New baseball entity formed in Dominican Republic in push to qualify for Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The Dominican Olympic Baseball Programme (“PROBEISBOL”) has been launched with the goal of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

With support from the business sector, led by entrepreneur Felipe Vicini, together with the Ministry of Sports (MIDEREC), the Dominican Olympic Committee (COD) and the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM), the new group has been formed to boost the Dominican Baseball Federation (FEDOBE) and boost the nation’s Olympic hopes.

FEDOBE President Tito Pereyra said the initiative would help give Dominican baseball the place it deserves at the world level.

Six-time MLB All-Star Moisés Alou has been announced as part of Probeisbol’s management team, and group’s first objective has been set: to finish the year ranked as one of the 12 best countries in the world.

The Top 12 nations in the end-of-the-year 2018 WBSC Baseball World Rankings will qualify for the flagship Premier12 global championship, where the top finisher from the Americas (and top finisher from Asia/Oceania) will earn a place in Tokyo 2020.

The Dominican Republic, currently the world No. 12, will look to collect ranking points at the U-15 Baseball World Cup and the U-23 Baseball World Cup this year, as well as other WBSC-sanctioned (U-12 to professional) events on the calendar.

LIDOM President Vitelio Mejía said the league was ready to provide its support and increased flexibility with regard to player availability for national team selection and training.

The National Baseball Team of the Dominican Republic has qualified once for the Olympics (Barcelona 1992).

Baseball is known as the “King of Sports” in the Dominican Republic. The nation with approximately 10 million people boasts some of the biggest stars in the game, which was showcased in Dominican Republic’s win of the 2013 World Baseball Classic.