Dominican President, Luis Abinader, makes history in the World Classic

Miami Florida. – After becoming the first president of a nation to launch the ceremonial first ball in a World Baseball Classic, Luis Abinader revealed to ESPN Digital a project that would provide the Dominican Republic with a modern stadium to play the king of baseball sports. caribbean island.

“I know that there is a group that is being formed and they are going to participate (Dominican baseball players), it will be very diverse. A lot of people are going to participate, businessmen, baseball players, it’s going to be very diverse, that’s the information I have,” said Abinader, after throwing out the first pitch of the game between the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, on Saturday, at LoanDepot Park in Miami. .

«That should be launched in the coming months, that is already underway, it is advanced. Of course, that has to do with a public-private alliance, where we are also going to involve the Central American [Games] [of 2026].

We spoke with the president of the Central American Games Commission, who is the journalist José Monegro, and we are making progress,” revealed the premier from Quisqueyan.

“It is a complete redesign where we are going to use the Quisqueya Stadium [in Santo Domingo, the capital] and the idea is to build a stadium as the Dominican people deserve, it would be where Quisqueya is,” he said.

The Dominican president watched the meeting in a private suite, accompanied by some members of his cabinet and Cooperstown Hall of Famers Pedro Martínez and David Ortiz. A source told ESPN Digital that Martínez and Ortiz could be part of the project. When he made the launch, he was accompanied by his wife Raquel Arbaje, Martínez, Ortiz, Albert Pujols and the singer ‘El Alfa’.

Despite the fact that baseball is almost a religion in the Dominican Republic and that the country is one of the largest exporters of talent to the main leagues in the world, its stadiums are very old or small, which has prevented the country from staging large events. , such as the World Classic or official Major League games, to give an example.

President Abinader agreed with the overwhelming majority of his compatriots who have demanded for decades scenarios more appropriate to the specific weight that baseball has in the lives and economy of the country.

“I totally agree,” he said. «Now remember that we started with some priorities that were the pandemic, they were COVID, but I do give you good news, there is a public-private approach that we are already working on to have a world-class stadium; We are working on it,” Abinader added.

About being part of the huge crowd of Dominicans and Venezuelans that packed the Marlins stadium to see the first game of both countries in the current World Classic, Abinader said that he assumed it as one of his responsibilities as president.

“Very good, very happy, supporting here the national team, the country team and the sport, where we, if we go per capita, in proportion to the population, the Dominican Republic would be the country where baseball is more important in relation to with the population,” he said.

“So, I think that the least a president can do, apart from liking baseball, is to come here to support his team,” he added.

ESPN.COM