Banners for Visa, ESPN, DirecTV and Rawlings compete for space with Dominican ads on the outfield walls at Quisqueya Stadium. More than 1 million Dominicans now live in the United States, but keep close ties with the 8 million left on the island. Dozens more die each year in crude flotillas, trying to traverse a 75-mile strait to Puerto Rico. The country produces more major-leaguers than any foreign nation and, per capita, far more than any U.S. state. The harvesting of baseball prospects is a year-round endeavor here.
Tryouts happen all the time.
Each major-league team maintains at least one academy to turn prospects into professionals. But for every superstar, hundreds of Dominicans fail. Rafael Sanchez tries not to think about that. Sanchez sells Brugal rum from a brittle wooden stand outside Quisqueya Stadium. Sanchez's money is dwindling.