While nearly all of their Latin America neighbors choose soccer as their nation’s sport, baseball dominates Nicaragua. Most of the 6 million residents of the country play the game or have played the game in the past. The story of baseball’s arrival in Nicaragua however is unique and worth telling.
An American businessman in the 1880s introduced the game to Nicaraguans by convincing two of the popular cricket teams at the time to play baseball instead. He supplied all of the necessary equipment and the game began to blossom in popularity. Baseball teams quickly formed and many Nicaraguans had the chance to participate in the game. As more and more people were exposed to the game, the passion continued to grow. Throughout the early 20th century, the game grew immensely in popularity in part because of the stationing of US Marines in the area who liked to play.
Unfortunately, the economic and political problems in Nicaragua ultimately put a brief halt to baseball in the 1960s, but play resumed again in full force in the 70s. Some argue that the level of play declined during the Sandinistas transition to power, but the love for the game was still there. The Sun Sentinel reports in a 1985 article that even though “the US and Nicaragua may be fighting a proxy war, that hasn’t stopped the Nicaraguans from passionately adopting America’s national pastime as its own.” One report cites that 46,000 Nicaraguans took to the baseball fields each Sunday to play the game they love.
During the 1980s, Nicaraguan baseball players were discouraged to pursue careers in the American MLB. Many Sandinista government officials were put in charge of the nation’s baseball programs to the detriment of actual performance. It is not that they were neglecting baseball; it is that they were not putting their effort towards the game in the most effective ways. That changed in the 1990s during the 1996 election when both candidates, Ortega and Aleman, promised to increase funding the nation’s favorite sport.
Currently, baseball thrives in Nicaragua. The nation’s professional league returned in 2004 and many of the games appear similar to their American rivals with cheerleaders, team mascots, and good field conditions. The country is also currently constructing a new national baseball stadium in Managua that will ultimately hold up to 25,000 spectators. It will be designed with Major League Baseball standards and requirements, so the possibility of major league games coming to Nicaragua at some point are a possibility.
Overall, baseball plays a valuable role in the livelihood of Nicaraguans. It is a game brings citizens together, no matter their differences or political interests.
Further Reading
http://www.espn.com/espn/print?id=2762836&type=story
https://vianica.com/activity/43/national-stadium-baseball-matches-and-more
https://web.archive.org/web/20080526004940/http://www.nicanews.com.ni/nn12/bball.html
Sport in Latin America and the Caribbean / Joseph L. Arbena and David G. LaFrance, editors.
This was not helpful at ALL