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By Tyler Erzberger
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The World Baseball Classic has begun, and from Japan to Puerto Rico, stadiums are packed, fans' music blares, and it's been a celebration of the sport on the grandest international stage.
Each game feels like a meeting of cultures, as fans of the countries perform their own cheers, dances, and celebrations alongside their adversaries.
In one of the most competitive matches of the early group stage, the Dominican Republic took on Nicaragua in a surprisingly close battle. The D.R., one of the favorites to win it all and a former WBC champion, fell behind early to the underdogs from Nicaragua and needed to stage a comeback to even tie the game.
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It took until the sixth inning for the Dominican Republic to truly get ahead of the team from Nicaragua, with Tampa Bay Rays star Junior Caminero smashing a two-run home run out of LoanDepot Park in Miami.
Caminero, as if he were transported back to playing in his youth days, high-stepped from first to second base with a smile on his face as his Dominican teammates partied at home plate, awaiting their hero.
It was a moment of pure joy for Caminero and the Dominican Republic team, celebrating behind the loud roar of their fans who took over the Marlins ballpark in Florida.
While fans on social media praised the Dominican for bringing fun to the event, others disagreed.
They believed that what Caminero did was against the purity of baseball.
He had "disrespected" the sport.
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"Baseball is about tradition," one disgruntled viewer posted under the highlight of the home run. "This has no place. Ridiculous. The game is not football."
"As long as you think it's ok for the pitcher to bury one in his rib cage and then go celebrate with his teammates while the other player is on the ground in pain then OK ACT LIKE YOU HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE," posted another angered user on X. "It's a home run.... thousands have hit them before.... he isn't special."
But while there were people staunch in their ways, some disgruntled fans actually changed their minds after watching the excitement the WBC has brought to baseball from different cultures around the world.
"I’ll admit the very first time they said it was going to be done, I wasn’t thrilled," posted a newfound fan. "But I watched it and was caught up with Japanese and Latino fans and their energy during the games."
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