Baseball History: The Legend of Satchel Paige’s Dominican Trip
By Editorial Staff
Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was kidnapped Wednesday in Venezuela where he lives and plays winter ball. Though police have found evidence to where he is Ramos has not been found. Ramos is not the first player in baseball history to be kidnapped or held captive.
In the days when teams barnstormed, Major and Negro League players used to cross the borders to the Caribbean to play ball. Legend has it that in 1937 Negro League pitching great Satchel Paige and a few teammates got more than what they bargained for when playing for Trujillo of the Dominican Republic.
This is a well known story in baseball history. How much of it is true only the people involved know and most of them are deceased. But here is what has been written
While in New Orleans for spring training with the Pittsburgh Crawfords Paige was accosted by some men at gunpoint who represented Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. The men offered Paige $30,000 to pitch for Trujillo’s team. Paige was to take $6,000 for him and use the other 24 to recruit other players. Having no choice Paige agreed.
When Paige and the players arrived in the Dominican as the men who would make Cuban baseball history they were met at the airport by armed soldiers, escorted to their hotel rooms and kept there. The games were only played on weekends and usually at gunpoint. Baseball and politics went hand in hand in the Dominican and Trujillo wanted his team to win in order to help him gain control of the country. His soldiers would be on one side of the field while his rivals were on the other. So Paige and his mates were playing for the honor of someone else’s country. This wasn’t baseball history, this was Dominican history.
With nothing to do but play ball Trujillo’s Los Dragones made it to the playoffs with an 18-13 record. Paige was the ace with a record of 8-2. Their opponent in the best of seven series would be rival San Pedros. After being put in prison the night before game one the Dragones went on to lose the first three of the series. One game away from defeat, Paige and his mates were on the verge of never returning to the states. They knew that this was serious business and they had to win four straight.
The 2004 Boston Red Sox are not the first team in baseball history to come back from down 3-0 to win a series. Trujillo and Paige did it. After they won the next three Paige took the mound for game seven. With the help of a two run homer by Sam Bankhead Paige and Trujillo were able to get the win 6-5 and make a hasty retreat out of town.
They would never return. Sadly with the help of Paige and company, Trujillo would take over the country and rule until 1961.
This is a legend in baseball history, but the Wilson Ramos kidnapping is all too real.