The Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins will play a two-game series early next season in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.
The two regular-season games will be played April 17 and 18 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
It will be the first time that either team has played in Puerto Rico, and will represent the first regular-season games played there since the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins held a three-game series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in June 2010.
In 2001, the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays opened the regular season in Puerto Rico, and in 2003 and 2004 the Montreal Expos played a portion of their home schedule at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
“The Minnesota Twins are honored to visit Puerto Rico and represent Major League Baseball in this international showcase,” Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter said in a statement. “The Twins look forward to joining MLB and the Cleveland Indians organization in celebrating Puerto Rico’s rich baseball heritage and growing influence on our game.”
“It is a dream come true for me to play in Puerto Rico,” Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor said in a statement. “When the Montreal Expos played in Puerto Rico, I remember going to those games and thinking to myself, ‘I would love to be here playing in front of my country and people.’ Now that we have the opportunity next April, it is a dream realized for me. These will be the most memorable regular season games of my career, for sure.”
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