Buster Olney Mar 12, 2026, 07:00 AM ET

Close

Senior writer ESPN Magazine/ESPN.com

Analyst/reporter ESPN television

Author of "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty"

MIAMI -- Junior Caminero appears to be a worthy heir to the throne of major league power hitters, a legacy that Aaron Judge , Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber will pass on one day to the next generation. But there's more to Caminero than his extraordinary ability to slug a baseball that seems to appeal to his peers, something that pulls them in.

Perhaps it's the gravitational pull of his raw joy. Representing his country of Dominican Republic, he hit his first home run of the World Baseball Classic last Friday against Nicaragua, a line-drive blast to right-center field that he hit at 116.9 mph to break a 3-3 tie. Caminero screamed loudly as he rounded the bases, without pretense or a preplanned schtick, responding to his teammates' celebration of him by shouting happily. "It's beautiful," he said after.…