Take Me Out to the Béisbol Game

Go Birds! Being a Cardinals fan runs deep in my veins as a born and raised St. Louisan, but when in Santiago...you become an Águilas fan!

The Águilas Cibaeñas are part of the Caribbean Winter Leagues. From mid-October through mid-December, they have a full slate of regular season games against the other five Dominican teams, followed by about a month of playoff competition. A national champion is named and goes on to compete against the other national champions (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and, by invitation, Cuba) in the Caribbean Series. This season, that kicks off on February 2, 2019, in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. 

I went to my first game last night! 

The stadium is only about a 15 minute drive from Cerro Alto, and the whole experience was notably more affordable than an MLB game:

Tickets: $8 (other options included bleacher seats for $4 or the equivalent of the green seats at Busch Stadium for $12)

Parking: $1

Ballpark food options included hot dogs ($1), nachos ($1), empanadas ($1), mini Domino's pizzas ($3), mojitos ($2.50), and water/sodas ($0.50, including a cup of ice). You could also place a Subway order from your seat and get all manner of chips and candy, cheese, carne salada (deep fried strips of beef), and even the traditional holiday apples and grapes, all of which I didn't catch prices for. 

We had a group of 16 including missionaries, wives, kids, and seminary students. 

After a brief rain delay...

...the game got underway! Just like in the States, we sang the national anthem first. (Maybe this is another blog post, but it was an odd sensation to rise and remove my cap without any real notion of patriotism. I probably wouldn't recognize the Dominican national anthem if I heard it again, and I have no idea what it says or stands for.)

The general atmosphere is a bit more...high energy than your average MLB game. This was after a scoring play, but flags, noisemakers, hooting, hollering, and clapping propelled the home team on from start to finish. 

 

Most of the kids with "Aguilito."

The Águilas won 7-1, and we were treated to a stellar fireworks display that, no offense to the Cardinals, put Busch Stadium's to shame. 

I'd love to make it to another game or two before the season ends, or even attend an away game at one of the other stadiums. Might even have to get me a jersey or something! I'm also hoping the Águilas make the playoffs (they're currently in 2nd place, a game out of first behind the Gigantes del Cibao) so I can take my family to a game when they come. ¡Vamos Águilas!

Until next time, blessings!