Baseball in Puerto Rico

Baseball In Puerto Rico

Baseball is the most popular sport in Puerto Rico. In terms of spectators and active participants, it is the premier sport on the island. It is also the only sport with its own professional league: the Puerto Rico Baseball League.

The game was introduced to the island in the late 19th century and the first two baseball clubs were founded in 1897, before the American invasion of 1898 known as the Spanish-American War. The sport was initially ridiculed as an effete, unmanly exhibition. However, when local Puerto Rican teams regularly defeated and embarrassed the more "experienced" American teams, the sport began to catch on.

As of 2012, over 100 Major League Baseball players were active in the Puerto Rico Baseball League, in addition to the many hundreds who participated in the past.

Some of the most famous baseball players from Puerto Rico include Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Alomar; as well as Jose "Cheo" Cruz; Iván Rodríguez; Edgar Martínez; Juan González; Victor Pellot; Yadier Molina; and Bernie Williams.