Alcantara hosts Team D.R., Big Papi before Classic: 'Time to give it our all'
Juan Toribio
@juanctoribioMIAMI -- Once it was announced that Miami was going to host Pool D in the World Baseball Classic, Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara knew he wanted to welcome his Dominican Republic teammates to the city he now calls home.
After winning the 2022 National League Cy Young Award, Miami is now Alcantara¡¯s city. The right-hander got the keys to the Magic City over the offseason. Even Manny Machado, who was born and raised in Miami, referred to the city as Alcantara¡¯s.
Because of the responsibilities that come with being a host, Alcantara and his agent, Adriel Reyes, had been working on a ¡°Welcome to Miami¡± event to welcome the star-studded Dominican team to the city and the tournament.
On Thursday night, that event finally came to life as Alcantara welcomed his new teammates to a patio by the pool at the Four Seasons in Miami, giving the squad a space to decompress and spend time off the field.
¡°We¡¯re here celebrating as a team,¡± Alcantara said. ¡°There¡¯s one day to go before the start of the Classic, and then it¡¯s time to give it our all.¡±
Nearly the entire Dominican Republic team was in attendance. There were plenty of food and beverages. Alcantara, Machado and manager Rodney Linares were among the people who stood in front of the group to give a speech.
But perhaps nobody had a bigger presence at the event than Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz. At one point in the night, about a dozen players just stood with Ortiz and listened to every word the Hall of Famer had to say. Even in a room full of Silver Sluggers, Cy Young Award winners and All-Stars, Ortiz¡¯s voice carries a lot of weight.
¡°The reality is that the WBC, a lot of the time, the players participating don¡¯t always understand the impact the tournament has on our society and the world,¡± Ortiz said to the players in Spanish. ¡°But now that I¡¯m a fan and admirer of each one of you, now [is] when I¡¯m starting to understand it.¡±
The Dominican Republic comes into the 2023 tournament as one of the favorites. Linares said Wednesday that not winning the WBC would be ¡°a failure¡± for the baseball-loving country. That journey starts on Saturday against Venezuela with Alcantara on the mound.
Before that, however, the Dominican team got a chance to enjoy a night that was made possible by its ace.