Discovering Paradise
Discovering Paradise
The ultimate guide to Dominican baseball culture — winter league teams, game day experience at Estadio Quisqueya, MLB connections, visiting baseball academies in San Pedro de Macoris, and the Licey-Aguilas rivalry.
In the Dominican Republic, baseball is not a sport. It is identity. It is the thread that stitches together a nation of 11 million people from the sugarcane fields of San Pedro de Macoris to the towers of Santo Domingo's Piantini district. Every Dominican has a team. Every neighborhood has a field — even if that field is a cleared lot with rocks for bases and a broomstick for a bat. The country has produced more Major League Baseball players per capita than anywhere else on Earth, and the winter league that runs from October through January is the social, cultural, and emotional center of Dominican life.
This guide is for the baseball fan who wants to go beyond the beach — to sit in the stands at Estadio Quisqueya on a Tuesday night when Licey plays Aguilas and the entire capital picks a side, to visit the academies where future MLB stars are forged, and to understand why a small Caribbean nation dominates the most American of sports.
Baseball arrived in the Dominican Republic in the late 1800s, brought by Cuban immigrants fleeing their own wars of independence. It took root in the sugar mill towns — places like San Pedro de Macoris, La Romana, and San Cristobal — where workers played between shifts. By the early 1900s, organized leagues had formed. By the 1950s, Dominican players were entering the American major leagues. By the 2000s, the pipeline was a firehose.
Today, roughly one in seven MLB players was born in the Dominican Republic. In the 2024 season, over 100 Dominicans appeared on MLB rosters. Names like Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa, Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Fernando Tatis Jr. are not just athletes in the DR — they are national heroes, their faces on murals, their names on street corners. When a Dominican player hits a walkoff home run in the World Series, the entire island erupts. Car horns. Fireworks. Dancing in the streets at 1 AM on a work night. It is that deep.
The reason is economic as much as cultural. For generations of Dominican boys, especially from poor families, baseball represented the clearest path out of poverty. MLB academies in the DR sign 16-year-olds to contracts that can transform entire families. The dream is not abstract — your neighbor's son, your cousin's classmate, the kid who used to play stickball on your block, he might be in the majors right now. That proximity makes the sport intensely personal.
The Liga de Beisbol Profesional de la Republica Dominicana (LIDOM), commonly called the Dominican Winter League, runs from mid-October through late January, with playoffs extending into February. It is the top professional baseball league outside of MLB and has operated continuously since 1951.
The league features six teams playing a 50-game regular season, followed by a round-robin semifinal and a championship series (the Serie Final). The champion represents the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) in February, where they face the winter league champions of Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Panama.
Rosters mix Dominican MLB veterans (returning home for the offseason), top minor league prospects, and Dominican league regulars. You might watch a future All-Star pitching against a guy who hit 30 homers in AAA last summer, surrounded by 15,000 screaming fans in a stadium that costs less than a movie ticket to enter.
The most successful franchise in LIDOM history with 24 championships. Based in Santo Domingo, Licey wears blue and is the team of the capital's working class, intellectuals, and (they would say) anyone with good taste. Their fanbase is passionate bordering on fanatical. Home games at Estadio Quisqueya are electric.
The eternal rival. Based in Santiago, the Aguilas (Eagles) wear yellow and represent the Cibao region — the agricultural heartland, the second city, the anti-Santo Domingo. With 22 championships, they trail Licey by a slim margin and the rivalry is the fiercest in Caribbean baseball. Dominicans are born into either a Licey or Aguilas household. Switching allegiance is unthinkable.
The other Santo Domingo team, wearing red. Escogido is the aristocratic counterpart to Licey's populist energy — historically associated with the upper class and the educated elite. With 16 titles, they are a powerhouse, and their rivalry with Licey (the "Clasico Capitalino") is intense at the city level.
Based in the legendary baseball town of San Pedro de Macoris, the Estrellas (Stars) wear green and carry the pride of a city that has produced more MLB players per square mile than any place on Earth. Four championships, and a fanbase that takes the sport more seriously than any other.
The newest franchise (established 1996), based in San Francisco de Macoris. The Gigantes (Giants) wear orange and have built a loyal following in the northeast Cibao region. Two championships, with a modern stadium and a growing fanbase.
Based in La Romana, the Toros (Bulls) wear red and black. The youngest franchise, established in 2007, they won their first championship quickly and play at Estadio Francisco A. Micheli. The sugar mill town roots give them a gritty, working-class identity.
Going to a Dominican winter league game is unlike any baseball experience in the United States. Imagine the energy of a soccer match — drums, horns, chanting, dancing — combined with the strategic rhythm of baseball. It is loud, social, and relentlessly entertaining, even if you do not follow every pitch.
Games typically start at 7:30 PM (some weekend games at 5:00 PM). Arrive by 6:30 PM to soak in the pre-game atmosphere — vendors selling chimichurris and Presidente beers outside the stadium, merengue blasting from portable speakers, fans in team colors streaming toward the gates. Inside, the secciones populares (bleacher sections) are where the real energy lives — organized fan groups with drummers, trumpet players, and chant leaders who never stop for nine innings. The VIP and box sections are calmer but still electric by American standards.
Food and drink inside the stadium: Presidente beer (RD$150-200/US$2.50-3.40), chimichurris (RD$150-200), popcorn, peanuts, and the occasional paella or empanada vendor walking the aisles. It is cheap, informal, and delicious. Do not eat before the game — eat at the game.
Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo is the cathedral of Dominican baseball. Named after Hall of Famer Juan Marichal (the first Dominican inducted into Cooperstown), it seats approximately 14,000 and is the home stadium for both Licey and Escogido. When Licey plays at home, the stadium turns blue. When Escogido hosts, it turns red. When they play each other — the Clasico Capitalino — it is half blue, half red, and the noise is indescribable.
The stadium is located in the Centro de los Heroes neighborhood, easily reachable by Uber (RD$200-400 from most Santo Domingo hotels). Parking is limited and chaotic — Uber is the smart choice. The surrounding streets become a pre-game festival: street vendors, music, and the buzz of 14,000 people converging on one building.
Tickets are affordable and usually available, except for rivalry games and the playoffs:
Tickets can be purchased at the stadium box office on game day (arrive 1-2 hours early for big games), through the teams' websites and social media, or through Uepa Tickets (the Dominican equivalent of Ticketmaster). For the Licey-Aguilas rivalry or playoff games, buy 3-5 days in advance or risk a sellout.
Every MLB team operates a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic — a training complex where signed Dominican prospects develop before being assigned to US minor league affiliates. There are currently 30 academies concentrated primarily in the Santo Domingo and San Pedro de Macoris areas, with a few in Boca Chica and the surrounding region. These academies are where 16-to-19-year-old Dominican players live, train, play, and learn English before heading to the US.
The signing period opens every January 15, and the months leading up to it are a frenzy of scouting, showcase games, and negotiations. Signing bonuses range from US$10,000 for depth prospects to US$5-10 million for elite talents. For the families of these kids — often from deep poverty — a signing bonus is life-changing money.
Famous academy graduates include Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Robinson Cano, Manny Ramirez, Sammy Sosa, Vladimir Guerrero, Albert Pujols, and hundreds more. The academy system is the reason the Dominican Republic produces more MLB talent than any country outside the United States.
Most MLB academies are not open to the public for casual visits — they are working training facilities with security. However, there are ways to experience them:
If the Dominican Republic is the baseball factory of the world, San Pedro de Macoris is the factory floor. This sugar mill city of 200,000 people on the southeast coast has produced an astonishing number of MLB players — over 80 and counting, including Sammy Sosa, Robinson Cano, Alfonso Soriano, and dozens of active major leaguers.
The reasons are historical and structural: the sugar industry brought Afro-Caribbean immigrants (especially from English-speaking islands) who had a strong cricket tradition that transferred to baseball. The poverty of the bateyes (sugar cane worker settlements) meant that baseball was the only available path to prosperity. And the concentrated talent created a self-reinforcing cycle — if every other kid on your block was a prospect, you became a prospect too.
Visit Estadio Tetelo Vargas, home of the Estrellas Orientales, to see where the legends started. Walk the streets of Consuelo and Angelina neighborhoods, where impromptu baseball games happen on every corner. The town's baseball heritage is not in museums (though there are a few informal ones) — it is in the culture, the conversation, and the kids still swinging broomsticks at bottle caps in vacant lots.
This is the one. The Dominican Republic's defining sports rivalry, comparable to Yankees-Red Sox, Real Madrid-Barcelona, or River Plate-Boca Juniors. It is not just about baseball — it is Santo Domingo vs. Santiago, capital vs. countryside, blue vs. yellow. Families are divided. Friendships are tested. When Licey and Aguilas meet in the Serie Final, the entire country stops. Productivity drops. Bars overflow. The winning team's fans celebrate with car caravans through the city that last until dawn.
If you can attend one game during your trip, make it a Licey vs. Aguilas game at Estadio Quisqueya. The atmosphere is absolutely unforgettable — the energy rivals any sporting event in the world.
The intracity rivalry between Santo Domingo's two teams. Historically, Licey was the people's team and Escogido was the elite's team. That class divide has blurred over the decades, but the rivalry remains fierce. Since they share Estadio Quisqueya, these games have a unique intimacy — the same building, different nights, same passion.
The LIDOM season runs from mid-October through late January, with playoffs extending into February. The Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) follows in early February. The most intense period is December through January, when MLB veterans return to play for their winter league teams and the playoff race heats up. Games are played 5-6 nights per week, typically starting at 7:30 PM.
Estadio Quisqueya is located in Santo Domingo's Centro de los Heroes neighborhood, near the intersection of Avenida Tiradentes and Avenida Enrique Jimenez Moya. Take an Uber (RD$200-400 from most hotel zones in the city) — it is faster, safer, and avoids parking headaches. Arrive 60-90 minutes before game time for big matchups to get through the gates and soak in the atmosphere. After the game, wait 15-20 minutes for the crowd to thin before ordering your Uber.
Yes. Dominican baseball stadiums are festive, social environments that welcome visitors warmly. Stick to the reserved seating or VIP sections if you want a calmer experience; the bleachers are rowdy but joyful, not threatening. The biggest risk is dehydration (drink water between Presidentes) and noise-induced hearing loss from the trumpet section. Common sense applies: do not flash expensive electronics, keep belongings close, and Uber home after the game. Dominicans love sharing their baseball culture with visitors — wear a team hat and you will make instant friends.
This guide covers Santo Domingo. Explore more about this destination.
View DestinationOur team includes contributors who live in the Dominican Republic year-round and travel the island extensively, from Santo Domingo to remote southwest villages.