Hiram Bithorn Stadium, the site of this week's two-game set, has been one of the most successful WBC venuesGetty Images
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said this week's Indians-Twins series in Puerto Rico is "really important" for the league to help "be part of the recovery" from Hurricane Maria last year. Manfred said the league is "big on the concept" of taking regular-season games to places "where people don't ordinarily have a chance to see Major League Baseball." Manfred: "It's a key to growing the game, and Puerto Rico is of particular significance. We have 20-plus Puerto Rican players on major league rosters at the beginning of the season, and they’re an important source of talent for us. We have to bring the game here." Manfred said the island already "has a great fan base" and noted Hiram Bithorn Stadium, the site of this week's two-game set, has been one of the "most successful" venues for the World Baseball Classic. Manfred: "It's one of those markets that we need to stay in touch with" (“Indians-Twins,” FS1, 4/17).
LIVING UP TO THE MOMENT: The Indians beat the Twins 6-1 last night, and MLB.com's Jordan Bastain noted Indians SS Francisco Lindor "delivered in heroic fashion" on his home soil with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. When the ball left Lindor's bat, there was a "collective gasp from the crowd," and the following "audible eruption would have had a home in any classic October contest" (MLB.com, 4/18). Lindor's home run sent the sellout crowd of 19,516 at San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium into an "extended celebration as he rounded the bases with all the jubilation this two-game Puerto Rico Series promised from the moment it was announced last June" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 4/18). Fans "demanded a curtain call, and the smiling Lindor obliged" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/18). ESPN's Scott Van Pelt said, "This is an April baseball game, and it sounded like the playoffs" ("SportsCenter," 4/17). FS1’s Tom Verducci said of the first game in the series last night at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, “It’s been said that baseball in Puerto Rico is a combination of a ball game and a street fair, and we have that festive atmosphere" ("Indians-Twins," FS1, 4/17).
