The Tigres del Licey were given a send off by President Leonel Fernandez. The President asked the ballplayers to come home winners. Team manager Rafael Landestoy said that his pitching rotation would be Juan Cruz, Julian Tavarez, and Jared Fernandez starting the first three games. The Caribbean World Series pits the champion teams from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela against each other in a round robin format to determine the Caribbean champion.
The Tigres del licey, winners 5-2 over the Aguilas Cibaenas in the final series, will field an excellent team. Pitchers include Daniel Cabrera, Roman Colon, Juan Carlos Cruz, Valerio de los Santos, Jared Fernandez, Wilton Chavez, Carlos Perez, Eddie Ramos, Jorge Sosa, Danny Tamayo, Julian Tavarez and Jose Valverde. The catchers are Carlos Ruiz and Sandy Martinez. The infield will see Erick Aybar, Ronnie Belliard, Anderson Hernandez, Jose Offerman, Willis Otanez, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Tejada. The outfield will be Melky Cabrera, Napoleon Calzada, Alexis Gomez, and Timonel Perez. According to the Listin Diario, the wealth of talent at every position allows the manager to feel confident that his team will come back, once again, as the “Campeones del Caribe.”