NEW YORK – Red, white, and blue flags waved around Citi Field Saturday afternoon, but there were only two U.S. flags visible, one flying from the flagpole in right field, and one suspended from a crane being used to construct the new soccer stadium across the street.
The hundreds of other red, white, and blue flags in the ballpark were the flags of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, brought to the park by fans at the RD/DR Showdown, the All-Star Game between teams from the Domincan Republic’s LIDOM and Puerto Rico’s Liga Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente.
The LIDOM All-Stars won 6-2 over the LBPRC Stars, but ultimately, the celebration of the heritage and culture of two of the Caribbean’s baseball powers, as well as the cultural contributions the large Dominican and Puerto Rican populations have made to New York City, was the real winner.
“Wearing the Dominican Republic’s name on my chest is always a source of pride, an honor,” said former New York Mets and Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano in Spanish before the game. “As a Dominican, not just in sports, but in any field, we’re always proud of our flag.”
The game, which drew 20,057 to Citi Field, also honored two players who made their own marks in New York: the D.R.’s Cano, who is in what is likely his final season of winter ball with the Estrellas Orientales in his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and Carlos Beltran, the Puerto Rican outfielder who was the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year with the Kansas City Royals and keyed a memorable Mets playoff run in 2006.
Honoring Cano, the LIDOM All-Stars all wore jerseys bearing the number 24, which Cano wore as a member of the New York Yankees from 2006-13 as well as with the Mets and San Diego Padres.
“Just thinking about coming back here again and being able to play again means a lot to me, because I was here, I saw the greatness of the Mets team, the way they treated me, the fans with that desire for that championship, and to come back here again to that field, it really means a lot to me, and this will be a day that will hold a special place in my heart,” Cano said in Spanish in a pre-game press conference.
In his first at-bat, Cano pulled a 1-2 pitch from Jose DeLeon to right, and charging hard, LBPRC right fielder Eddie Rosario slid to attempt the catch, but the ball hit the outside of his glove and Cano had a hit in front of the New York crowd in front of which he played the bulk of his Major League games.
“I played most of my career here. This is where I achieved my dreams, winning a World Series. In this stadium, I hit three home runs in a game,” Cano said in Spanish before the game. “I mean, there are so many good things. … It means a lot to me to see how the people appreciate what I did and the dedication I put into the game.”
In the bottom of the third, with runners on first and third and two outs, the LBPRC’s Roy Morales hit a hot grounder back to the mound that caromed off the glove of LIDOM pitcher Esmil Rogers. Cano charged the ball and barehanded it, throwing to first in time to get Morales and end the inning, keeping the game scoreless. It was vintage fielding by the two-time Gold Glove winner.
For Beltran, the newest member of the New York Mets Hall of Fame who wore No. 21 during his Major League career to honor Roberto Clemente, the greatest Puerto Rican baseball player of all time, returning to Citi Field brought back a lot of memories.
“Thinking about my time here in New York, in the seven years I played, there’s no doubt that one goes through many moments, highs, mediums, lows, but at the end of the day they are all part of the process of developing as a ballplayer,” Beltran said before the game.
Also honored by Puerto Rico was former Met and Toronto Blue Jay Carlos Delgado, who managed the LBPRC team Saturday afternoon. Recently added to the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Era ballot, Delgado is again under consideration for baseball’s highest honor after falling off the Baseball Writer’s Association of America ballot in his first year of eligibility.
“When you look at Carlos’s numbers, there’s no doubt they’re impactful. Back when he was on the ballot, seeing him get less than [5%] of the vote, I think it’s just to stay on the ballot, well, I didn’t really understand it,” said Beltran, who is nearing election to Cooperstown himself, having earned 70.1% of the votes cast by baseball writers in 2025, with 75% needed to be elected. “I didn’t understand the process, I didn’t understand the concept. A lot of times, as a player, you start analyzing the numbers. And he was left out.”
Between the two of them, Beltran and Delgado have 908 career homers in the Major Leagues, and their play defined an era for Puerto Ricans in baseball.
“I think these kinds of events are positive because they give us Latinos the opportunity to unite, to showcase our baseball skills and the passion that exists on two islands in the Caribbean, full of enthusiasm: the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico,” Beltran said in Spanish. “People always talk about the rivalry and all that, but I don’t like to call it a rivalry. I prefer to call it brotherhood because we are brothers of the Caribbean, and even though when we step onto the field everyone wants to win, everyone wants to do well, at the end of the day we are Latinos.”
With Latin music blaring from Citi Field’s speakers, the atmosphere was as warm as San Juan or Santo Domingo, despite a November day in New York giving the teams significantly colder weather than they’re used to. But even the chilly, gray afternoon couldn’t dampen the spirit surrounding the game.
In the top of the sixth, LIDOM’s Aderlin Rodriguez led off with a double and advanced when Mel Rojas Jr. grounded out to second. Socrates Brito’s sac fly to shallow center was enough to get Rodriguez home with the game’s first run. A walk to Emmanuel Rodriguez followed by a double from No. 8 hitter Cristhian Adames gave LIDOM runners and second and third, and Webster Rivas’ single got the two runners home for a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded and two outs, the LBPRC got a pair of runs when a pop fly to shallow left field inexplicably fell between LIDOM shortstop Angel Genao and left fielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, allowing Johneswy Fargas and Nelson Velasquez to score and cut the LIDOM lead to a single run.
In the eighth, though, the LIDOM All-Stars regained the three-run lead when Emmanuel Rodriguez launched a home run into the second deck in right field, punctuating the moment by spiking his bat on the dirt near home plate before slowly trotting around the bases.
A double off the right field wall in the top of the ninth by Junior Lake scored Genao to give the LIDOM All-Stars a 6-3 lead.
Fernando Abad earned a three-out save for the LIDOM All-Stars, issuing a walk to Brian Navarreto but getting Roy Morales to ground into a fielder’s choice at short and Jack Lopez to fly out to center to end the game.
“Anyone who follows baseball knows that when the Dominican teams play Puerto Rico, it’s a healthy clash,” LIDOM manager Carlos Gomez said in Spanish before the game. “And anyone who comes to see a game, to see a real game between two teams, no matter how small league, when they face off, they play their hearts out. And to bring two teams with that rivalry here to New York City, I think they’re going to put on a great show and people will enjoy it, and they’ll want to hold an event every year.”
NOTEBOOK – A moment of silence was held before the game for former Major League pitcher Octavio Dotel and musician Rubby Perez, both of who were killed in the collapse of the Jet Set Nightclub in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in April. Dotel made his MLB debut with the New York Mets in 1989 and played for 13 different teams, the second-most of any player in MLB history. Perez, a merengue singer beloved in the Dominican Republic, was himself a baseball fan who aspired to be a player, but ultimately found fame as a musician. … The middle and upper decks were closed to fans save for the middle-level sections in the outfield, but the seats that were open were largely full despite a game-time temperature of 47 degrees.
Photo: The LIDOM All-Stars beat the LBPRC All-Stars 6-2 at New York’s Citi Field Saturday. (Photo courtesy of LIDOM)
