All-Dominican Republic Team: Trio Of Red Sox Lead Stacked Roster

In honor of Hispanic & Latine Heritage Month, NESN takes a look at the best Major League Baseball players from Hispanic and Latin American nations. Today, we compile our picks for the all-time Dominican Republic team.

The Dominican Republic is the home nation of some of baseball’s greatest stars across generations. The country has produced 894 players to lead all Latin American countries.

This roster consists of a full starting lineup, three bench players, three starting pitchers and two relief pitchers.

Here is the lineup.

C Tony Peña
1B Albert Pujols
2B Robinson Canó
SS Miguel Tejada
3B Adrián Beltré
LF Manny Ramirez
CF Vladimir Guerrero Sr.
RF José Bautista
DH David Ortiz

Bench – Sammy Sosa
Bench – Alfonso Soriano
Bench – Nelson Cruz

Three of the four Dominican Hall of Famers make the cut in this talented starting lineup (stay tuned for the final Hall of Famer in the rotation).

As the oldest player in the lineup, Peña won four Gold Glove awards as a five-time All-Star, most notably for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pujols has the case as one of, if not the, greatest right-handed hitters to ever win the game, winning Rookie of the Year in the National League in 2001 and never looked back. Pujols entered the “700 Club” as one of just four players in baseball history to hit 700 home runs as a two-time World Series champion and a three-time league MVP.

Canó quietly put together a tremendous career with quality defense and a smooth left-handed swing as a two-time Gold Glover and an eight-time All-Star.

Tejada may have fallen under the radar as a player who thrived early in the 2000s. As the shortstop of the “Moneyball” Oakland Athletics and later the Baltimore Orioles, the 2002 American League MVP hit 307 career home runs and played all 162 games in six consecutive seasons.

At the hot corner, Beltré thrived with the bat and the glove as the two-time Platinum Glove winner hit 477 career home runs with an .819 OPS.

In the outfield, a trio of right-handed sluggers patrol defensively.

With Ramirez, the 2004 World Series MVP won two titles and hit 555 home runs as a 12-time All-Star and one of the sport’s most entertaining figures.

Guerrero possessed a rocket for an arm in the outfield is one of baseball’s best “bad ball” hitters. The 2004 American League MVP slashed an impressive .318/.379/.553 with 449 home runs and a .931 OPS for his career.

In his prime in the 2010s, Bautista was one of baseball’s most feared hitters in a stretch of six straight All-Star selections from his age-29 season on.

As the DH, Ortiz is the best to ever hit at the position with countless clutch hits, 500 homers and a remarkable postseason resume as the 2013 World Series MVP.

On the bench, Sosa and Cruz bring plenty of power at the plate while the versatile Soriano can do it all, including serving as one of only five players to ever hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season back in 2006.

Here are the pitchers:

SP Pedro Martinez
SP Juan Marichal
SP Bartolo Colón
RP Fernando Rodney
RP Emmanuel Clase

Martinez was arguably the most dominant starting pitcher of his generation, winning three Cy Young awards in a four-year span with 219 career wins and a 2.93 ERA.

Marichal became the first Dominican-born player to be elected to the Hall of Fame with 243 wins and a 2.89 ERA as a 10-time All-Star.

Colón was constantly a fan favorite, from his famous home run in San Diego in 2016 to taking home the 2005 American League Cy Young award. Rodney sits at No. 18 on the all-time saves list with 327 in his career.

Despite being just 25 years old, Clase is on pace to skyrocket on the all-time saves list with 109 so far in just his third full season as a closer with the Cleveland Guardians. Clase also posted two separate seasons with an ERA under 1.50 and made two All-Star teams.