The Estrellas Orientales are preparing to travel to Panama on Friday, 31 January 2019 to play the Caribbean Series that will be held 4-10 February at the Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City. The event is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation(CBPC).
Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, the Dominican commissioner for the CBPC, said that the Dominican Republic is in Group B of the now six-team Caribbean Series. The DR will play Puerto Rico and Panama. Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela are in Group A. Panama and Cuba are new in the expanded series this year.
Participating teams this year are:
Leñadores de Las Tunas (Cuba), Estrellas Orientales (Dominican Republic), Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico), Cardenales de Lara (Venezuela), Charros de Jalisco (México) and the Toros de Herrera (Panamá).
The series calls for each team to play four matches, in a round robin from Monday, 4 February to Saturday, 9 February. The winners of each group will then play the finals on 10 February. There will be two games played every day at 3pm and 8pm, with games on Saturday being at 1pm and 7pm. The teams get two days off. The finals will be on Sunday, 10 February at 4pm.
Those following the Series, should take note that Panama City is one hour earlier than Santo Domingo.
Panama is the last minute host of the event that originally had been scheduled to take place in Barquisimeto, Venezuela but was changed because of the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela. Major League Baseball had strongly recommended that players and staff not travel to Venezuela for the tournament in the wake of the violent protests, after Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido dispute their right to power in Venezuela.
31 January 2019
