MIAMI — Latin baseball’s biggest stars and some of the most recognizable names in entertainment will converge at loanDepot Park on December 6 when La Gente Del Barrio stages its 2025 Home Run Derby and Celebrity Softball Game, a cultural showcase benefiting community programs supported by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the VG27 Foundation.
Guerrero is the face of the event in Miami during Art Basel weekend, and the confirmed list of participants reads like a snapshot of the modern global game. New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto, San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr., Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez, Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz and Colorado Rockies infielder Ezequiel Tovar headline the baseball lineup.
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The Home Run Derby will feature one of the strongest hitting groups ever assembled for a non-MLB event. Organizers confirmed ten participants: Guerrero Jr., Junior Caminero, Tatis Jr., Soto, Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Ramirez, Teoscar Hernandez, Elly De La Cruz and Ketel Marte. Combined, they represent the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba and the next wave of rising international stars shaping MLB ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The baseball roster extends beyond the derby. Infielders Santiago Espinal and veteran Miguel Rojas will join the Celebrity Softball Game, adding versatility and experience. With power bats, athletic shortstops and elite defenders across the field, organizers are promising a night built for highlight plays inside the dome at loanDepot Park.
La Gente Del Barrio continues to build one of the deepest crossover entertainment lineups of the offseason. Latin Grammy-winning duo Gente de Zona leads the musical slate, joined by Dominican producer Dímelo Flow, Miami’s DJ Africa and Marconi Impara, creating a soundtrack that blends reggaetón, Cuban timba, Caribbean rhythm and South Florida energy.
The guest list reaches far beyond music. Confirmed personalities include Tony Dandrades, Carlos Adyan, Roberto Hernández of “El Gordo y La Flaca,” Emmy winner Maity Interiano, Laura Posada, Jessica Rodríguez, Aly Sánchez, Migbelis Castellanos, Chef Adrianne Calvo, Adriana Cataño, Clarissa Molina, Águeda López, Daniella Urbay, La Gatita de El Zol, Paulina Sodi, Carolina Sarassa, Satcha Pretto, Rashel Díaz and comedian Bonco Quinongo. F1 Academy driver Maite Cáceres adds an international motorsport presence to the event.
Kodak Black, one of the most recognizable Haitian-American artists of his generation, joins the celebration as a featured guest, bringing a cultural footprint that extends deep into Miami’s Haitian community. His presence adds a global layer to the entertainment lineup, aligning with La Gente Del Barrio’s mission of uplifting Latin and Caribbean identity on one shared stage.
Hosting duties will be led by Enrique Santos, Orlando León and Gloria Ordaz.
Miami’s event shows how global MLB has become. The lineup pulls from every corner of the international baseball world — Dominican and Venezuelan power bats, Colombian athleticism, Mexican national-team talent, Caribbean winter-league standouts and emerging stars preparing for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Many of these players have already represented their nations in major tournaments, Olympic qualifiers and winter-league seasons. La Gente Del Barrio turns Miami into a winter hub for MLB’s international core and one of the sport’s fastest-growing cultural movements.
One of the event’s main hooks is the format: the Home Run Derby will be contested with aluminum bats. Promotional material from La Gente Del Barrio imagines the possibility of 500-foot blasts under the roof at loanDepot Park — a design choice intended purely for fan excitement.
Organizers are promising no limits, big swings and an atmosphere mixing reggaeton, neighborhood pride and the unapologetic flair of Latin baseball.
Fatherhood has shaped Toronto baseball as much as any trade deadline or front-office pivot, and nowhere is that lineage clearer than in the Guerrero family. The legacy didn’t start with Vladdy Jr.’s rise — it started with his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., whose Hall of Fame career bridged the end of the Expos and the birth of a new Canadian baseball identity.
Title: MLB All Star Celebrity Softball
Image ID: 22198101097492
Article: Former Major League Baseball player Vladimir Guerrero smiles next to Rapper and Singer Bad Bunny during the MLB All Star Celebrity Softball game, Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The image of Guerrero Sr. smiling alongside Bad Bunny at the 2022 MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game isn’t just celebrity crossover; it’s a reminder that baseball inheritance is cultural, generational and global. The father who once carried Montreal’s hopes now watches his son carry Toronto’s, tying two cities — and two eras — into one Canadian baseball bloodline. The Blue Jays’ modern story is built on these paternal threads, from Joe Carter to Sandler’s Big Daddy mythology to the Guerrero dynasty that turned “Canada’s team” into a family narrative passed from one generation to the next.
Proceeds from the Home Run Derby and Celebrity Softball Game will support the La Gente Del Barrio Foundation, Guerrero Jr.’s VG27 Foundation and additional community partners working in youth development, sports access and family programs across Latin America and the United States.
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025
Location: loanDepot Park — Miami, Florida
1:00 p.m. — Celebrity Softball Game
4:00 p.m. — Home Run Derby
Tickets are available now through Marlins.com and the loanDepot Park ticket portal, as well as the @lgdelbarrio and @vg27foundation social media channels. Organizers expect high demand and encourage fans to secure seats early for what they describe as a one-night blend of sport, music and barrio pride in the 305.
Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, left, laughs with Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after a base hit during the fourth inning in Game 5 of baseball’s World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
