Spectator Sports

Baseball -- Baseball is the number-one sport in Venezuela. Venezuelans follow the sport with devotion and fervor. It's hard to find pickup games, but if you're in town for the season, you might want to catch a game. The local professional season runs October 20 through January 30 every year. As this is the off season for U.S. Major League Baseball, plenty of Venezuelan and international professional and minor-league players play here to stay in shape. Caracas has a couple of professional teams, as do most major cities around the country. The main Caracas team is Los Leones; another popular team (formerly of Caracas, but currently based out of Valencia) is Los Magallanes. The Leones-Magallanes rivalry is quite heated. You can get tickets to most games rather easily for BsF5 to BsF30. I'd recommend splurging for the more expensive seats, as they often provide protection from the sun, the rain, and the rowdier crowds. Los Leones play at the Estadio Universitario de Caracas (at the university). Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling tel. 0212/762-1211, although you can usually buy tickets the day of the game.