Dec. 3, 2014
Now that the Commodores are back in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave (and good reliable internet), take a look at what the team experienced in the Dominican Republic last week.
This is the second installment of the team’s photos from the trip. Check out the full photo gallery along with the photos and stories below.
Day 3 of the trip started out here at the Indians complex after a trip down a narrow road through the middle of a jungle. The Indians’ complex was a little nicer than the Rangers’ complex but was still guarded by an armed guard and a gate. The building in the background is the housing, office, cafeteria and everything else for the coaches and players.
The Commodores hit and warmed up on the lower field. In right field where this picture was taken a teen aged boy peering through the fence asked a question in Spanish, then asked for five dollars in English then asked for a baseball.
U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Wally Brewster met with the Dores prior to the team’s games. Brewster talked about his job as an amabassador and the Dominican Republic.
Ozama Fortress built in 1505 and was the first European fotress in the Americas.
This was our tour guide, Juan Perez. He brought three things to the tour: positive energy, a big personality and good English speaking skills. He was a great guide and was very proud of his country.
This started out as the fortress’ well and was later converted into a torture chamber, where they threw prisoneers into the pit with water up to their necks.
Across the street as part of the fortress was a Catholic church. The ceiling above the altar had this painting depicting life and death.
Following the tour of the fortress, the Dores returned to the ballpark but this time to watch a Dominican Winter League game. The energy for a regular season Tuesday night game was off the charts with a drum line, girls zip lining out of the stands down to the left field foul pole and some kind of constant stimulation. The Commodores wrapped up the trip on this field on Thursday and Friday.
This has to be one of a kind at baseball games. Twice during the game, 3-4 ladies would zip line from the seats on the third level down to a stage set up near the left field foul pole while throwing out some kind of Pepsi coupon. Fans went crazy for the coupons like they were 100-dollar bills, adding to the energy of the stadium.
The Licey drum line was directly behind us. The group’s two-strike chant of “Buenos Noches” was pretty consistent but the rest of their chants seemed random. They got really excited when Manny Ramirez (yes, that Manny Ramirez) struck out for the other team.
Wednesday brought an off day for the Dores and the team’s lone trip to the beach. After a lengthy bus ride to the boat, freshmen Will Toffey (left) and Joey Abraham (right) couldn’t wait to get in the water. For the record, Joey bought that shirt the night before in a gift shop.
On the ride out to the island, the Dores took over the boat when part of the boat’s crew started teaching dances.
Most everyone that heard we were going to the Dominican Republic for a week thought this would be the view for the week. The team enjoyed it for a day and the water was a blue few had seen before.
This is not a scene from Top Gun and unfortunately nobody had Kenny Loggins on their phone to play while the guys played volleyball. After competing against each other for a few games, the Dores took down Illinois in the last game of the day. (The Illini and Washington State were on the same trip as the Dores for the week.)
We’ll wrap up the trip tomorrow with photos from the final two days.
