Written by Enrique Rojas at ESPN Deportes.com
A week after having made it into the book of the most famous phrases in the Dominican Republic’s history, pitcher Dellin Betances admitted having said what is being said that he said, though with a slight variation.
Betances, who was born in New York, chose to honor his parents by playing for the Dominican Republic, instead of the United States, in the World Baseball Classic. The tournament rules allow players to choose their teams via the following options: the national team of their country of birth, the national team of their parents’ country, or the national team of the country where they reside or are citizens.
“Los dominicanos nacemos donde nos da la gana (Dominicans are born wherever we want),” Betances was quoted as saying before the first game of Dominican Republic, against Canada, last week at Miami’s Marlins Park. The phrase spread like wildfire through social media, and turned itself into a slogan of the Dominican fans. Last Tuesday, at San Diego, some fans and friends of the Dominican Republic delegation used a T-shirt with the phrase.
“I said it, but without the foul word,” said Betances making reference to the word “maldita (hell).” “I told a reporter a couple of things, but without cursing,” added the pitcher before the first game of the second round in San Diego against Puerto Rico.
“They kept asking me a lot of questions and I wanted to say that I am a Dominican, that my blood is Dominican and that it does not matter where I was born,” said Betances, speaking in Spanish.
To continue reading this article, click here.
