Outside of Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, Cuba is one of the leading countries in producing MLB players. At the start of the 2012 season, there were 11 Cuban players on major league rosters. Other regions contributing to the player pool were Puerto Rico with 11, Mexico with nine and Panama with seven. The Dominican Republic was represented well, with 95 players on MLB opening day rosters this year. Venezuela was right behind Dominican Republic with 66 players on opening day rosters.
Of Mexico’s nine players in the majors, three of them are standout pitchers. The Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo, the Cardinals’ Jaime Garcia, and the Royals’ Joakim Soria all hail from Mexico. Gallardo finished seventh in the 2011 NL Cy Young voting while racking up 205 strikeouts and a 3.52 ERA for Milwaukee. Garcia, of course, was an important piece of the Cardinals’ world champion rotation. Garcia became just the second Mexican-born pitcher to start a World Series game this past October. Soria is a two-time All-Star closer for Kansas City, but will miss the remainder of the 2012 season with a torn ligament in his elbow.
Puerto Rico produced one of the more well-known baseball families in recent years: the Molinas. Bengie Molina has since retired, but his brothers, Jose and Yadier are still in the league. Yadier Molina is widely considered the best fielding catcher in the majors and has won four consecutive Gold Glove awards to back up that claim. Six-time All-Star Carlos Beltran also hails from Puerto Rico. Beltran recently signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Of these regions, Panama boasts the greatest player. The Yankees’ future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera was born in Panama City and has played 18 seasons in the majors. Rivera is the all-time leader in saves, a five-time world champion and a 12-time All-Star. Widely considered the greatest closer in baseball history, Rivera will be inducted into Cooperstown as soon as he is eligible.
