MLB Eyeing Regular-Season Games in Dominican Republic

MLB and the MLBPA have discussed playing regular-season games in the Dominican Republic, according to a union spokesperson.

The Dominican Republic is home to some of baseball’s biggest stars, including Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Juan Soto. But despite the significant number of Dominican-born MLB players and the league’s international presence elsewhere, it has never held a regular-season game in the country.

MLB has hosted five exhibition series in the Dominican Republic, including earlier this week, with the Tigers and Team Dominican Republic playing two games ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Tuesday’s 12–4 Dominican Republic win occurred in front of a sold-out crowd of 13,186, while Wednesday’s game had an attendance of 11,500.

“It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever experienced,” Team DR and Yankees catcher Austin Wells said on MLB Network. “When the announcer said who was coming up to bat, I felt like those were the loudest introductions I’ve ever heard.”

The league has put an emphasis on expanding globally in recent years, playing regular-season games in Australia, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom since 2014. Puerto Rico has also hosted a handful of regular-season games, most recently in 2018, and will host pool play games for the WBC. The MLB World Tour will travel to Mexico City in April, where the Diamondbacks and Padres will play two games.

Despite the interest, any desire to bring regular-season baseball to the DR will likely have to wait; MLB and the MLBPA agreed to play regular-season games at multiple international sites each season under the current collective bargaining agreement. However, the CBA expires on Dec. 1, meaning the two parties will already have to renegotiate the league’s international plans before future events are booked.