The Latin American Series (Spanish: Serie Latinoamericana) was an annual baseball competition contested by the champions of the professional baseball winter leagues in Latin America and the Caribbean. The tournament was organized by the Latin American Professional Baseball Association (ALBP) as an alternative to the Caribbean Series.

Latin American Series
SportBaseball
Founded2013
Ceased2019
Countries Argentina
 Colombia
 Curaçao
 Mexico
 Nicaragua
 Panama
Last
champion(s)
Nicaragua Leones de León
(1st title)
Most titlesNicaragua Tigres de Chinandega
(2 titles)
Related
competitions
Intercontinental Series

The first winner of the series was Mexico's Brujos de Los Tuxtlas, who beat the Tigres de Chinandega of Nicaragua in 2013. The last winner was Nicaragua's Leones de León, which defeated Mexico's Tobis de Acayucan in 2019. Tigres de Chinandega were the most successful team, with two titles in three appearances.

History

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On February 10, 2012, the then president of the Colombian Professional Baseball League, together with executives of Liga Invernal Veracruzana, organized the Mexico-Colombia International Baseball Series between the champions of both competitions, where the Colombian champions, Toros de Sincelejo and Veracruz champions, Brujos de Los Tuxtlas, met in a 3-game series at Estadio Once de Noviembre in Cartagena, Colombia, with the Colombian outfit winning two games to one.[1]

In the case of Mexico, the representative is the champion of Liga Invernal Veracruzana.[2] Often, teams who qualify for this competition receive loan players from other teams in their respective leagues in order to improve their country's chance of winning.[3]

With the creation of the Latin American Professional Baseball Association in late-2012, the idea of creating a series that would integrate Latin American professional baseball teams materialised. As a result, the first Latin American Series was held from February 1 to 4, 2013 in Veracruz, Mexico. The first five editions of the series only contained teams from Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico and Panama until the first expansion of the competition in 2018. This expansion included Curaçao, who had just created a professional league, followed by Argentina in 2019, with the intention of inviting Chile once a professional league is set up.[4]

The rules of the competition were based on those of the World Baseball Classic. Teams wore their respective national team uniforms, rather than their own professional uniforms.[5]

The impetus for the Latin American Series eventually faded with the expansion of the Caribbean Series to non-members of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CPBC). Panama, which was scheduled to host the 2020 edition, withdrew from the competition after being invited to the 2019 and 2020 Caribbean Series. On January 12, 2020, the ALBP confirmed the suspension of the 2020 edition. Colombia would also be invited to the 2020 Caribbean Series, as would Curaçao to the 2023 edition, thus making the Latin American Series moot.

Leagues participating

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Country League First edition Latest edition
  Argentina Argentine Baseball League 2019
  Colombia Colombian Professional Baseball League 2013 2019
  Curaçao Curaçao National Championship AA League 2018
  Mexico Liga Invernal Veracruzana 2013 2019
Veracruz State League 2017 2018
  Nicaragua Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League 2013 2019
  Panama Panamanian Professional Baseball League 2013 2019

Series

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[6][7]

Year Host City Champions Result Runners Up Head Coach
  Veracruz   Brujos de Los Tuxtlas
1-0
  Tigres de Chinandega   Pedro Meré
  Montería   Tigres de Cartagena
9-1
  Brujos de Los Tuxtlas   Donaldo Méndez
  Panama City   Leones de Montería
1-0
  Caballos de Coclé   Luis Urueta
  Managua   Gigantes de Rivas
12-3
  Caimanes de Lorica   Germán Mesa
  Montería   Tigres de Chinandega
4-0
  Leones de Montería   Lenin Picota
  Managua   Tigres de Chinandega
9-1
  Tobis de Acayucan   Lenin Picota
  Veracruz   Leones de León
3-1
  Tobis de Acayucan   Sandor Guido
  Panama City Cancelled

Championships by team

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Team Wins Years
  Tigres de Chinandega 2 2017, 2018
  Brujos de Los Tuxtlas 1 2013
  Tigres de Cartagena 1 2014
  Leones de Montería 1 2015
  Gigantes de Rivas 1 2016
  Leones de León 1 2019

Championships by nation

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Team Wins Years
  Nicaragua 4 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
  Colombia 2 2014, 2015
  Mexico 1 2013

All-time table

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By team

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Pos. Team Apps. P W L % Last App. Best result
1.   Leones de León 1 7 7 0 1.000 2019 Champions (2019)
2.   Tigres de Chinandega 3 11 9 2 .818 2018 Champions (2017, 2018)
3.   Leones de Montería 2 9 6 3 .667 2017 Champions (2015)
4.   Panamá Metro 1 3 2 1 .667 2017 Group Phase (2017)
5.   Tigres de Cartagena 1 5 3 2 .600 2014 Champions (2014)
6.   Brujos de Los Tuxtlas 3 11 6 5 .545 2015 Champions (2013)
7.   Gigantes de Rivas 2 8 4 4 .500 2016 Champions (2016)
8.   Nacionales de Panamá 1 4 2 2 .500 2016 Third place (2016)
9.   Indios del Bóer 1 4 2 2 .500 2015 Third place (2015)
10.   Tobis de Acayucan 3 16 7 9 .438 2019 Runners-up (2018, 2019)
11.   Caballos de Coclé 2 7 3 4 .429 2015 Runners-up (2015)
12.   Falcons de Córdoba 1 5 2 3 .400 2019 Group Phase (2019)
13.   Indios de Urracá 1 5 2 3 .400 2014 Third place (2014)
14.   Chileros de Xalapa 2 9 3 6 .333 2019 Semi-finals (2019)
15.   Toros de Herrera 1 6 2 4 .333 2019 Semi-finals (2019)
16.   Caimanes de Barranquilla 3 13 4 9 .308 2019 Runners-up (2016)
17.   Wildcats KJ74 1 4 1 3 .250 2018 Third place (2018)
18.   Bravos de Urracá 1 3 0 3 .000 2018 Group Phase (2018)

By nation

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Pos. Team Apps. P W L % Best result
1.   Nicaragua 7 30 22 8 .733 Champions (2016, 2017, 2018,2019)
2.   Colombia 6 27 13 14 .481 Champions (2014, 2015)
3.   Mexico 7 36 16 20 .444 Champions (2013)
4.   Argentina 1 5 2 3 .400 Group Phase (2019)
5.   Panama 7 28 11 17 .393 Runners-up (2015)
6.   Curaçao 1 4 1 3 .250 Third place (2018)

Television rights

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Year Network(s)
2013   RTV
2014, 2016   Claro Sports
2015   TVMax
2017   YouTube[8]
2018   Viva Nicaragua[9]
2019   TVMÁS

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Serie Internacional de Beisbol México-Colombia.
  2. ^ LA LIGA ESTATAL DE BEISBOL, SELECTIVA PARA LA LATIN AMERICAN SERIES.
  3. ^ Presentan la Latin American Series.
  4. ^ "Asociación Latinoamericana se expande para el 2018". Archived from the original on 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  5. ^ Latin American Series de Béisbol.
  6. ^ Nuevas sedes para las próximas Series Latinoamericanas de béisbol.
  7. ^ Confirman a Panamá como sede de Latin American Series de Béisbol 2020.
  8. ^ Canal Montería transmitirá los juegos de la serie por internet.
  9. ^ VI Latin American Series Nicaragua 2018.
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