The remarkable town has also produced names like Joaquin Andujar, Tony Fernandez, Juan Samuel, George Bell, Pedro Guerrero and Alfredo Griffin. While the Dominican Republic was where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492 and home of the Americas' first hospital, cathedral and university, it is probably best known for exporting talented baseball players. The Dominican Republic, which has a population of 8 million, had produced 62 players on major league rosters on opening day, representing the largest group of players born outside the United States. They ask me if Sammy hit a home run today. McGwire and Sosa.
People carry around little radios to their jobs, listening to the games to see what's going on.
It makes it very exciting for our country. They all want Sammy to do it, but they want McGwire to do it too. In his early years, Sosa was considered a wild, undisciplined swinger with a penchant for fancy jewelry and two-strike curve balls in the dirt. Some people, including some of his teammates, questioned whether Sosa was a team player. But with age has come patience and maturity, and Sosa's legendary season has answered most of his critics.