Legends Day, an emotional moment in the DR

Dominican baseball royalty, active players in the current LIDOM championship and fans came together on Sunday to bring to life the second edition of Legends Day at the Quisqueya Juan Marichal Stadium in Santo Domingo. At the event, which also featured the participation of active and retired stars from Venezuela, Cuba and other countries, there was a softball home run festival among the legends, a home run derby between active players from the Dominican winter tournament, and a running competition. grassroots, all with the aim of raising money for the David Ortiz Foundation.

Ortiz, wearing a custom New England Patriots jersey with the number 34 and the name “Big Papi” on the back, was accompanied by the three former Dominican players inducted into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame: Marichal, Pedro Martínez and Vladimir Warrior father. Others who were present were his compatriots and also former major leaguers Adrián Beltré, Aramis Ramírez, Carlos Gómez and Julián Tavárez, as well as retired figures from Venezuela such as Bob Abreu, Luis Sojo, Edgardo Alfonzo, Melvin Mora and Endy Chávez.

In the Legends Softball Home Run Derby, Gomez was the winner with a total of seven hits that blew up a makeshift fence. Among the Venezuelans who saw action at the event, Mora and Abreu each hit five homers to finish ahead of Ortiz, who hit four balls with his famous left-handed swing.

“This is what we are here for, to help all these people who need it,” said Ortiz after receiving a symbolic check for RD $ 1.5 million for his foundation.

In one of the most emotional moments of the day, the first two Dominicans to reach the Hall of Fame – Marichal and Martínez – faced each other in a symbolic turn, with Martínez pitching and Marichal gently tapping the ball back onto the mound.

At the LIDOM players’ home run festival, former minor league player Aderlín Rodríguez took the honors with six cannon shots. Former major leaguer Juan Francisco – known for his knack for hitting miles of home runs – wowed the crowd with the longest hit of the day, adding another chapter to his legacy as LIDOM’s all-time home run leader with 99.

Retired Major League Baseball stars and local luminaries were honored Sunday, including the first Dominican to play in the majors, Ozzie Virgil Sr., plus other glories such as Felipe Alou, George Bell, Cesarín Gerónimo, Ricardo Carty, Luis Polonia and Miguel Diloné.

And speaking of honors, Ortiz – who is on the BBWAA ballot for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year – spoke Sunday about his chances of joining Marichal, Martinez and Guerrero in Cooperstown as early as July 2022. .

“We are going to put ourselves in God’s hands and whether it is the first or the second, the most important thing is that at some point I will enter,” Ortiz told the Listín Diario newspaper. “Right now I’ll just sit around waiting for that to happen; I’m not in a hurry, but just because you are mentioned next to a wide group of players who had brilliant careers in the game, you can only think that you also had a brilliant stay in the pastime ”.