“Expectations are high” – Puerto Rico will try to stop the championship drought in the Caribbean Series in Mexicali

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Baseball “Expectations are high” – Puerto Rico will try to stop the championship drought in the Caribbean Series in Mexicali by Julio Pabón January 31, 2025 The following article first appeared in Puerto Rico’s daily, El Nuevo Dia. The article was written by, Yolimar de Jesús Pérez Sports Reporter – [email protected] We have translated and edited the article for our English dominant readers to get a good understanding of the Caribbean Series. ————————————————————- The Puerto Ricans will open today Saturday at 12:00 p.m. their participation against the local Charros de México in the search for their first title since 2018 When the clock strikes 11:00 p.m. (12 midnight on the island), the Puerto Rican baseball team, Los Indios de Mayagüez will hear the first ‘Playball!’, in a new edition of the Caribbean Series, in the city of Mexicali, Mexico. The Puerto Ricans will take to the field to debut in the 2025 Caribbean competition against the host country, Mexico. The Mexicans will be represented by the Charros de Jalisco , who beat the Tomateros de Culiacán in six games of the final series. Several members of the Puerto Rican team have participated in the Mexican Baseball League during the summer, so they know the members of the host team very well. “The experiences that I have had, like other guys who have played in Mexico, are going to help us a lot to know and recognize how to work the Mexican style,” Ortiz told El Nuevo Día about Puerto Rico’s first opponent in the tournament. “I would tell you that this team is going to leave something to talk about. We are prepared for the team that comes,” added the outfielder from Cayey, with six seasons of experience in the Mexican league. Puerto Rico presents on its roster several figures with experience in the Major Leagues. Outfielder Eddie Rosario, shortstop Isán Díaz and third baseman Emmanuel Rivera lead the position players. Díaz, in his case, was the Most Valuable Player of the final series. Other figures are Anthony García, Shed Long Jr. and David MacKinnon. The Indians reinforced their lineup with outfielders Henry Ramos and Rubén Castro, and shortstop Edwin Díaz. The presence of Edwin Díaz could move Isán Díaz to second base. The big absentee will be catcher Martín “Machete” Maldonado, leaving the catcher position in the hands of players with less experience at this level, such as Mario Feliciano, Onix Vega and Alan Marrero. “I see that we have an incredible bullpen and good hitters. For me, expectations are high,” said Edwin Díaz, who, with this edition, adds his fourth Caribbean Series. Puerto Rico arrived in the city of the event on Wednesday night, after a long journey that included stops in Houston and San Diego, before crossing the border by bus to get to Mexico. Strength in the bullpen American pitcher Ronnie Williams will be in charge of pitching the first game of the Puerto Rican team in Mexicali. Other starters include Eduardo Rivera, Daryl Thompson, Luis Leroy Cruz, Julian Garcia and Hector Santiago. The Puerto Rican bullpen certainly looks good with the added arms as reinforcements. Jose de León, Derek Rodríguez and Ricardo Velez had solid performances with the Criollos de Caguas , while Nelvin Fuentes, Jake McSteen, Carlos Francisco and closer Justin Yeager were reliable arms in the season with the Indians. Yeager was the Reliever of the Year. Major League reliever Jorge Lopez did not make the trip to Mexico. “I understand that we have a very solid pitching,” said right-hander Jose de Leon, who will see action on the pitching staff of manager Wilfredo “Coco” Cordero, as a reliever. The Charros de Jalisco, under the direction of former major leaguer Benjie Gil, also reinforced their roster with nine players. Former Major League player Billy Hamilton is one of the most recognized names. Mexican media highlights the Charros’ pitching depth with figures such as David Reyes, David Gutiérrez and Stephen Nogosek. Mexico has not won a Caribbean tournament since 2016. Good results in Mexico. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, reached the last championship in 2018 as part of a ‘back-to-back’ with the Criollos de Caguas. Both titles were won on Aztec soil: 2017 in Culiacán and 2018 in Guadalajara. In fact, a Mayagüez team has not won the Caribbean tournament since 1992, the year they took the trophy in Hermosillo. Puerto Rico has 16 titles in the history of the Caribbean Series and seven of them have been in Mexico. So history favors the Puerto Rican team when Mexico hosts the tournament. “The team is extremely motivated and we only have one goal, which is to bring that championship to Puerto Rico. We have to make known the baseball that is played here in Puerto Rico and that we have a good team, with talent to bring a championship and always take Puerto Rico to the top,” said Ortiz. Meanwhile De León commented on the success of Puerto Rican teams on Aztec soil. “I don’t think that creates so much expectation because you know, one always has in mind to win, but one doesn’t get carried away by the things that have happened before to carry that responsibility that you have to win, but this is a new year, this is a new team,” said the pitcher from the town of Isabela, Puerto Rico. After the first clash against the Charros, Puerto Rico will face the invited Japan (Japan Breeze) on Sunday. It is the first time that a Japanese team has been invited to the Caribbean classic. On Monday, Puerto Rico will face Venezuela ( Cardenales de Lara ) and on Tuesday the first phase closes against the Dominican Republic ( Leones del Escogido ). The top four teams will advance to the semifinals to be played on Wednesday. On Thursday, the losers will face off for third place, and on Friday, the winners for the title. The first game of this edition was between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic was played yesterday Friday, Dominican Republic defeated Venezuela 2-0. In the last series played in Miami, the Criollos represented Puerto Rico and failed to advance to the semifinals by playing 3-3 in the initial round. The Tiburones de La Guaira of Venezuela were crowned. On this occasion, there will be no invited teams from the region. During the last decade, Cuba, Panama and Colombia participated at some point, all winning the title. Curacao played in 2023 and Nicaragua in 2024. Neither of them belongs to the Caribbean Baseball Confederation. Follow us on Social Media for updates and exclusive content Instagram: @latinosportsoficial Facebook: Latino Sports Twitter: @latinosports Related Topics Anthony García Benjie Gil Cardenales de Lara Caribbean Series Charros de Jalisco Criollos de Caguas David MacKinnon Eddie Rosario Edwin Diaz Emmanuel Rivera featured Henry Ramos Isan Diaz Los Indios de Mayagüez Rubén Castro Shed Long Jr. Tomateros de Culiacán Click to comment Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. 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