Puerto Rican baseball legend Carlos Delgado, who is among the candidates for the Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Era ballot, and eight-time All-Star Robinson Cano of the Dominican Republic will be at the forefront of the “RD vs PR Showdown” on Nov. 15 at New York’s Citi Field.
The New York Mets, with whom Delgado played his final four seasons, partnered with the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball Players Association (APPPR) and the National Federation of Professional Baseball Players of the Dominican Republic (FENAPEPRO), with the approval of Major League Baseball, to organize the star-studded event.
Delgado, who hit 473 home runs over his illustrious 17-year MLB career, will serve as Puerto Rico’s honorary manager, with all of his native country’s players wearing his No. 21.
“I feel very honored … for the dedication, and I’m very happy because it’s another opportunity to continue spreading baseball, and this time, before an audience with incredible knowledge of baseball, such as the New York fans,” Delgado told The Athletic.
On the other side, two-time All-Star Carlos Gomez — a former Mets teammate of Delgado’s — will serve as the Dominican team’s manager in the city where he began his MLB career in 2007.
The rosters, which will consist of major league hopefuls, have yet to be announced, but Cano will suit up for the Dominican Republic in what is expected to be his final organized game in the United States. A member of the 2009 New York Yankees’ World Series championship team, Cano spent parts of three seasons with the Mets toward the end of his 17-year MLB career. Every Dominican player will honor Cano by donning his No. 24 on their jerseys.
“Seeing all the guys put on the 24, it’s like I look back and say, ‘Thank you, God, for that long road I’ve walked, and rewarded me in that way,'” Cano told The Athletic.
Cano, who sat out the 2021 season due to a PED suspension while with the Mets, is excited to play one last game in the city he called home for a large portion of his career.
“It means a lot to me,” the two-time Gold Glove winner said. “It’s where I was really given the opportunity to show the world my talent, my skills as a baseball player, to play on both sides.”
