As the world turns its attention to the final of the World Baseball Classic taking place tonight between Venezuela and the United States, baseball once again reminds us of its unique power to connect nations, cultures, and histories. At a time when the sport is celebrated on a global stage, it is also worth reflecting on the deeper and often overlooked stories that have shaped the game across the Caribbean. Two recent events in the Dominican Republic have caused significant controversy. Before getting to them, let me ask a question.
Where did one of the earliest Caribbean-born Black professional baseball players in the United States come from?
One important but often overlooked answer is Henry C. McDonald, a Haitian-born athlete whose story complicates the way we think about baseball history.
Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1890, McDonald immigrated to the United States as a child and became a remarkable multi-sport professional athlete. He was not only a professional baseball player but also a standout American football player during the early twentieth century, competing before the formal establishment of the National Football League.
In baseball, McDonald played seven professional seasons in what later became recognized as part of Negro League history, suiting up for teams such as the Cuban Giants and the Pittsburgh Colored Stars. These leagues existed because Black athletes were barred from Major League Baseball under the racial segregation policies of the era. His athletic ability extended to football, where he played halfback for the Rochester Jeffersons and was regarded as one of the most prominent Black professional football players of his time.
In 1973, McDonald was named among the 38 original inductees into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame, alongside icons such as Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, and Jim Brown. His recognition situates Haiti, through one of its sons, within the foundational story of Black professional baseball in the United States.
That history raises another question.
If Haiti was present at the birth of Black professional baseball in America, why is baseball not popular in Haiti today, the way it is in the Dominican Republic, arguably the strongest baseball nation in the world?
One Island, Two Baseball Histories
Baseball was introduced to the island of Ayiti-Quisqueya, known in the West as Hispaniola, in the late nineteenth century, largely through Cuban migrants and American influence. In the Dominican Republic, the sport took root and flourished. Over generations, it became not just a pastime but a pillar of national identity. Today, the Dominican Republic has produced more Major League Baseball players per capita than any country in the world and consistently fields one of the most talented rosters in the World Baseball Classic, a version of a World Cup for baseball.
In Haiti, however, baseball never became culturally dominant. Haiti’s historical relationship with the United States, marked by occupation and political intervention in the early twentieth century, shaped perceptions of American cultural exports. For some Haitian intellectuals and policymakers, baseball was seen less as a neutral sport and more as an extension of American influence, even an imperial tool. Soccer, by contrast, gained traction and became the country’s primary sport.
Yet, there is a lesser-known economic irony. During the 1970s and into the mid 1980s, Haiti was one of the leading producers of hand-sewn baseballs for export to the United States. While the Dominican Republic was perfecting the game, Haiti was producing the very balls used in professional competition abroad. Haiti helped sustain the sport economically even as it never embraced it culturally.
Citizenship, Barriers, and Baseball Academies
For decades, Dominicans of Haitian descent have faced and continue to face systemic barriers within the Dominican Republic. For various reasons, including the logistics such as financial and now because of new citizenship laws, many were and are unable to obtain birth certificates, which prevented them from securing national identity cards cedulas. Without these documents, access to schools, universities, formal employment, and even enrollment in Major League Baseball-funded baseball academies became difficult or impossible.
Despite these obstacles, some players of Haitian descent, like Miguel Sanó, Felix Pie, and others, still reached Major League Baseball. However, their paths were often complicated by documentation challenges and social stigma.
In 2013, a ruling by the Dominican Constitutional Court, commonly referred to as La Sentencia Ruling 168-13, retroactively to 1929 stripped citizenship from thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent, rendering many effectively stateless. Individuals who had long considered themselves Dominican suddenly found themselves without nationality. Without Dominican citizenship and lacking Haitian birth documentation, many were left in legal limbo.
Reports over the years have alleged that some baseball academies required proof of Dominican nationality and, in certain cases, informally discouraged or rejected players suspected of being Haitian. There have also been accounts of Haitian descendant families altering surnames to avoid discrimination, French-sounding names being shortened or modified to appear more Spanish. Whether universally practiced or not, the perception alone created strong incentives for individuals of Haitian descent to downplay or deny their heritage in pursuit of opportunity.
A New Generation Speaking Openly
That history is why recent social media videos have generated intense debate. Two rising baseball figures in the Dominican Republic, Jeffrey Jean Pie and Jhonkensy Noel, of the Major League Baseball team the Baltimore Orioles, have publicly acknowledged their Haitian heritage with pride. In one widely circulated clip, Jhonkensy stated that if he had to choose between representing the Dominican Republic and Haiti, he would proudly represent Haiti.
Such statements are significant. For decades, it was often advantageous, socially and professionally, to remain silent about Haitian ancestry. Today, some athletes are choosing visibility instead.
There is, however, one major complication: Haiti does not currently have a competitive baseball program at any meaningful level of international play. There is no established national pipeline, no professional league, and no structured development system comparable to the Dominican model. That absence may not represent an obstacle, but rather an opportunity.
MLB, Haiti, and a Moral Argument
Following Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, American sports journalist Kevin Blackistone argued in his Washington Post article titled “Baseball has a debt to Haiti, and it’s time the sport repaid it” that MLB owed Haiti a debt of recognition, noting the country’s historic role in manufacturing baseballs during a formative period for the sport’s global expansion.
If MLB is serious about making baseball a truly global sport, one played competitively beyond its traditional power centers, expanding into Haiti may be among the most logical next steps. The infrastructure gap is real, but so is the geographic proximity to the most successful baseball development system in the world.
A Parallel in Soccer
Over the last decade, significant investment has flowed into Dominican professional soccer. The domestic league has strengthened, infrastructure has improved, and Dominican clubs now compete regularly in regional tournaments organized by CONCACAF, the governing body that organizes soccer tournaments for the North American, Central American, and Caribbean region. The Dominican Republic’s recent performances in regional competitions suggest the country may soon emerge as a Caribbean soccer powerhouse.
Also important, Dominican soccer clubs have relied on Haitian players and coaches to raise the level of competition while building up their soccer programs. In this context, sport has served as a bridge rather than a barrier. Baseball could follow a similar path.
Lowering the Barriers
Accusations that certain Dominican baseball academies function as gatekeepers, limiting opportunities for Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent, continue to circulate. Whether structural or informal, those barriers have shaped perception.
But sport can divide or unite.