The Gigantes de Carolina's 2026-27 season was scheduled to open last night, Wednesday, November 4, at Estadio Roberto Clemente Walker against the Indios de Mayagüez. They have 19 home dates left in the regular season, and 11 of them fall in December. The league's published schedule also gives Carolina a Sunday start time that no other club in La Pro has. Taken together, the schedule packs Carolina's baseball into the weeks around the holidays.
Carolina Runs on Its Own Sunday Clock
The Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente sets one start time for most of the league. Weeknight broadcasts begin at 7:00 p.m., with "Play Ball" at 7:21 p.m. On Sundays, broadcasts start at 4:00 p.m. and first pitch is at 4:21 p.m. Carolina is the one exception. Sunday broadcasts from the Clemente start at 5:00 p.m., and first pitch is at 5:21 p.m.
Saturday works the same way. Ponce, Mayagüez and Caguas start their Saturday home games at 5:21 p.m. Carolina starts at 7:21 p.m., the same time as San Juan and Santurce. So a Saturday home game in Carolina is a full evening out. A Sunday home game starts late enough to follow a beach morning and a family lunch, and it still ends before Monday gets close.
Four Carolina home dates fall on Sundays: November 8, 15 and 22, and December 20, which is Roberto Clemente Day.
The Price of a Family Night Out
The second part of the calendar is who gets in free. In the team's season announcement, reported by Presencia PR on October 31, the club said children under 12 get in free to Carolina home games when they come with an adult. Municipal employees also get in free. Season-ticket packages, called abonos, cover both the regular season and the postseason.
The same report says the Gobierno Municipal Autónomo de Carolina is putting $430,000 into the club's operations this season. Mayor José Carlos Aponte described the team as tied to the city's identity: "En Carolina, el béisbol es mucho más que un deporte; es parte de nuestra historia, de nuestra identidad y de un legado que lleva el nombre de Roberto Clemente," he said in the announcement Presencia PR published. Municipal funding, free entry for children and a later Sunday start all serve local families.
November Is the Warm-Up
The rest of November has eight home dates. They come mostly in pairs, with road trips in between.
| Date | Day | Opponent | First pitch |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 6 | Friday | Senadores de San Juan | 7:21 p.m. |
| November 8 | Sunday | Cangrejeros de Santurce | 5:21 p.m. |
| November 14 | Saturday | Leones de Ponce | 7:21 p.m. |
| November 15 | Sunday | Indios de Mayagüez | 5:21 p.m. |
| November 18 | Wednesday | Criollos de Caguas | 7:21 p.m. |
| November 22 | Sunday | Cangrejeros de Santurce | 5:21 p.m. |
| November 25 | Wednesday | Indios de Mayagüez | 7:21 p.m. |
| November 27 | Friday | Criollos de Caguas | 7:21 p.m. |
The weekend of November 14 and 15 is the only back-to-back Saturday and Sunday at home this month. The Friday after Thanksgiving is also a home game. The league has no games on Thursday, November 26.
One road game has an unusual start time. On Tuesday, November 10, all three league games start at 10:00 a.m. for the Día Oficial de los Estudiantes, an event La Pro is running with the Departamento de Educación. Carolina plays at Caguas that morning.
December Brings the Heaviest Home Stretch
The league is off from Friday, December 4, through Sunday, December 6. When it returns, Carolina has its busiest home schedule of the season. Between December 7 and December 29, the Gigantes play 11 times at the Clemente:
- Monday, December 7, vs. Ponce
- Tuesday, December 8, vs. San Juan
- Friday, December 11, vs. Caguas
- Saturday, December 12, vs. San Juan
- Tuesday, December 15, vs. Mayagüez
- Thursday, December 17, vs. Santurce
- Sunday, December 20, vs. Santurce, on Roberto Clemente Day
- Wednesday, December 23, vs. Ponce
- Saturday, December 26, vs. Caguas
- Monday, December 28, vs. San Juan
- Tuesday, December 29, vs. Ponce
Three of those dates stand out on a holiday calendar. The first is December 20. The league's Día Oficial de Roberto Clemente Walker usually falls on December 21, but this year it moves to Sunday, December 20, and Santurce comes to Carolina. The day honoring Clemente will be played at the stadium that carries his name, with Carolina's 5:21 p.m. Sunday start.
The second is December 23, the night before Nochebuena, when Ponce visits. The third is the end of the regular season. Carolina closes its regular-season schedule at home, against San Juan on Monday, December 28, and against Ponce on Tuesday, December 29. Wednesday, December 30, is held for a possible Wild Card game. Semifinals open Saturday, January 2, 2027. If the race for a playoff spot is close, the Clemente could decide part of it.
What the Late-December Games Could Decide
Those December games could matter because last season was close. Carolina clinched a playoff spot on December 27, 2025, with a 6-2 win over Caguas. That left the club in third place at 20-19, La Pro reported. Ponce then eliminated Carolina in a six-game semifinal, according to Primera Hora.
The club says it is chasing its third title. Its first two came in back-to-back seasons, 2005-06 and 2006-07, as El Vocero has recorded.
The 2026-27 team has a new manager, Ricky Rivera. He was named Manager of the Year with the Senadores de San Juan, has worked with the Gigantes before, and has professional ties to the Houston Astros. The roster combines Puerto Rican and imported players from Major League organizations, including:
- Outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez, from the Cleveland Guardians organization
- Edwin Díaz, from the Houston Astros organization
- Abimelec Ortiz, from the Washington Nationals organization
- Pitcher Joe Jiménez, from the Atlanta Braves organization
- Catcher Walker Janek, from the Astros organization
The club is also continuing its partnership with Japan's Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, which sent three pitchers: Kaito Uchino, Keishin Nagamizu and Yusei Tubita. The season is dedicated to Amanda Serrano, the world-champion boxer from Carolina. That gives the Clemente's season a second Carolina sports figure to celebrate besides the one the ballpark is named for.
The league as a whole is hoping attendance grows. League president Juan A. Flores Galarza said nearly 381,000 fans came to La Pro's ballparks last season, and the league wants that number to rise.
Before First Pitch
The stadium is at 65 Avenida Infantería in Carolina, and a large statue of Roberto Clemente stands at the entrance, according to Stadium Journey. Discover Puerto Rico lists the Roberto Clemente Monument in front of the stadium among the island's notable sports sites. If you are bringing guests from out of town to the Clemente Day game, start with the statue.
For dinner before a 7:21 p.m. game, Provo opened in February on Avenida Paseo de los Gigantes with an Italian menu built around pasta and wine, Platea reported in its October roundup of 2026 openings. It is listed at 21 Avenida Paseo de los Gigantes. For the 5:21 p.m. Sunday games, eating after the game is easier than eating before.
The league can change dates and start times during the season. Check the La Pro schedule and the team's announcements before you head to Avenida Infantería, especially for the December games.
If you are weighing a home in Carolina and want to know what an evening at the Clemente, a Sunday at the beach and a weekday commute look like from different parts of the city, our team at Coldwell Banker Puerto Rico can walk you through it. Request a private consultation.
