San Pedro de Macorís – In commemoration of Black History Month, the Embassy of the United States and the Robinson Cano Foundation celebrated for its fourth consecutive year the Jackie Robinson Cup in San Pedro de Macoris.
The Seattle Mariners player and Cano Foundation President, Robinson Cano gave the opening remarks followed by the United States Ambassador in the Dominican Republic, James Brewster. Also in attendance were Jose Cano, President of the San Pedro de Macoris Baseball Association, the Governor of San Pedro de Macoris, Felix De los Santos; the Mayor for the San Pedro de Macoris province, Ramón Echavarría; United States Embassy staff, MLB players such as Rafael Soriano for the Washington Nationals; Jordanny Valdespin from the New York Mets, among other local baseball players and community leaders.
Two games of five innings each were played in the Tetelo Vargas Stadium, home field of the Oriental Stars between the “U.S. Embassy All Stars” and “Canó Kids” from the Cano Foundation. All players wore the number 42 on the back of their jerseys in honor of Jackie Robinson’s famous uniform. Approximately 2,500 children were invited to the game from different minor league teams in the San Pedro de Macoris province and surrounding communities.
Each year, the month of February in the United States marks the beginning of Black History Month, which pays homage and celebrates the great achievements of African-American descendants through the ages. As part of Black History Month, this softball Cup also honors the figure of Jackie Robinson, a great African-American baseball player that broke through all the racial discrimination barriers present in the sport at the time.
Jackie Robinson became the first black mayor league baseball player when he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers (now Los Angeles Dodgers) in 1947. His admittance into the team ended racial segregation in the sport. Jackie Robinson was elevated to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 and is remembered by the number 42 jersey.
The “Canó Kids” team is organized and coached by Mayor League Baseball player Robinson Cano, who was named after the Mayor League baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Cano, who plays for the Seattle Mariners, is the Cano Foundation President.
The first softball cup was celebrated three years ago in Central East University campus y the latter two softball cups were held at the Tetelo Vargas Stadium in San Pedro de Macoris.
