm that killed at least one person.
Tropical Storm Gustav continued on its path toward Haiti and the central Caribbean on Monday and threatened to reach hurricane strength before landfall, the National Hurricane Center said.
HAINA, Dominican Republic -- Edgar Mercedes has made a fortune taking bets. So when the bookie saw 13-year-old Michel Inoa throw 78 mph off a mound in 2005 he knew that the lanky, 6-foot-3 right-hander was worth the wager. He's workable. He's workable, Mercedes kept saying to himself as he thought of the adjustments he would make to Inoa's delivery: the flick of his wrist, the angle of his waist. Mercedes, whose own career as a catcher had been derailed by injuries, had found the next best thing to being a professional ballplayer -- developing them.
A plane en route from the Dominican Republic to Canada made an emergency landing Tuesday night in Florida after passengers complained of being sick, officials said.
Olga strengthened into a tropical storm Tuesday after making landfall on Hispaniola and soaking the Dominican Republic, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Noel was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane Thursday as it moved away from the Bahamas and out into the cooler waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Tropical Storm Noel weakened Tuesday over most of Cuba after lashing the island's northern coast, but heavy rains continued to deluge the Dominican Republic, Haiti and portions of the Bahamas, forecasters said.
Eighteen people, including 10 airline workers at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, appeared in federal court Tuesday on international drug smuggling and distribution charges.
When the Cleveland Indians signed Dominican prospect Angel Franco, he knew he'd been given the opportunity of a lifetime. He just didn't know that that opportunity would have nothing to do with baseball.
You may have heard a lot of folks worrying about the steep drop in the number of black baseball players as the sport celebrates Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier 60 years ago this weekend.
Tony Batista's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the 18th inning gave the Dominican Republic a 4-3 victory over Venezuela on Friday night in the longest game in Caribbean Series history at 6 hours, 13 minutes.
When working in the tropical sun becomes too much for Ivko Maksimovic, the lanky Serbian heads to one of the Dominican Republic's pristine white-sand beaches. He first gathers up a black hat, mosquito repellent, and a bottle of drinking water.
If the World Baseball Classic could bottle the fan enthusiasm for the Dominican Republic-Venezuela game this past Tuesday, no one would ever be able to question the sport's popularity or international credentials ever again.
Staffers on Capitol Hill and in the Bush administration said Thursday it is unlikely that the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement will become active Jan. 1, as had been planned.
Downgraded slightly from hurricane strength, Tropical Storm Jeanne lingered over northern Hispaniola early Friday, where it battered the Dominican Republic with heavy rains and 70 mph (110 km/h) winds a day earlier, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Forecasters are expecting more rain Friday in the flood-soaked regions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where high waters have killed hundreds of people and left thousands more homeless.
Port-au-Prince is in chaos as armed rebels, demanding the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, claim they have surrounded the capital. As armed thugs roam the streets, Aristide remains in the city and insists he will not step down.
Doctors in the Dominican Republic have successfully removed the second head of a baby girl in a marathon operation thought to be the first of its kind.
CARIBBEAN High-season savings. It's peak season in the Caribbean--with prices to match. But some destinations in the region are relative bargains. The Dominican Republic and Margarita Island, which...
{
"threshold" : "44",
"tag" : {
"id" : "18918",
"type" : "COUNTRY",
"name" : "Dominican Republic",
"key" : "Dominican_Republic"
},
"assets" : [
{
"id" : "1844364",
"weight" : "63",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/baseball/mlb/07/02/cardinals.mateo.ap/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-07-02T22:28Z",
"headline" : "Cards, Yanks sign hyped Dominican prospects",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"tease" : "SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals gave a $3.1 million signing bonus to 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo, considered to be among the top amateur free agents from Latin America.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1844334",
"weight" : "59",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/writers/melissa_segura/07/02/international.signing/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-07-02T21:29Z",
"headline" : "Melissa Segura: In international market, MLB teams are buying costly lottery tickets",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"tease" : "SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -- Glance through the list of important dates that Major League Baseball issues every year. There's Mother's Day in May, Father's Day in June and don't forget the Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game on July 12. What the calendar omits, however, is a date that has become the focal point in the procurement of Latin American amateur free-agents: July 2, the first day that MLB teams can sign 16-year-old international free-agent prospects who will be 17 years old by Sept. 1 of the following year is as unnoticed in the U.S. as it is front-page news in places such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1844040",
"weight" : "100",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/baseball/more/07/01/international.prospects/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-07-02T15:30Z",
"headline" : "Baseball America: International signing period begins",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"tease" : "Approximately 40 percent of the players in organized baseball were born outside the United States. Most of those players sign during the summer when they are 16 years old, a signing period that begins annually on July 2.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1823286",
"weight" : "52",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/06/15/caribbean.resorts.kids/index.html#cnnSTCText",
"publishDate" : "2009-06-15T13:08Z",
"headline" : "Rock-bottom prices for summer fun in the Caribbean",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "The goofy underwater shots of my husband and much-younger son grinning behind their masks always make me smile -- just the way a vacation photo should.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/06/15/caribbean.resorts.kids/t1port.sailing.trib.jpg",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/06/15/caribbean.resorts.kids/tztop.sailing.trib.jpg",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/06/15/caribbean.resorts.kids/tztv.sailing.trib.jpg",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1820574",
"weight" : "47",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/baseball/mlb/06/12/cubs.pedro/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-06-12T22:58Z",
"headline" : "Cubs, Rays scouting Pedro in Dominican Republic",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"tease" : "The Cubs are another team that's been scouting Pedro Martinez in the Dominican Republic, where he continues to throw regularly, according to National League sources.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1712957",
"weight" : "45",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/WORLD/americas/03/12/dominican.doctors.strike/index.html#cnnSTCText",
"publishDate" : "2009-03-12T18:00Z",
"headline" : "Dominican health professionals go on 24-hour strike",
"wool" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1711826",
"weight" : "44",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/writers/tom_verducci/03/10/wbc.five.cuts.tuesday/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-03-11T19:51Z",
"headline" : "Tom Verducci: Netherlands shocks the world and puts WBC on map",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1706641",
"weight" : "99",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/writers/cliff_corcoran/03/06/poold.breakdown/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-03-06T20:32Z",
"headline" : "Cliff Corcoran: Pool D rankings, notable names",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1706538",
"weight" : "45",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/writers/tom_verducci/03/05/wbc.preview/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-03-06T19:04Z",
"headline" : "Tom Verducci: Ten reasons why the World Baseball Classic matters",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1702682",
"weight" : "75",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/writers/melissa_segura/03/02/dr.investigators/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-03-03T21:47Z",
"headline" : "Melissa Segura: When signing a Dominican prospect, it's buyer beware",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
}
]
}
{
"threshold" : "",
"tag" : {
"id" : "18918",
"type" : "COUNTRY",
"name" : "Dominican Republic",
"key" : "Dominican_Republic"
},
"assets" : [
{
"id" : "1844364",
"weight" : "63",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/baseball/mlb/07/02/cardinals.mateo.ap/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-07-02T22:28Z",
"headline" : "Cards, Yanks sign hyped Dominican prospects",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"tease" : "SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals gave a $3.1 million signing bonus to 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo, considered to be among the top amateur free agents from Latin America.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1844334",
"weight" : "59",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/writers/melissa_segura/07/02/international.signing/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-07-02T21:29Z",
"headline" : "Melissa Segura: In international market, MLB teams are buying costly lottery tickets",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"tease" : "SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -- Glance through the list of important dates that Major League Baseball issues every year. There's Mother's Day in May, Father's Day in June and don't forget the Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game on July 12. What the calendar omits, however, is a date that has become the focal point in the procurement of Latin American amateur free-agents: July 2, the first day that MLB teams can sign 16-year-old international free-agent prospects who will be 17 years old by Sept. 1 of the following year is as unnoticed in the U.S. as it is front-page news in places such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1844040",
"weight" : "100",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "si",
"site-url" : "http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "SI.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/baseball/more/07/01/international.prospects/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2009-07-02T15:30Z",
"headline" : "Baseball America: International signing period begins",
"wool" : "SI.com: ",
"tease" : "Approximately 40 percent of the players in organized baseball were born outside the United States. Most of those players sign during the summer when they are 16 years old, a signing period that begins annually on July 2.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
}
]
}
The page you requested cannot be found. The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
Please try the following:
• If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is spelled correctly.
• Open the edition.cnn.com home page and look for links to the information you want.
• Use the navigation bar above to find the link you are looking for.
• Click the Back button to try another link.
• Enter a term in the search form below to look for information on CNN sites or the Internet.
Video
Photos
