The Dominican Republic promises to assemble a dream team to represent the country during the Caribbean Baseball Series to open in Santo Domingo on 1 February. The week-long event (1-6 February) brings the best from Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico to compete in what is regarded as the most important international championship after the World Series. News reports say that regardless of which team represents the DR in the series, names such as Luis Castillo (Golden Glove award winner of the National League in 2003), Angel Berroa (Rookie of the Year of the American League 2003) and Miguel Tejada (Most Valuable Player of the American League in 2002) could be on the roster. Dozens of Dominican Major League players have already expressed their willingness to play, regardless of which team wins the Dominican championship series. News reports say that the Dominican government may become the main sponsor of the event, after Visa pulled out following the steep depreciation of the peso, which significantly increased the advertising budget. An opening show prepared by Chiqui Haddad posts stars Maridalia Hernandez, Hector Acosta (El Torito), Eddy Herrera and Adalgisa Pantaleon, among others. The Licey team is this year’s favorite to win the Dominican Championship. To get into the spirit of the most exciting brand of fan and team integration, don’t miss Licey’s final games to be played against the Aguilas in Santo Domingo, on Wednesday, 21 January in Santiago. The Licey is ahead with 11 wins, while the Aguilas and Gigantes are tied to 8 wins each. See http://www.beisboldominicano.com for updates on these finals of the local championship and updates on the Caribbean Series.
Tickets to the Caribbean Series are selling for US$50, US$40 and US$5 for the bleachers.