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Baseball is the most popular sport in Puerto Rico. In terms of spectators and active participants, it is the premier sport on the island. It is also the only sport with its own professional league: the Puerto Rico Baseball League. The game was introduced to the island in the late 19th century and the first two baseball clubs were founded in 1897, before the American invasion of 1898 known as the Spanish–American War. The sport was initially ridiculed as an effete, unmanly exhibition. However, when local Puerto Rican teams regularly defeated and embarrassed the more "experienced" American teams, the sport began to catch on. As of 2020, over 100 Major League Baseball players were active in the Puerto Rico Baseball League, in addition to the many hundreds who participated in the past. Some of the most famous baseball players from Puerto Rico include Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Alomar; as well as Jose "Cheo" Cruz; Iván Rodríguez; Edgar Martínez; Juan González; Victor Pellot; Yadier Molina; and Bernie Williams. ==Early history of baseball in Puerto Rico== The game of baseball was introduced to the island in the late 19th century, by Puerto Ricans and Cubans who had learned the game in the United States. At first the sport was poorly received by the hard-working farmers, tobacco workers and sugarcane cutters of the island, who considered it an effete, unmanly game. The first two baseball clubs were founded in 1897: the ''Almendares'' Baseball Club owned by Francisco Alamo Armas, and the ''Borinquen'' Baseball Club owned by Santos Filippi. According to ''El País'' newspaper, the first organized baseball game was played on January 11, 1898 at the old velodrome in Santurce, San Juan. The ''Borinquen'' beat the ''Almendares'' by a score of 3 to 0. The first game to go a complete nine innings was played on January 30, 1898, when the ''Borinquen'' beat the ''Almendares'' again, by a score of 9 to 3.〔 Later that same year, Puerto Rico became an American territory when the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish–American War. By way of recreation, the American soldiers stationed in Puerto Rico were permitted to organize a baseball club to play against the local Puerto Rican clubs. On November 4, 1900 the ''Almendares'' Baseball Club trounced the American Baseball Club of the Second Regiment of Infantry, by a score of 32 to 18.〔 In the early 1920s teams from Puerto Rico, such as the San Juan Baseball Club and the Porto Rican Stars, would travel to New York City to play against some of the professional American teams. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Baseball in Puerto Rico」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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