Friday, 3 December 2021 was an evening when six teams went all out fighting for playoff positions in the Dominican Winter Baseball League. No games were scheduled for Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
So, what made Friday’s games so special? For the first part, they were all real nail-biters, they were all won by one run, and two of the three games were won in the bottom of the ninth inning or in the tenth inning. One of the games saw the final appearance by Albert Pujol, the sure-fire Hall of Famer, who played for the first time in the Dominican Republic, and he made the fans happy with his first home run and a double, but his team lost to the Gigantes del Cibao 3-2.
In San Pedro de Macoris, the league-leading Estrellas won in a dramatic fashion with a walk-off homerun in the bottom half of the tenth inning to leave the Toros del Este in the dust.
In the Estadio Cibao, the home of the national and Caribbean champions, the Aguilas Cibaeñas, a struggle of titanic proportions took place. Historically, the Aguilas and the Tigres del Licey are both 22-time national champs, and Licey is up by one game over the 400 plus game history of the rivalry. Licey is also up by one game this season, having defeated the Aguilas 6-1 in Santo Domingo the week before. Before a crowd of near total occupancy (the Public Health Ministry will not like that), the game was a teetertotter of emotions.
A homerun by Emilio Bonifacio put the Tigres up by two runs in the 8th inning. The Aguilas came back with one in the 8th, and then in the 9th inning they scored the tying run to a roar that was heard miles away. Just minutes later, the home team scored the winning run, and the crowd hit 120 on the decibel meter. With over 70 years of history, the two greatest teams in Dominican baseball history are tied once again. However, the game did shake up the standings, with the Aguilas taking over second place, and the Tigres falling to third place.
The standings now are:
The Estrellas Orientales (8-7) lead the standings, followed by the Aguilas (6-9), the Tigres del Licey (5-10), Gigantes del Cibao (7-8), Leones del Escogido (4-11) and the Toros del Este (6-9).
Read more in Spanish:
Lidom
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Check out the games schedules:
6 December 2021