Above: Rod Carew Stadium in Panama

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins will play a two-game series of exhibition games in Panama City next month, the clubs announced Thursday.

The two-game series will be the first Major League Baseball games played in Panama since 1947.

The March 15-16 games, which will be played at Panama City’s Rod Carew Stadium, will honour recently-retired Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, considered by many to be the greatest relief pitcher in history.

“It is only fitting that one of our game’s greatest ambassadors, Mariano Rivera, could help us bring Major League Baseball back to his beloved Panama,” said Paul Archey, Senior Vice President, International Business Operations for Major League Baseball. “We look forward to partnering with the Marlins and the Yankees to deliver a groundbreaking sporting event to the fans of Panama, particularly the young fans who looked up to Mariano during his historic career.”

The Yankees have some history in Panama; in 1946, members of the team, led by manager Joe McCarthy, trained in Panama in the month of February and played against an all-star team from the Panamanian league.

The next year, the Yankees played the Brooklyn Dodgers in a series of exhibition games. That trip also featured stops in Cuba, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.
Panama, which has four players currently playing in MLB, will be the seventh country to host a game between Major League Baseball teams.

The Rod Carew Stadium opened in 1999.

Both teams will be staying at the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower in Panama.

“Our hotel will deliver a first-class experience for the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins during Major League Baseball’s Legend Series,” said Donald J Trump in a statement. “All of Panama stands behind the legendary Mariano Rivera, and we are honored to play a part in a sporting event that the people of Panama will remember forever.”