Ageless Giants Legend Dances After Dominican Republic Advances in WBC

The World Baseball Classic has given baseball fans plenty of great memories. It’s also been a source of joy for one San Francisco Giants legend.

The Dominican Republic will advance out of Pool D and into bracket play later this week. Venezuela will also advance from Pool D — and that was before the two teams played each other in the Pool D finale.

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Once the Dominican Republic had the bid clinched, it was a joyous clubhouse. One former Giants star was there, decked out in his country’s gear celebrating — Juan Marichal.

Juan Marichal Celebrates D.R. Win

Dios bendiga a don Juan Marichal 🙏🙏 miren como celebra la clasificación a los cuartos de final 🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴😀😀 pic.twitter.com/nszFP5c5bB
— Jose Antonio Mena (@jmena26) March 9, 2026

Marichal joined his countrymen in their clubhouse after clinching the berth and he was decked out in a Dominican Republic leather jacket, a Dominican Republic hat and wore a chain that featured the team’s hat logo on it. The 88-year-old went on to show the younger players that the player nicknamed the “Dominican Dandy” still had some dance moves.

Marichal is hoping his country’s team can duplicate what the 2013 team did, which was win the WBC crown. That team won that title at the home of the Giants, Oracle Park, beating Puerto Rico, 3-0, in the championship game. It’s the only time the Dominican Republic has advanced to the title game. It was also a semifinalist in the inaugural event in 2006.

Marichal is one of the country’s trailblazers in Major League Baseball. When he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, he became the first Dominican Republic player and the first foreign-born player to earn induction. He a member of the Giants’ Wall of Fame and had his No. 27 retired by the team.

He played for the Giants from 1960-73, followed by a year with the Boston Red Sox and a year with the Los Angeles Dodgers before he retired in 1975. He was named a National League All-Star 10 times and led the NL in wins twice. He also led the NL in ERA one time. He never won an NL Cy Young Award, overshadowed by two of his contemporaries, Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. He also threw a no-hitter for the Giants in 1963.

When he retired, he had a record of 243-1142 with a 2.84 ERA, 244 complete games and 3,444 innings. He also had 2,281 strikeouts, 446 starts and 52 shutouts. All but five of his career wins were with the Giants.