Who will succeed the Tiburones de La Guaira (Venezuela)? This weekend saw the final of the Caribbean Series, with the Leones del Escogido emerging victorious over the Charros de Jalisco. A low-profile event in Europe, Baseball TV France has decided to take a closer look at this competition.
Introduction to the competition
The Caribbean Series, or Caribbean Series in French, is a baseball competition that brings together the national champions of the winter leagues of the Caribbean and neighboring countries.
Created in 1949, this competition was born thanks to the initiative of Pablo Morales and Oscar Prieto Ortiz, inspired by the success of the Inter-American Series in 1946 (Editor’s note: an international baseball competition that brought together the winning teams of the professional leagues of Venezuela, the United States (Independent League or Negro League), Mexico, Panama, and Nicaragua each year, but which did not survive the passage of the 1950s). The first edition was held in Havana and was won by the Alacranes del Almendares.
Over the decades, many great players have emerged from this competition. Among them, we can mention Roberto Clemente (Santurce Crabbers), Willie Mays (same), and more recently, Albert Pujols, coach of the Leones, champions of this edition. These players have marked the history of baseball and contributed to the renown of the Caribbean Series.
Key Points of the 2025 Competition
The 2025 edition took place in Mexicali, Mexico, from January 31 to February 7. This year, the competition welcomed a Japanese team, the Japan Breeze, as guests for the first time. The participating teams were the Cardenales de Lara (Venezuela), the Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic), the Indios de Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), the Charros de Jalisco (Mexico), and the Japan Breeze (Japan).
The tournament had a round-robin format (Editor’s note: a type of tournament where participants meet each other an equal number of times), followed by semifinals and a final. Robinson Canó (Leones del Escogido), former star of the Yankees and Mariners, scored the only run of the final and turned a ground double play.
Manny Bañuelos (Charros de Jalisco) pitched four innings in the final, allowing one run on three hits.
Regarding the entire competition, note the performance of Esmil Rogers (Leones del Escogido), named MVP of the tournament with 12 2/3 innings pitched, allowing only one run and recording four strikeouts.
Also note that Jesús Vargas of the Cardenales pitched a no-hitter in 8 innings against the Japan Breeze in the last preliminary match.
A Unique Competition
The Caribbean Series are also the occasion for memorable feats or anecdotes. For example, during the 1955 edition, Willie Mays hit a decisive home run in the 11th inning, giving the victory to his team.
The Cuban pitcher José Fernández had an unusual superstition. Before each game, he insisted on wearing socks of different colors. He firmly believed that this brought him luck.
In 1967, Tony Pérez, who later became a legend of the MLB, hit a grand slam to lead the Puerto Rican team to victory against Venezuela. This grand slam is still considered one of the most memorable moments of the Caribbean Series.
In 2011, the Leones del Escogido team made an incredible comeback in the last match of the tournament. They were trailing 9-1 in the top of the ninth inning and managed to score eight runs to tie the game, then won in extra innings thanks to a home run by Wilkin Castillo.
In 1987, Damaso García, second baseman of the Dominican Republic, made one of the most audacious plays in the history of the tournament by stealing home to score the winning run in a crucial match against Puerto Rico.
In 2005, a match between the Venados de Mazatlán (Mexico) and the Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican Republic) entered the annals as one of the longest in the history of the Caribbean Series. The match lasted 18 innings and ended with a 4-3 victory for the Venados after more than six hours of play.
Finally, in this 2025 edition, the Japanese team brought a unique touch by introducing traditional good luck rituals before each match, which intrigued and amused the other teams.
In conclusion, the Caribbean Series are much more than just a sporting competition. They are a reflection of the passion, culture, and history of baseball in Latin America, all of whose represented countries are in the TOP12. Some great players have left their mark on the competition before exploding in the MLB. All the more reason to keep an eye on this tournament.
Sébastien Dondé.
Photo credits: official Instagram account of the competition.
Tiburones: sharks
Alacranes: a type of scorpion
Japan Breeze: Japan breeze
The charro is a horseman, landowner, horse, and cattle owner
Venados: deer
Águilas: eagles
