The duel between Carlos Martínez, the owner of the Dominican Cibaeñas Eagles, and his compatriot Luis Medina, a letter from the Caguas Criollos in Puerto Rico, stands out at the first meeting of the Caribbean Baseball Series, which will start this Sunday in Mazatlán, Mexico.
“Tsunami” Martínez, from the San Luis Cardinals of the major leagues, will look for the first victory for the Dominicans, the top winners of the tournament with 20 victories, followed by the Puerto Ricans, with 16.
The Dominicans present a solid team, with deep pitching, first-class shots and a safe defense, with figures that shone in the majors led by defender Robinson Canó, with 334 home runs in the majors.
Caguas Criollos from Puerto Rico, led by receiver Yadier Molina, with 160 home runs in the majority, arrive with the aim of winning the Series as they did in 2017 and 2018, the last two times he hosted Mexico.
The two countries with the greatest tradition in the Serie will play in the culmination of the first day that will begin with the match between the Panamanians Federales de Chiriquí against the Venezuelans Caribes de Anzoátegui and will end with the duel between the champion of Mexico, which will be decided this Saturday and Colombian Barranquilla Caimans.
Despite the fact that Mexico was hit hard by covid-19, which killed more than 156,000 people, the authorities of the state of Sinaloa, where Mazatlán is located, not only guaranteed the celebration of the contest, but will do so with just over 7,000 of fans in the stands at every game.
Mexico, the biggest four-time title winner in four years, will seek to take advantage of local status. His representative will be defined this Saturday between Tomateros de Culiacán and Naranjeros de Hermosillo, teams with complete, well-balanced lists.
Although anyone who remains champion will take on the series in rhythm, it remains to be seen if he arrives with a fresh pitching staff, although he will always be able to choose between his reinforcements to start pitchers from the rival team in the final or from another.
Led by Cuban Alfonso Urquiola, who led Vegueros de Pinar del Río to the title in 2015, the Chiriquí Federals will compete with the difficulty of not hosting a winter tournament and it remains to be seen if their offense is adjusted to beat him on Sunday at Caribes de Anzóategui in the opening match.
The six teams will undergo rigorous isolation measures and medical checks to prevent the spread of covid-19, which will mark the Series with a distinctive stamp, as there will be less coexistence off the field, which characterizes this tournament, which has started in 1949..
After the Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, Mexico is the country with the most titles, nine, of which six in this century, Cuba has won eight, although it has participated only 18 times, Venezuela seven and Panama two.
This year the series will take place with a phase through the free-for-all system, of which the best four will come out to play the semifinals on Friday, February 5 and the last one day later.
In 2020, Toros del Este won the final against Cardinals Lara of Venezuela.