ALABAMA - One of the most colorful and exciting sports tournaments is upon us: the 2024 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) kicks off on Feb. 1 in the city of Miami, Florida. For the first time since 1991 and just the third time since its inception in 1949, the Serie del Caribe will take place outside of Latin America.
This year, teams from the four full members of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela) will be joined by guest teams from Curaçao, Nicaragua and Panama.
Reigning champions Tigres de Licey are one of the top candidates to win this year's Serie del Caribe. In fact, Dominican teams have won three out of the last four editions, and Tigres de Licey's 11 titles are the most by any team in the history of the competition.
Criollos de Caguas and Tiburones de La Guaira will count with two familiar faces leading their teams from the dugout. For the Puerto Ricans, their manager is none other than former Cardinals legend Yadier Molina, who ventured into a managerial career as soon as he retired from MLB. He had the opportunity to lead Puerto Rico in last year's World Baseball Classic.
The Venezuelan ball club, on its end, will count with former shortstop Ozzie Guillén in the dugout. Guillén has had an stellar career in management, becoming the first Latino manager to win a World Series title in 2005 with the Chicago White Sox and, most recently, helping Tiburones de La Guaira to win their first Venezuelan league title since 1986.
Participating teams
| Naranjeros de Hermosillo | Mexico | 2023-24 Mexican Pacific League champions |
| Federales de Chiriquí | Panama | 2023-24 Panamanian Professional League champions |
| Criollos de Caguas | Puerto Rico | 2023-24 Puerto Rican Professional League champions |
| Tigres de Licey | Dominican Republic | 2023-24 Dominican Professional League champions |
| Tiburones de La Guaira | Venezuela | 2023-24 Venezuelan Professional League champions |
| Gigantes de Rivas | Nicaragua | 2023-24 Nicaraguan Professional League champions |
| Curaçao Suns | Curaçao | 2023-24 Curaçao Professional League champions |
Miami is the one of a few cities in the United States where holding this sort of event makes a lot of sense. loanDepot Park will be its home, the third different venue in Miami to hold the tournament (Orange Bowl in 1990 and Bobby Maduro Stadium in 1991).
The ballpark opened in 2012 and is located in the Little Havana neighborhood, so even though its not Latin America, fans will still have the chance to feel at home. According to 2020 U.S. Census data, Miami-Dade County's percentage of Latino inhabitants is 69%.
Organizers have made emphasis on creating the perfect atmosphere for Latinos to travel and enjoy another edition of the Serie del Caribe.
Live entertainment and a country-themed food and beverage events are expected to take over the ballpark during the 10-day celebration. Marlins president of business operations, Caroline O'Connor, said they expect to use the lessons learned from last year's World Baseball Classic in order to deliver an even better experience for fans this time around. "Last year was so great...we don't want the fans of Miami to have to wait until 2026 for that energy again, so we're really excited to host the Caribbean Series this year. We hope to make it huge and have that kind of excitement and energy levels, and we're really optimistic about how it's progressing so far," O'Connor said to MLB reporter Christina De Nicola.
On top of celebrating the cultures of all seven nations involved in the Serie del Caribe, organizers will also count with a special photo exhibition of Roberto Clemente. Attendees will be able to experience the exhibit known as "3,000", a collection of never-seen photographs of the Hall of Fame outfielder to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Clemente's historic 3,000th career hit.
The exhibit was curated by Dennis Rivera Pichardo, director of photography at Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día. The photo collection originally debuted at the Old San Juan historical site in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2022, before being moved to Three Rivers Stadium, the place where Clemente played his 18 seasons in the major for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Where to watch the 2024 Caribbean Series?
All games will be aired on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes, for more information about the schedule click here.
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