ESPN Deportes airs 2013 Caribbean World Series

Update Feb. 8, 2013, 9:30am CT

The 2013 Serie Del Caribe (The Caribbean Series, also known as the Caribbean World Series), the annual professional baseball tournament for the winter season’s winning teams from the Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe (Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation), begins this Friday, Feb. 1, and will air on ESPN Deportes for the seventh year. The tournament runs through Feb. 7.

The Caribbean World Series is similar to America’s World Series, and is a longstanding tradition among baseball fans in Latin America and the Caribbean. Each year, the series is hosted by one of the league’s participating countries (the Confederation includes teams from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Mexico). This year’s tournament games take place at the new Sonora Stadium (Estadio Sonora) in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

New this year is a seventh day of play. With the Caribbean World Series’ new format, the four countries will compete in a six-day double-round-robin with the top two teams playing for the championship on Feb. 7.

A number of Major Leaguers are expected to represent their countries in the Caribbean World Series this year, including the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hanley Ramirez, the Atlanta Braves’ Juan Francisco, Pedro Ciriaco of the Boston Red Sox and World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants.

ESPN Deportes will carry the entire Caribbean World Series on its broadcast network, as well as on ESPN Deportes +, the Spanish-language programming extension of ESPN3. Coverage features live telecasts of both games being played each day, as well as complete coverage of the opening and closing ceremonies. Jorge Eduardo Sanchez and Guillermo Celis are slated to call the early games, while Ernesto Jerez and Luis Alfredo Alvarez have the call for game two.

ESPN Deportes Caribbean World Series Programming Schedule (All Times ET):

Feb. 1
5pm: Venezuela vs Dominican Republic
8:30pm: Opening Ceremony
9pm: Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Feb. 2
3pm: Dominican Republic vs Puerto Rico
7pm: Mexico vs Venezuela

Feb. 3
3pm: Venezuela vs Puerto Rico
7pm: Mexico vs Dominican Republic

Feb. 4
3pm: Puerto Rico vs Dominican Republic
7pm: Venezuela vs Mexico

Feb. 5
6pm: Puerto Rico vs Venezuela
9:30pm: Dominican Republic vs Mexico

Feb. 6
6pm: Dominican Republic vs Venezuela
9:30pm: Puerto Rico vs Mexico

UPDATE 2/7/13: Following the games on Feb. 6, the standings had Dominican Republic in first place, with a 5-1 record, and Mexico in second place, at 3-3, so these two teams will face each other in the championship game on Feb. 7.

Feb. 7
9pm: 1st place (Dominican Republic) vs 2nd place (Mexico)
12:30am: Closing Ceremonies

UPDATE 2/8/13: Mexico defeated Dominican Republic in the final game, 4-3, to win the Caribbean World Series championship.