No matter which paper you pick up today, most of the sports sections are dedicated to the start of the DR Winter League Baseball season. Several papers have special glossy inserts that contain the entire schedule for the 2005-2006 season as well as lots of statistics for the die-hard fans. As an added attraction, Diario Libre says that the New York Mets superstar, Pedro Martinez will pitch for the Licey Tigers this season. Tonight there will be games in Santo Domingo, Santiago de los Caballeros and La Romana. In Santiago and Santo Domingo the games are scheduled to start at 8:05 p.m. and in La Romana, (as well as San Francisco de Macoris, and San Pedro de Macoris), the games start at 7:35 p.m. The theme of the special inserts seems to be the race for championship number 19 between the Licey Tigers and the Eagles of the Cibao (In Spanish, the Tigres del Licey and the Aguilas del Cibao). Among the managers that have brought victory to these two teams are Tommy Lasorda, Del Crandall, Manuel Mota, John Rosboro, Al Widmar, Tim Murtaugh, Terry Francona, Tony Pena and Johnny Lipon. Since the 1995 season, only the Aguilas and the Tigres have won the championship, and all the other teams are looking to end their respective droughts. The San Francisco de Macoris team, the “Gigantes”, the “Estrellas Orientales” from San Pedro and the “Toros” from La Romana will all vie with Escogido from Santo Domingo. The team from La Romana won the tournament in 1994, Escogido last won a tournament in 1992, and the Estrellas won their only tournament in 1967-68. The “Gigantes” from San Francisco made the play-offs last year but were eliminated from the finals.
For the calendar of regular season games, see http://www.lidom.com/calendario.htm