This week for readings, I read “Play Ball!” The Gómez Dictatorship and the Development of Baseball in Venezuela. This article was very insightful and provided some more information about baseball that I was completely unaware of.
Knew: I knew that baseball was the major sport in Venezuela. When I was 14, I had the opportunity to play in the Junior League World Series in which I had a first-hand opportunity to play against a Venezuelan national team. Judging by their character alone, they were the most passionate and joyful on the field. Although they would come up short in the tournament, their joy on the field led directly into their play. While the team appeared to be a mix of scrappy and strong, they played at a high level and made almost no mistakes. All I knew before this article was the love that Venezuelans played the game of baseball with.
Know: I did not know the roots that were embedded in the hearts of the Venezuelan people to love baseball. During the Gomez regime, the people of Venezuela were controlled to a level that did not allow for individuality. Baseball, which was the first sport to be played nationally, served as an escape to the people and even was enjoyed by the Dictator Gomez himself. Because of this, the people were able to escape from the harsh oppression through sports and baseball. Gomez saw baseball as a way to unify and modernize his people who up until this point were rather scattered and poor. Gomez wanted to use the team aspect to pit his country against others by promoting Venezuelan baseball superiority. Clubs began organizing tournaments that teams across the nation would compete in. Even with this competition, Gomez would exert his power by always ensuring the teams that he backed would always win. Baseball served as a free space to play and not be impressed into forced support for a dictator. The hold that baseball would have on the Venezuelan people would remain strong long after Gomez. Baseball remains the national sport even through the push of soccer through the majority of South America. Venezuelans’ love for baseball transcends the game and it now serves as a reminder of the perseverance through an oppressive leader.
