San Pedro de Macoris Province

San Pedro de Macorís produces more professional baseball players per capita than any place on Earth—76 major leaguers including Sammy Sosa, Robinson Cano, and Alfonso Soriano—and that pipeline began in the sugar mill barracks. Cuban refugees founded the city in the late 19th century, bringing sugar expertise that made San Pedro a boom town during World War I. Workers from the Lesser Antilles (the 'Cocolos') immigrated to work the plantations, and their descendants played on mill teams that became MLB's richest talent pool.

Sugar still anchors the economy: several ingenios process the province's vast cane fields, and two of the DR's three major rum distilleries operate here. The modern port handles exports including sugar, molasses, cattle, and timber. Free trade zones have diversified manufacturing, and the eastern plains support cattle ranching alongside coastal tourism resorts. But baseball remains the dominant export. Young men train on makeshift diamonds, hoping to sign with one of the 30 MLB team academies operating across the island.

By 2026, San Pedro will test whether the baseball pipeline can compensate for sugar's decline. Global sugar prices fluctuate, mechanization reduces labor demand, and competition from other producing countries intensifies. If the MLB player salary pool continues flowing back through remittances and if free zones attract higher-value manufacturing, the province could diversify successfully. If sugar collapses before alternatives mature, the 'Cradle of Shortstops' may export its best talent without retaining the wealth they generate.