Dominican Professional Baseball League

Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League

Current season, competition or edition: 2025–26 LIDOM season
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1951
President	Vitelio Mejía Ortiz
No. of teams	6
Country	Dominican Republic
Confederation	CPBC WBSC Americas [1]
Most recent champion	Leones del Escogido (2024–25)
Most titles	Tigres del Licey (24 titles)
Broadcasters	List of broadcasters
Related competitions	Caribbean Series
Official website	lidom.com

The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League (Spanish : Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana, abbreviation LIDOM) is a professional baseball winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played in the Dominican Republic. The league's players include many prospects that go on to play Major League Baseball in the United States while also signing many current MLB veterans. The champion of LIDOM advances to play in the yearly Caribbean Series.

Each team plays a fifty-game round-robin schedule that begins in mid October and runs to the end of December. The top four teams engage in another round-robin schedule with 18 games per team from the end of December to the end of January; the top two teams in those standings then play a best-of-seven series for the national title. The league's champion advances to the Caribbean Series to play against the representatives from Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Puerto Rico. ^[2]

History

See also: Baseball in the Dominican Republic

For his close involvement in the Dominican league's establishment and early development, Pedro Miguel Caratini has been called "the father of Dominican baseball". ^[3] Four amateur clubs established in the early 1900s still exist today, and form the foundation of Dominican professional baseball: Tigres del Licey in 1907, Estrellas Orientales in 1911, Leones del Escogido in 1921, and Sandino (later renamed Águilas Cibaeñas) in 1937.

The first attempts at an organized professional league came about in the 1920s. Licey, the most successful of the existing amateur teams in Santo Domingo, played a series of 32 games against an all-star team known as "Escogido" ("the chosen ones"); that tournament was won by Escogido, though Caratini (Licey) took the batting title. ^{[4] [5]} A second tournament held the following year, now with four teams (Escogido, Licey, Santiago and San Pedro de Macorís) was suspended with only 34 games of the 48-game schedule played, after Escogido withdrew in protest of a controversial decision to nullify a victory over Licey. ^[6] Licey won the 1924 series, contested against Escogido, as they did in 1929. However, professional baseball saw a hiatus after the 1930 San Zenón hurricane destroyed both La Primavera and the Gimnasio Escolar, the two existing venues for baseball in Santo Domingo. ^[4]

During the years 1930-1963, military dictator General Rafael Trujillo can be credited with furthering the sport of baseball in Dominican Republic. Trujillo encouraged many sugar refineries to create teams of cane cutting laborers to play baseball during the idle months of cultivation. Fostering high levels of competition, the organization structure continued to mature stimulating growth in the intensity and popularity of the game. ^[7] Another professional tournament was established in 1936, this time with four teams: Licey, Escogido, Santiago, and Estrellas Orientales, which won the 1936 tournament. ^[4]

In 1937, Licey and Escogido, the two teams in Santo Domingo (now renamed "Ciudad Trujillo"), were merged into the "Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo," a team sponsored by the dictator Trujillo himself. ^[4] teams of the Dominican Republic signed a large number of players from the Negro leagues of the United States, attracting them with large salaries by Dominicans with money and political power. Among these players were future Hall of Famers James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell, Josh Gibson, and Satchel Paige. ^[7] Gibson won the batting title (.453) and Paige earned the most wins, as Dragones defeated Aguilas Cibaeñas. ^[8] However, the lavish contracts exhausted team finances, leading to a decline of Dominican baseball until 1950. ^[7]

Many of the teams were nearly bankrupted after the 1937 season, and no professional tournament was attempted for the next 14 years. The best Dominican professionals left to play in Cuba, Puerto Rico, or in the American Negro leagues, while popular attention on the island turned to the amateur teams (which, in many cases, were effectively semi-pro teams). However, Dominican victories in the Amateur World Series and other international competitions spurred calls for a return to professional baseball. ^[9]

Current teams

Águilas

Estrellas

Gigantes

Leones

Tigres

Toros

class=notpageimage|

Dominican Professional Baseball League team locations

Cap insignia	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Founded
	Águilas Cibaeñas	Santiago	Estadio Cibao	18,077	1933
	Estrellas Orientales	San Pedro de Macorís	Estadio Tetelo Vargas	8,000	1910
	Gigantes del Cibao	San Francisco de Macorís	Estadio Julián Javier	12,000	1996
	Leones del Escogido	Santo Domingo	Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal	13,186	1921
	Tigres del Licey				1907
	Toros del Este	La Romana	Estadio Francisco Micheli	8,838	1983

Former teams

• Azucareros del Este, 1983–2008, a former name of the current Toros del Este
• Caimanes del Sur (San Cristóbal), during 1983–1989
• Delfines del Atlántico (Puerto Plata), this team was never officially in the league and did not play
• Pollos del Cibao / Pollos Nacionales / Pollos Béisbol Club (San Francisco de Macorís) during 1999–2002, previously Gigantes del Nordeste, currently Gigantes del Cibao

Championship history

Pre-LIDOM era (1922–37)

Season	Champion	Manager	Record	Runner-up
1922	Leones del Escogido	Luis Alfau	23–9	Tigres del Licey
1923	Season not completed
1924	Tigres del Licey	Charles Alexander Dore	17–15	Leones del Escogido
1929	Tigres del Licey	Charles Alexander Dore	11–7	Leones del Escogido
1936	Estrellas Orientales	Enrique Mejía	13–5	Aguilas Cibaeñas
1937	Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo	Burrulote Rodríguez	18–13	Aguilas Cibaeñas

Modern era (1951–present)

Season	Champion	Manager	Final Series	Runner-up
1951	Tigres del Licey	Félix Delgado	4–1	Leones del Escogido
1952	Águilas Cibaeñas	Rodolfo Fernández	4–3	Tigres del Licey
1953	Tigres del Licey	Oscar Rodríguez	4–1	Águilas Cibaeñas
1954	Estrellas Orientales	Ramón Bragaña	4–1	Tigres del Licey
1955–56	Leones del Escogido	Frank Genovese	4–3	Águilas Cibaeñas
1956–57	Leones del Escogido	Red Davis	5–2	Tigres del Licey
1957–58	Leones del Escogido	Salty Parker	5–1	Estrellas Orientales
1958–59	Tigres del Licey	Joe Schultz	5–4	Leones del Escogido
1959–60	Leones del Escogido	Pete Reiser	5–1	Estrellas Orientales
1960–61	Leones del Escogido	Pepe Lucas	5–2	Águilas Cibaeñas
1961–62 season not completed due to the fall of Rafael Trujillo
1962–63 season not held due to political instability
1963–64	Tigres del Licey	Vernon Benson	5–3	Águilas Cibaeñas
1964–65	Águilas Cibaeñas	Al Widmar	5–0	Leones del Escogido
1965–66 season not held due to US occupation of the Dominican Republic
1966–67	Águilas Cibaeñas	Pete Peterson	5–3	Leones del Escogido
1967–68	Estrellas Orientales	Tony Pacheco	5–3	Leones del Escogido
1968–69	Leones del Escogido	Andy Gilbert	5–2	Estrellas Orientales
1969–70	Tigres del Licey	Manny Mota	5–1	Águilas Cibaeñas
1970–71	Tigres del Licey	Manny Mota	6–1	Leones del Escogido
1971–72	Águilas Cibaeñas	Ozzie Virgil	5–3	Tigres del Licey
1972–73	Tigres del Licey	Tom Lasorda	5–2	Estrellas Orientales
1973–74	Tigres del Licey	Tom Lasorda	5–2	Águilas Cibaeñas
1974–75	Águilas Cibaeñas	Al Widmar	5–4	Estrellas Orientales
1975–76	Águilas Cibaeñas	Tim Murtaugh	5–3	Tigres del Licey
1976–77	Tigres del Licey	Buck Rodgers	5–2	Águilas Cibaeñas
1977–78	Águilas Cibaeñas	Johnny Lipon	5–2	Tigres del Licey
1978–79	Águilas Cibaeñas	Johnny Lipon	5–0	Leones del Escogido
1979–80	Tigres del Licey	Del Crandall	5–1	Estrellas Orientales
1980–81	Leones del Escogido	Felipe Rojas Alou	5–4	Águilas Cibaeñas
1981–82	Leones del Escogido	Felipe Rojas Alou	5–1	Estrellas Orientales
1982–83	Tigres del Licey	Manny Mota	5–2	Águilas Cibaeñas
1983–84	Tigres del Licey	Manny Mota	4–3	Águilas Cibaeñas
1984–85	Tigres del Licey	Terry Collins	4–1	Azucareros del Este
1985–86	Águilas Cibaeñas	Winston Llenas	4–1	Tigres del Licey
1986–87	Águilas Cibaeñas	Winston Llenas	4–1	Estrellas Orientales
1987–88	Leones del Escogido	Phil Regan	4–3	Estrellas Orientales
1988–89	Leones del Escogido	Phil Regan	4–0	Tigres del Licey
1989–90	Leones del Escogido	Felipe Rojas Alou	4–1	Águilas Cibaeñas
1990–91	Tigres del Licey	John Roseboro	4–1	Leones del Escogido
1991–92	Leones del Escogido	Felipe Rojas Alou	4–0	Estrellas Orientales
1992–93	Águilas Cibaeñas	Miguel Diloné	4–2	Azucareros del Este
1993–94	Tigres del Licey	Casey Parsons	4–1	Águilas Cibaeñas
1994–95	Azucareros del Este	Art Howe	4–2	Águilas Cibaeñas
1995–96	Águilas Cibaeñas	Terry Francona	4–1	Estrellas Orientales
1996–97	Águilas Cibaeñas	Mike Quade	4–0	Leones del Escogido
1997–98	Águilas Cibaeñas	Tony Peña	4–2	Tigres del Licey
1998–99	Tigres del Licey	Dave Jauss	5–4	Leones del Escogido
1999–00	Águilas Cibaeñas	Tony Peña	4–3	Estrellas Orientales
2000–01	Águilas Cibaeñas	Félix Fermín	4–2	Leones del Escogido
2001–02	Tigres del Licey	Bob Geren	4–3	Águilas Cibaeñas
2002–03	Águilas Cibaeñas	Félix Fermín	4–0	Leones del Escogido
2003–04	Tigres del Licey	Manny Acta	4–1	Gigantes del Cibao
2004–05	Águilas Cibaeñas	Félix Fermín	4–3	Tigres del Licey
2005–06	Tigres del Licey	Rafael Landestoy	5–2	Águilas Cibaeñas
2006–07	Águilas Cibaeñas	Félix Fermín	5–1	Tigres del Licey
2007–08	Águilas Cibaeñas	Félix Fermín	5–3	Tigres del Licey [a]
2008–09	Tigres del Licey	José Offerman	5–0	Gigantes del Cibao
2009–10	Leones del Escogido	Ken Oberkfell	5–4	Gigantes del Cibao
2010–11	Toros del Este	Dean Treanor	5–0	Estrellas Orientales
2011–12	Leones del Escogido	Ken Oberkfell	5–4	Águilas Cibaeñas
2012–13	Leones del Escogido	Audo Vicente	5–0	Águilas Cibaeñas
2013–14	Tigres del Licey	Jose Offerman	5–2	Leones del Escogido
2014–15	Gigantes del Cibao	Audo Vicente	5–3	Estrellas Orientales
2015–16	Leones del Escogido	Luis Rojas	5–1	Tigres del Licey
2016–17	Tigres del Licey	Audo Vicente	5–4	Águilas Cibaeñas
2017–18	Águilas Cibaeñas	Lino Rivera	4–3	Tigres del Licey
2018–19	Estrellas Orientales	Fernando Tatís	5–1	Toros del Este
2019–20	Toros del Este	Lino Rivera	5–3	Tigres del Licey
2020–21	Aguilas Cibaeñas	Félix Fermín	4–3	Gigantes del Cibao
2021–22	Gigantes del Cibao	Luis Urueta	4–1	Estrellas Orientales
2022–23	Tigres del Licey	Jose Offerman	4–1	Estrellas Orientales
2023–24	Tigres del Licey	Gilbert Gomez	4–3	Estrellas Orientales
2024–25	Leones del Escogido	Albert Pujols	4–3	Tigres del Licey
2025–26

Won Caribbean Series

Team	Championships
Tigres del Licey	24 (2)*
Águilas Cibaeñas	22
Leones del Escogido	17 (1)*
Estrellas Orientales	3 (1)*
Toros del Este	3
Gigantes del Cibao	2
Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo	0 (1)*
Caimanes del Sur	0

*Championships won before LIDOM (1951)

Statistical leaders

*	Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bold	Denotes an active player. [b]

Career leaders

Batting leaders [10] Stat Player Years Total Team(s) AVG Manuel Mota 1957–1980 .333 Escogido, Licey HR Juan Francisco 2007–2025 85 Licey, Toros, Gigantes, Águilas RBI Rafael Batista 1964–1985 395 Estrellas R Luis Polonia 1984–2010 517 Águilas H Luis Polonia 1984–2010 927 Águilas SB Miguel Diloné 1974–1994 395 Águilas OBP Stanley Javier 1981–2002 .416 Águilas SLG Alonzo Perry 1951–1959 .490 Licey, Estrellas

Pitching leaders [10] Stat Player Years Total Team(s) W Diomedes Olivo 1951–1964 86 Licey ERA Juan Marichal 1957–1974 1.87 Escogido WHIP Juan Marichal 1957–1974 1.04 Escogido GS Raúl Valdés 2003–2025 161 Licey, Toros, Estrellas, Gigantes, Escogido, Águilas SV Jairo Asencio 2010–2025 169 Licey G Ramón de los Santos 1971–1987 364 Licey, Estrellas, Escogido CG Diomedes Olivo 1951–1964 70 Licey IP Federico Olivo 1951–1972 1335.2 Licey, Estrellas K Diomedes Olivo 1951–1964 742 Licey Shutouts Diomedes Olivo 1951–1964 14 Licey

Single-season leaders

Batting leaders [10] Stat Player Season Total Team(s) AVG Ralph Garr 1970–71 .457 Estrellas HR Víctor Díaz 2008–09 17 Águilas RBI Alonzo Perry 1953 53 Licey, R Ralph Garr 1970–71 58 Estrellas H Ralph Garr 1970–71 105 Estrellas SB Miguel Diloné 1976–77 44 Águilas OBP Jeff DaVanon 2001–02 .514 Águilas SLG Andy Barkett 2000–01 .736 Águilas

Pitching leaders [10] Stat Player Season Total Team(s) W Terris McDuffie 1952 12 Águilas ERA Bartolo Colón 1996–97 0.21 Águilas Rafael Soriano 2003–04 Escogido WHIP Edwin Uceta 2021–22 0.63 Estrellas GS Danilo Rivas 1960–61 20 Escogido SV Marcos Mateo 2014–15 21 Estrellas G Víctor Cruz 1976–77 35 Licey Carlos Julio Pérez 1977–78 Licey Charlie Hough 1970–71 Escogido CG Terris McDuffie 1952 15 Águilas IP Fred Waters 1955–56 173.2 Águilas K Diomedes Olivo 1960–61 160 Licey Shutouts Norman Rehm 1957–58 14 Estrellas Fred Kipp 1957–58 Licey

Honors and awards

Most Valuable Player

Season	Player	Team
1977-78	Carlos Pérez	Tigres del Licey
1978-79	Bob Beall	Águilas Cibaeñas
1979-80	Jerry Dybzinski	Tigres del Licey
1980-81	Tony Peña	Águilas Cibaeñas
1981-82	Tony Peña	Águilas Cibaeñas
1982-83	Tony Peña	Águilas Cibaeñas
1983-84	Rufino Linares	Caimanes del Sur
1984-85	Ken Howell	Tigres del Licey
1985-86	Rufino Linares	Leones del Escogido
1986-87	Bob Brower	Toros del Este
1987-88	Mark Parent	Estrellas Orientales
1988-89	Domingo Michel	Tigres del Licey
1989-90	Dave Hansen	Tigres del Licey
1990-91	Andújar Cedeño	Toros del Este
1991-92	Luis Mercedes	Estrellas Orientales
1992-93	Tom Marsh	Águilas Cibaeñas
1993-94	Gerónimo Berroa	Leones del Escogido
1994-95	Domingo Martínez	Águilas Cibaeñas
1995-96	Sherman Obando	Águilas Cibaeñas
1996-97	Tony Batista	Águilas Cibaeñas
1997-98	José Oliva	Estrellas Orientales
1998-99	Adrián Beltré	Águilas Cibaeñas
1999-00	David Ortiz	Leones del Escogido
2000-01	Félix José	Estrellas Orientales
2001-02	Eric Byrnes	Tigres del Licey
2002-03	Félix José	Estrellas Orientales
2003-04	Julio Ramírez	Gigantes del Cibao
2004-05	Erick Almonte	Estrellas Orientales
2005-06	Willis Otáñez	Tigres del Licey
2006-07	Erick Almonte	Gigantes del Cibao
2007-08	Brayan Peña	Gigantes del Cibao
2008-09	Víctor Díaz	Águilas Cibaeñas
2009-10	Juan Francisco	Gigantes del Cibao
2010-11	Juan Francisco	Gigantes del Cibao
2011-12	Joaquín Arias	Águilas Cibaeñas
2012-13	Héctor Luna	Águilas Cibaeñas
2013-14	Gregory Polanco	Leones del Escogido
2014-15	Marcos Mateo	Estrellas Orientales
2015-16	Tyler White	Estrellas Orientales
2016-17	Rubén Sosa	Leones del Escogido
2017-18	Franchy Cordero	Leones del Escogido
2018-19	Jordany Valdespin	Toros del Este
2019-20	Peter O'Brien	Toros del Este
2020-21	Ronald Guzmán	Gigantes del Cibao
2021-22	César Valdez	Tigres del Licey
2022-23	Ronny Mauricio	Tigres del Licey
2023-24	Ronny Simon	Toros del Este
2024-25	Aderlin Rodríguez	Águilas Cibaeñas

List of broadcasters

Dominican Republic CDN Deportes (Águilas) Coral 39 (Estrellas, Toros) Digital 15 (Licey, Escogido) Telemedios Dominicanos Canal 8 (Gigantes) Teleuniverso Canal 29 (Águilas) CTT Canal 49 (Gigantes) Telenord Canal 14 (Gigantes) Luna TV Canal 25 (Águilas) Romana TV Canal 42 y 48 (Toros) Xtremo Channel (Estrellas) Claro TV+ Altice TV Wind Telecom CableNET Dominicana (Gigantes)

United States Televisión Dominicana (Gigantes, Toros, Estrellas) Telemicro Internacional (Licey)

Puerto Rico Televisión Dominicana (Gigantes, Toros, Estrellas)

Streaming MLB.tv YouTube (Licey, Águilas)

See also

• Baseball awards § Dominican Republic
• Dominican Summer League

Notes

1. Two Dominican teams participated in the 2008 Caribbean Series
2. A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season.

References

1. "Associated Members of the WBSC". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
2. HISTORIA DE LA SERIE DEL CARIBE Archived February 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . Accessed on 2011-01-12.
3. Van Hyning, Thomas E.; Valero, Eduardo (1995). Puerto Rico's Winter League: A History of Major League Baseball's Launching Pad. McFarland. p. 1.
4. "Early History of Baseball in the Dominican Republic". SABR.org. Society for American Baseball Research. 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
5. "1922: El primer campeonato o campeonato de la reina". Licey.com (in Spanish). Tigres del Liceey. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
6. "1923: Inconcluso". Licey.com (in Spanish). Tigres del Liceey. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
7. Klein, Alan (1989). Baseball as Underdevelopment: The Political-Economy of Sport in the Dominican Republic. Northwestern University.
8. "El Campeonato del 1937". Licey.com (in Spanish). Tigres del Liceey. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
9. Yoder, April (2023). Pitching Democracy: Baseball and Politics in the Dominican Republic. University of Texas. pp. 17–19.
10. "Records". Winterballdata.com. Retrieved 2 February 2025.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)