Heading to the 2025 Caribbean Series in Mexicali
The winter leagues begin the phase to define their champions and, therefore, participants in the Caribbean Series
While the authorities of Mexicali work hard on the final details of an important remodeling of the El Nido de los Águilas stadium, the winter leagues begin the phase that defines their representatives for the 67th edition of the Caribbean Baseball Series, which by second time, it will be played in the capital of Baja California, in northern Mexico.
The champions of the four permanent leagues of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CBPC) and an invited team from Japan will compete between Friday, January 31 and Friday, February 7 for the top Caribbean trophy. It was in 2009 the first and only previous time that Mexicali hosted the championship of champions.
For this occasion, the state government is investing around six million dollars in the renovation of the Águilas de Mexicali stadium of the Mexican ARCO League of the Pacific (LAMP).
The work includes changing the façade, changing the seats, constructing bathrooms and entrances and installing new LED lighting.
The organizers of the 2025 Caribbean Series, which will have 15 games, hope to attract more than 200,000 fans to the park with capacity for a little more than 20,000 patrons. Of the four permanent members of the CBPC, the circuit that is closest to crowning a champion is the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (LBPRC) of Puerto Rico, which begins the final between Indios de Mayagüez and Senators of San Juan on Friday.
The playoff agreed to a maximum of nine games will decide who removes the status of local champion from the Criollos de Caguas.
In the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), the Margarita Braves advanced to the first final in their history, in which they will face the Lara Cardinals starting Sunday, in a best-of-seven-game format. Unfortunately, the champions of Venezuela and the last Caribbean Series, the Tiburones de La Guaira, will not have the opportunity to defend their titles.
The LAMP is in the middle of its fiery semifinal series and on Thursday the first qualifier for the Mexico Series could be defined.
The fifth match of the series between Naranjeros de Hermosillo and Charros de Jalisco will be played at the Panamericano stadium in Guadalajara. The Charros blanked 4-0 on Wednesday to take a 3-1 lead and move one win away from eliminating Hermosillo, who in addition to being the biggest winner of all time, is the current league champion.
On the other hand, the Tomateros de Culiacán visit the Cañeros de Los Mochis in a semifinal that is tied at two wins.
In the Dominican Republic League (LIDOM), two-time champions Tigres del Licey basically assured themselves of playing in their third consecutive final, with a 10-3 record in the semifinal Round Robin, which is scheduled for 18 games.
The Leones del Esgido (9-4) occupy second place, four games ahead of the Estrellas Orientales (5-8), while the Águilas Cibaeñas (2-11) were formally eliminated on Wednesday.
Triumphs by Licey and Esído on Friday will close the semi-bottom playoff and would crystallize the tenth final between the two clubs that are based in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital.
The monarchs of Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, in addition to fighting among themselves, will have to deal with the “Japan Breeze”, a kind of selection of players of different levels, who will become the first Asian participant in the World Series. Caribbean since its founding in 1949.
