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{{Short description|Game similar to cricket in Dominican Republic}}

[[File:Jugando la Plaquita.JPG|thumb|250px|A batter stands in front of his makeshift [[wicket]].]]

'''La plaquita''' or '''la placa''' (English: little plate) is a [[bat-and-ball game]] played in the Dominican Republic with many similarities to [[cricket]].<ref>https://dr1.com/articles/cricket.shtml"But cricket’s presence, though hidden in the background of the Dominican sports scene would continue to be played by Dominicans. A very simple form of cricket was continued to be played and would morph into a street game played by children called “la plaquita.”</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Federation Focus: Baseball is in Dominican Republic's DNA|url=https://www.wbsc.org/news/federation-focus-baseball-is-in-dominican-republics-dna|access-date=2021-10-13|website=wbsc.org|language=en}}</ref>

Several Dominican [[MLB]] [[baseball]] players have attested to playing it as children. <ref>https://www.mlb.com/cut4/vladimir-guerrero-finally-explained-why-he-s-so-great-at-hitting-balls-on-the-bo"Pena [Carlos Pena] translated for Vlad [Vladimir Guerrero] as he explained a game he would play as a kid called "La Plaquita."
In this game, a form of cricket, batters would have to protect a license plate or some sort of sign propped up behind them."</ref><ref>https://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Vlad/Vlad_bio.html"The kids of Nizao Bani enjoyed a form of baseball known as La Placa. Home was a license plate, and a batter had to keep his bat touching the dish until the pitcher released the ball. This made Vladimir a great low ball hitter."</ref><ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/05/30/victor-robles-electrifies-nationals-with-risky-rewarding-play/ "The son [Victor Robles] carried the fire to la plaquita, the cricket-like street game he “attacked” as a kid in the Dominican Republic."</ref><ref>https://www.milb.com/news/a-leap-of-faith-290436188""In the Dominican, one has fun playing ball, going to the river, and playing a game called "La Placa" at school (during recess)," said [Anderson] Feliz. "We are always (around) baseball, in reality.""</ref><ref>https://www.mlb.com/news/indians-jose-ramirez-talks-baseball-as-youth-c256641746"My name is José Ramírez, and I love baseball. I mean, I ''really love'' it.

Growing up, in Bani -- a beautiful city in the Dominican Republic -- the number one thing on my mind was baseball. We were always playing "Vitilla" and another game called "La Plaquita" with the kids from my neighborhood all day long. We used water jug caps as baseballs and sticks for bats in Vitilla. La Plaquita is another baseball-type game we played in the streets."</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Young|first=David|date=2012-03-20|title=2012 Dodgers Player Profile: Rubby De La Rosa, The Gem Had A Flaw|url=https://www.truebluela.com/2012/3/20/2884550/2012-dodgers-player-profile-rubby-de-la-rosa-the-gem-had-a-flaw|access-date=2020-09-18|website=True Blue LA|language=en}}</ref>

== Rules ==
[[File:LaPlaquita3.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[bowler (cricket)]] prepares to throw the ball from his wicket.]]

Two teams of two players take turns fielding and batting. There are two [[wickets]] which are license plates (called ''placas'' in Spanish), with one fielder behind and one batter in front of each wicket. Batters run between the wickets to score runs, with one run scored for each swap of the batters, though they can be put out if a fielder [[run out|runs them out]] by hitting a wicket with the ball while they are away from it.<ref>http://diccionariolibre.com/definicion/La-Plaquita"en la parte delantera de la placa se dibuja un triangulo o un semi-circulo de acuerdo al gusto de los jugadores [...] Si no se esta al turno en el bate se debe siempre tener la punta del bate dentro del home (el triangulo o semi-circulo) sino el contrario puede tumbar la plaquita y es es [sic] un out."</ref> One of the fielding team's players throws the ball to the batter at the opposite wicket, who may then try to hit it. The fielding team's goal is to [[bowled|bowl]] the batter out by knocking over the wicket with the ball.<ref>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/baseball/2017/07/02/jos-buttler-alex-hales-take-swing-whole-new-ball-game/<nowiki/>“Back home we have a game called la plaquita. It’s street-ball, with a stick. You get a licence plate off a car – una placa – you bend it, stand it up in the street to make a target. Then another down the street, like this.”

Grabbing my notepad, Pena sketches out a pitch with two wicket-like objects at each end, and explains that you play two v two, a batter at each end. You defend la placa, you hit, you and your partner run, you ground your bat to get safe."</ref> Whichever team has more runs at the end of the game wins.

== See also ==
* [[Bete-ombro]], a very similar Brazilian version of cricket
* [[Vitilla]], another famous Dominican street [[bat-and-ball game]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Street cricket]]
[[Category:Sport in the Dominican Republic]]

{{DominicanRepublic-sport-stub}}
{{sport-stub}}

Plaquita - Revision history

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