Will the hotly contested Dominican Winter Professional Baseball Championship be affected by a baseball federation conflict? The players have told the president of the Dominican Winter Baseball League (Lidom), Vitelio Mejía that they could stop playing if by the 13th of December they have not received the financial statements of the Dominican Players Federation and the resignation of Mario Melvin Soto, president of the federation.
The 13th is just four days before the end of the 2018-2019 regular season in what is the most tightly contested season in recent years, with no clear advantage in the standings of any of the four teams that will make it to the round robin.
The Dominican National Professional Baseball Player’s Federation (Fenapepro) has been run by former Major League pitcher Mario Melvin Soto since 1991, and now several members are calling for his resignation, the presentation of the Federation statutes and an financial audit. The ballplayers are represented by lawyer Julio Oscar de la Rosa, who says that the players want elections now. De la Rosa represents the players of the six teams that participate in the championship.
Lawyer de la Rosa told reporters that if Soto refuses to cede and resign, or if there are no negotiations opened between the parties, the players would walk out and halt the tournament.
As of Sunday, 9 December 2018, the championship standings have three of the six teams tied in the first place and the three other teams died for the second place:
Tigres del Licey (24-20)
Leones del Escogido (24-20)
Estrellas Orientales (24-20)
Gigantes del Cibao (20-24)
Aguilas Cibaeñas (20-24)
Toros del Este (20-24)
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Diario Libre
Listin Diario
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Lidom
10 December 2018
