Undoubtedly, all eyes on the 2021 Mazatlán Caribbean Series floated on four factors: COVID-19, Robinson Canó, Yadier Molina and Águilas Cibaeñas from the Dominican Republic.
Faced with criticism at all levels of the Caribbean Series at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is taking control of the entire world, the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation and the Organizing Committee have concluded the event.
During this, only one official announcement was made about a player who tested positive for COVID-19 and two who were unofficially known to be isolated and did not participate.
Canó and Molina, both with more than 15 years of experience in the major leagues, World Series winners, participants in the All-Star Game, were the top stars who participated in the tournament and showed their humility on and off the field. playing in front of the fans.
Águilas Cibaeñas made his historic championship, both for the team, for the Dominican Republic as a country, and for their manager Félix Fermín.
In itself, before less than 45 percent of fans of the total capacity of the stadium Marshal Teodoro in each match, the first series in the Caribbean with three daily matches and six teams organized in Mexico, ended with an undefeated champion.
COVID-19 AND UNCERTAINTY OF COUNTINGS
Although Mazatlán did not reach the red light and with well-marked protocols for teams and fans, the Caribbean Series began on January 31 with 5,157 fans at the opening and the third game at night, according to the official, although social media networks and photos appeared denouncing that the protocols were not followed.
It didn’t happen to the adults and the event went by without more than 6,000 fans in a match until the semifinals on Friday night, when 6,509 entered and were well distributed on the seats.
The entrance to the stadium was rigorous, taking the temperature of each person who entered, marking the number of accredited doors to the event and even for the players who were late, who had access to the stadium only by entering the bus, as many could not enter through other doors when they returned, Jonathan Camargo, from the Dominican Republic, was one of them.
Jaime Barría, pitcher for Chiriquí Federals, was the only player who officially tested positive for COVID-19 and made it public on his social networks.
Player Andrés Machado, who was replaced on the Venezuelan list by Gabriel Lino, and outfielder Rafael Ortega, were isolated in their hotels according to the unofficial voices of the confederation, but without being made official by Caribes de Anzoátegui, his league or confederation.
ROBINSON CANÓ AND YADIER MOLINA
The two big figures of the event, Robinson Canó and Yadier Molina, were not only “horses” on the field, but outside it and in front of the fans they showed their humility despite their individual MLB careers for over 15 seasons.
And they were not disappointed, as they were in the ideal All-Star team, Canó as second baseman and Molina as receiver.
Although she barely beat .192 in seven games, Molina managed to lead the pitching in three games in the regular round to take Puerto Rico to the final, where she lost in a great 4-1 match against the Dominican Republic. He hit a pair of doubles, delighted fans with a home run and led in three runs.
In turn, Canó started off with six hits and three walks in his first 12 appearances on set, to finish hitting .368 in six games he played, with seven hits – all singles – an RBI, six walks and just a strikeout to the bats.
Fans searched for them and constantly received their attention from both players, in order to obtain the signature on balls, cards and other objects.
ACIBLE CIBAEÑAS AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
On the field, there was only one protagonist, Águilas Cibaeñas from the Dominican Republic led again by Félix Fermín, who took the championship perfectly with a heartfelt victory in the semifinals.
The Eagles are the first team to win the undefeated series with a 7-0 record. As a country, the leagues of the Dominican Republic successive titles for the first time in 2007 and 2008, leaving alive a series of 12 consecutive victories.
Félix Fermín made history by breaking the record for most victories for a manager in the Caribbean Series with 28, passing with 22 the Mexican Francisco “Paquín” Estrada and the Puerto Rican Mako Oliveras and is the first with 7-0 in one.
For their first game in their Caribbean territory in 2022, the Dominican Republic will be looking for another record to hold: 13 consecutive victories with the last five at Toros del Este in 2020 and seven at Águilas in 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an atypical Caribbean series in Mexico, where crowds always appear in the stellar game every night.
This time the maximum capacity of 45% allowed on the Marshal Teodoro Stadium – 7,200 people – did not even reach its limit.
The half for the night game every day was 5,157 on the first day, 5,584 on the second day, 4,915 on day 3, 5,029 on day 4, 5,520 on day 5, 6,509 in the semifinals and up to 4,003 in the final.
On January 31, 8,368 on February 1, 9,381 on February 2, 6,925 on February 3, 8,684 on February 4, 10,385 on February 5 in the semifinals and 4,003 on February 7 in the final, 7,800 were present daily.
A total of 55,546 fans participated in the 18 games in the series, averaging 3,085.8 per game. The first game of the five days out of three played, the best half was recorded on day 1 with 761, and for the second game the best half was on day 3 with 4,066.