Our plane landed in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican, at 11:30 am on Saturday. After we went through customs (you pay a tax, show your passport, and have your bags checked before you can enter a new country), we rented a car.
We decided to visit San Pedro de Macoris, a town known as "the Town of Shortstops" because of how many Major League Baseball players (specifically shortstops) were born here.
There were baseball fields everywhere with kids playing pick-up games and league games. There was also a big baseball stadium, similar to Fenway Park, but a little smaller. The Dominican has a national baseball league and people love going to baseball games. The league championships took place a few weeks ago in early February, so now it's their offseason.
One reason baseball is so popular here is that players who are really talented can get a chance to play in the Major Leagues in the USA. Lots of the teams you know from the U.S. have academies in the DR. They sent scouts out to watch teenage boys play baseball and then the best players are offered a spot at one of the baseball academies. David Ortiz, who plays for the Red Sox, got his start at one of these baseball academies near San Pedro de Macoris.