:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70382719/1097622906.0.jpg)
A championship will be decided at LoanDepot Park in 2024! Too soon to say whether the Marlins will be good enough to host World Series games that year, but you’re guaranteed to see at least one week of raucous crowds and high-stakes baseball. Mari Montes of El Extrabase reports that the ballpark will host the Caribbean Series two years from now.
The capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, is serving as the site of the 2022 edition. Caracas, Venezuela has the event in 2023.
With few exceptions, the Caribbean Series has been held annually since 1949. It takes place during the late January/early February sweet spot right after domestic winter leagues crown their champions and before the start of MLB spring training. Teams from the D.R. have won the tournament 21 times, followed by Puerto Rico (16), Mexico (9), Cuba (8) and Venezuela (7).
Host sites for Serie del Caribe are almost always outside the continental United States. In 1990, the event came to the Orange Bowl, and in 1991, they brought it to Bobby Maduro Stadium. This will be the first time since then that it’s been back.
The Marlins organization was well represented at last year’s Caribbean Series with outfielder Harold Ramirez (Colombia) and pitching prospects Anthony Maldonado (Puerto Rico) and Alberto Guerrero (Panamá). I’ll scour the 2022 rosters for Fish connections once they’re set over the next couple weeks.
It has been a pleasure to watch Marlins RHP Anthony Maldonado dominate in Puerto Rico this winter. He is keeping it going in the Caribbean Series.
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) February 2, 2021
Pitched a scoreless 6th inning in today's win vs. Venezuela, including this K pic.twitter.com/NQ49TpAznI
By the way, don’t forget about the World Baseball Classic—that is tentatively set to come to LoanDepot Park in March 2023 (and traditionally features far more major league-caliber players than the Caribbean Series).