{"id":369062,"date":"2025-11-10T11:29:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/369062\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T11:29:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:29:07","slug":"citi-field-showdown-features-puerto-rico-and-dominican-republic-all-star-baseball-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/369062\/","title":{"rendered":"Citi Field \u2018showdown\u2019 features Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic All-Star baseball clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are powerhouses in exporting baseball talent to the major leagues. On Nov. 15, Citi Field in New York will host the \u201cRD vs PR Showdown<\/a>\u201d to showcase that talent, when an All-Star team of Puerto Rican-born players takes on a Dominican All-Star selection.<\/p>\n

The game is organized by the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball Players Association (APPPR) and the National Federation of Professional Baseball Players of the Dominican Republic (FENAPEPRO), in partnership with the New York Mets and approved by Major League Baseball. The rosters, which have not been finalized, will consist of Major League Baseball hopefuls with no guarantee of getting to the bigs.<\/p>\n

And the game isn\u2019t just about pride \u2014 it\u2019s about opportunity.<\/p>\n

Carlos Delgado, one of Puerto Rico\u2019s most accomplished first basemen and a candidate for the Hall of Fame\u2019s Contemporary Era ballot<\/a>, will serve as honorary manager of the Puerto Rican team. In tribute, all Puerto Rican players will wear Delgado\u2019s number 21. Delgado played 17 MLB seasons from 1993 to 2009 and had 473 home runs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very honored \u2026 for the dedication, and I\u2019m very happy because it\u2019s another opportunity to continue spreading baseball, and this time, before an audience with incredible knowledge of baseball, such as the New York fans,\u201d Delgado told The Athletic.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his time with the Mets, he added, \u201cIt was my first opportunity to be in the playoffs, which was in 2006, and the Mets fans gave me a lot of support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlos Gomez, a two-time MLB All-Star who began his career with the New York Mets in 2007, will manage the Dominican team. \u201cThe fact that it\u2019s outside my country and against such a competitive opponent as the Puerto Rico team makes the commitment and learning even greater, because I\u2019m facing my former teammates,\u201d he told The Athletic. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s an honor to go to the city and stadium where I was given the opportunity to become a professional for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gomez also sees the game as a stepping stone: \u201cWe are opening a very big door with the simple fact that the New York Mets are giving us the opportunity to play in their stadium. This is a great opportunity in which you expose yourself more to the baseball world and show that you have knowledge and that you have the goal of becoming a future manager.\u201d<\/p>\n

One confirmed player on the Dominican roster is eight-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner Robinson Can\u00f3. The 43-year-old second baseman will compete in what is expected to be his final organized game on U.S. soil \u2014 in the city where he is still remembered fondly as a member of the Yankees\u2019 2009 World Series championship team. To honor Can\u00f3, every player on the Dominican team will wear his number 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing all the guys put on the 24, it\u2019s like I look back and say, \u2018Thank you, God, for that long road I\u2019ve walked, and rewarded me in that way,’\u201d Can\u00f3 told The Athletic.<\/p>\n

Despite challenges, including a PED suspension that forced him to miss the entire 2021 season while with the Mets, Can\u00f3\u2019s passion for the game remains undiminished.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me,\u201d Can\u00f3 said ahead of the chance to play once more in New York. \u201cIt\u2019s where I was really given the opportunity to show the world my talent, my skills as a baseball player, to play on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September, Can\u00f3 reached another milestone while playing for Mexico\u2019s Diablos Rojos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team\u2019s hitting coach, Charlie, comes out applauding, and I say \u2018What happened?’\u201d Can\u00f3 recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018You are at 4,000 (pro hits)!’\u201d Can\u00f3 said the coach told him. \u201cIt\u2019s something I can tell my children, my grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond celebrating legends, the Nov. 15 game will provide a platform for emerging talent. Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic continue to produce MLB stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can say that Mets players Francisco Lindor and Edwin D\u00edaz are stars in baseball right now,\u201d Delgado said. \u201cKik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez, who just won the World Series. We have other talents like Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos. We look at Carlos Correa, Javier B\u00e1ez, who had an excellent performance with Detroit. The event brings, as we say, a little noise, and will draw the eyes of scouts to that game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have many players who are on the verge of making it to the big leagues and establishing themselves, or others who are looking for a contract, either because they are free agents or their contract has expired. This serves as a platform for them to showcase their talent, and hopefully they will be given that opportunity and can continue pursuing their dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can\u00f3 reflected on the pride of seeing younger generations thrive in their MLB roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at (Juan) Soto, for example, a clean season, he finished 30-30,\u201d he said, highlighting Soto and other star players from the Dominican Republic. \u201cVladdy (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) in Toronto, what a great playoff. (Fernando) Tatis in San Diego, the way they are all representing this country right now, it\u2019s really incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are powerhouses in exporting baseball talent to the major leagues. On Nov.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":369063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1266,1305,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-369062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-mlb","9":"tag-new-york-mets","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115525174118035856","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}