#1 Baseball

Let's keep it all the way real, Baseball hasn't been America's favorite pastime for quite a while now. Ever since Roberto Clemente revolutionized the game in the '60s, Beisbol took a turn for Latin. Now the Major Leagues is dominated by Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Venezuelans and names like A.Rod, Sosa and Big Papi will take place in the hall of fame besides luminaries like Ruth and DiMaggio. The fact of the matter is we’ve taken Baseball and we’re not giving it back.

Take the Dominican Republic for example, a country who’s chief export is homerun hitters, Baseball is like religion to Latinos and the fact the MLB is over 30% Latino is proof in the pudding. In ’07 Detroit Tigers outspoken outfielder Gary Sheffield remarked on the rise of the Latino player in an issue of GQ. “I called it years ago. What I called is that you’re going to see more black faces, but there ain’t no English going to be coming out,” said Sheffield. Sheffield went on to suggest that Latinos will supercede Blacks as the dominant minority in the Major Leagues, mostly due to the language barrier which makes, Latinos easier to control. Yes Sheffield’s comments were asinine, but he was right about one thing, Latinos have taken over.

Still the Latin obsession with baseball goes beyond the diamond. Check the stickball legends from the Bronx who adapted the game without a bat, baseball, or gloves. The fact is that Beisbol is tradition and has become a vital part of the Latin DNA. For Americans baseball is simply a pastime, a sport- for Latinos it is a way of life. Cuba’s national baseball team is world renown, made up of amateur (a.k.a THEY DON’T GET PAID) players, the team from Cuba has been the most dominant team in the Olympic play and finished second in 2006’s World Baseball Classic.

With Boxing, Baseball and Futbol already in the bag- we’re going after Hockey next!