At that moment, just a few minutes before the first pitch, the stands were almost full. Many of the 36,230 rum-soaked customers had already begun their thunder of noise. Flags waved among the crowd like a forest of Caribbean palm trees. Below this anticipation concert, the two best players in the building gathered for a round of banter.
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(Select your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB season)
Soto and Acuña have been linked for some time.
The two superstars debuted in 2018, finishing first (Acuña) and second (Soto) in Rookie of the Year voting. Until Soto was traded to San Diego at the 2022 trade deadline, they played in the same division. That’s true again with Soto stationed in Queens. They are friends, compatriots, counterparts.
As the pair chatted, they both removed their caps and handed them to the other for further investigation. After a moment, the two exchanged caps once Acuña lunged forward to playfully place his Venezuela cap on Soto’s head. For a moment, he balanced on Soto’s black durag, Acuña’s blue hat matching Soto’s similarly colored Dominican Republic jersey perfectly. The Mets outfielder backed away playfully and tossed his cap to his friend. The two laughed, patted each other, and continued stretching.
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That moment was a microcosm of the evening, which was a joyful celebration of Latin American baseball at the highest level.
Over the past few decades, these two countries ranked second and third behind the United States in MLB players produced. They are the dominant forces in the game, culturally and in terms of player development, in Latin America. For both of them, baseball is the national sport and much more. It is a way of life and a way of living, and the megastars produced by each nation are an ever-present source of community pride.That pride was on display Wednesday when the Dominican Republic edged out Venezuela by a score of 7-5, securing first place in Group D. An early barrage of long balls from the Dominican star-studded lineup set the tone. The top four in the batting order went deep in the first four innings, each explosion propelling a wave of giddy compatriots out of the dugout toward the diamond with childlike joy.
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Fernando Tatis Jr.’s three-run explosion in the fourth gave Team DR a cushion to advance through the relatively mundane middle innings. Venezuela came close with a goosebump ninth inning that included three straight walks and a throwing error by reliever Elvis Alvarado, but couldn’t get the swing it needed.
And while the on-field play from both sides was impressive, the celebrations were on another level.
Juan Soto nearly threw his bat off the roof of Credit Depot Park after his first-inning jack. Junior Caminero and Julio Rodríguez did the same near the on-deck circle while Ketel Marte rounded the bases in the third. Tatis carried Geraldo Perdomo on his shoulders back to the dugout after Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s explosion two batters later.
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Every player in the Dominican dugout flooded the field to celebrate each great fly ball. And of course, the four home runs were greeted with the team’s flag-bearing leather jacket, an oversized DR logo chain, and a mock-up group selfie at home plate.
It was untrammeled baseball.
Both clubs came into the clash with unbeaten records and a place in the knockout round assured, meaning the stakes were decidedly lower than they could have been. But that didn’t take any energy away from the crowd. In fact, he seemed to relax, as both fans knew their team’s tournament would continue beyond the night. There was tension, but it wasn’t the kind that occurs in an elimination game or even a typical game of pool.
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As the Venezuelan fans trudged home, their team defeated, it was hard to believe any of them had had a bad time. That’s because the atmosphere itself, a heady, heady red and blue tornado of horned instruments, gyrating hips and Latin spirit, was the main attraction. It was about one community and two separate communities acting as one community.
Once Kumbayá’s sentiment is recognized, Venezuela’s loss will not go unpunished. Finishing second in the group, the Venezuelans headed into the quarterfinals against defending champions Samurai Japan on Saturday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of the best pitchers on the planet, will start that game for Japan. And while Venezuela certainly has the offensive firepower to cause an upset, the task ahead is daunting.
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The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, seems like an unstoppable freight train. Before Wednesday’s game, DR captain Albert Pujols was asked if he had any concerns about his lineup, considering he had faced only one MLB-caliber pitcher so far in the tournament.
Pujols, offering a wry smile, responded: “I think our offense can hit anyone.”
That proved extraordinarily true against Venezuela.