The Manchester Softball League kicked off its season at Lake Park on Manchester’s West Side on Sunday. The park could have easily been mistaken for the tropics, with the thwack of softballs hitting mitts, bachata music playing in the background, motorcycles parked haphazardly and touch of lingering humidity from sunshowers.
Franklin García Francisco is part of Team Taíno, in honor of the Indigenous peoples from the Caribbean. He said playing softball is a good way to relax and get away from the pressures of everyday life.
“Like we say, ‘botar el golpe,’” he said, explaining Dominican slang. “We came to hang out, to have a good time with our family and get away from work stress and stuff. We’re here to have fun.”
The first game of the season was a showdown between Los Taínos and Los Monstro, the Monsters. Families turned out to watch, and a nearby tent made a brisk trade in Caribbean food – sodas, fried plantains, pastelitos, bacalaitos, and chicken skewers – to support the league.
The players are between their 20s and and 50s, so organizer Joselito Cedano said playing softball is more accommodating than baseball. Like most of the players, Cedano grew up playing baseball in the Dominican Republic, although there are players from other places,like Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Mexico.
“We grew up playing baseball in the Dominican Republic,” he said. “So we have kept up that tradition here with the other Latino guys.”
Cedano started the league back up three years ago with help from the leaders of the three teams. Even though it’s good to spend time together, he said it also hasn’t been easy to schedule matches and find sponsors for uniforms and balls.
As the season picks up steam, the organizers are hoping to open the league up to more teams, especially on Saturdays.
The league runs through September.
