The Caribbean Winter Leagues are headed to their last week of competition before four champions head over to Mexicali, Baja, California, for the Caribbean Series from 31 January to 7 February 2025. The previous week of contests means the finals are in full swing, and one league has already crowned its Champion and representative in the Caribbean Series.
The first team to stamp their ticket to the 2025 Caribbean Series is the Puerto Rico Winter League 2024-25 Champion, Indios de Mayaguez. Indios won the Finals against Senadores de San Juan in a Series that, although short in the number of games, six (format is best of 9, so a six-game series is considered a short series), provided much drama and competitive games throughout. Mayaguez claimed their 20th Puerto Rico League crown, good for second all-time in the league. They will now look to become 3 – time Caribbean Series Champion. MLB Veteran Isan Diaz claimed Finals MVP honors for Mayaguez with a performance that saw him hit two hits, score one, and drive another in the decisive game. Overall, in the Series, Diaz hit .429 (9/21), scoring four runs and totaling as many RBI in the six games. Mayaguez will now shift its focus to conveying their Caribbean Series squad. It is still unclear which players Manager and MLB veteran Wilfredo Cordero will have at his disposal to compile the Caribbean Series roster. Still, MLB current players and veterans like Diaz, Emmanuel Rivera, Danny Ortiz, Eddie Rosario, and Jorge Lopez were part of Indios’ Finals roster and could see action. Players with MLB experience, like Jack Lopez, Nelson Velazquez, and Henry Ramos, could also figure among the reinforcements Indios could call upon due to their participation in LBPRC. In Venezuela, the finals between Cardenales de Lara and Bravos de Margarita were remarkable because the visiting team won all the games in the series’ first five games. The Finals currently favor Cardenales 3-2, and the team from Lara is two games away from their return to the Caribbean Series. Bravos de Margarita, however, promises not to go down without a fight, as these two teams have traded wins throughout the Series. Cardenales has been led offensively by MLB veteran Ildemaro Vargas, who has already tied former MLB player and manager Clarence «Cito» Gaston with 15 hits in the Finals. Gaston established the record in 1977 as a Tiburones de la Guaira player. Vargas is also in the middle of a streak of 9 consecutive plate appearances reaching base, which is also a finals record. Another historic milestone of the Series is that Wilfredo Cordero became the first individual in the Puerto Rico Professional League to win the Rookie of the Year Award, a batting title, the MVP Award, and a championship as a manager.
In Mexico, the Mexico Series had a thrilling rubber game 3, in which Charros de Jalisco mounted an incredible comeback to take advantage of the momentum in the Series. Jalisco trailed game three by a score of 5-0 in the 8th inning. Two runs in the 8th inning and a clutch 3-run HR by Reynaldo Rodriguez in the 9th tied the affair at five a side. Charros would win their second consecutive game of the Finals and claim momentum in the Series that they now lead after winning games 2 and 3.
The Dominican Republic’s LIDOM finals between the defending champions Tigres del Licey and their rivals, Leones del Escogido, are tied up at two wins per team. The Series has been a back-and-forth affair as it sat tied at a game a side; MLB veteran Johnny Cueto was masterful in the mound on game 3 to give Leones an advantage in the Series by tossing six scoreless innings. Francisco Mejia, another MLB veteran, took the Tigres offense into his own hands in game 4 with a 3-for-five offensive performance that led Tigres’ 9-run attack in game 4 to even the Series.
The remaining three teams participating in the Caribbean Series will be decided in the next few days. Any remaining teams that join the two already qualified teams, Indios de Mayaguez and the Japan Breeze, will make for a great field of competition. The Japan Breeze is a team played by former player Alexis Ramirez, comprised of players from Japan’s independent and corporate leagues. They will be making their Caribbean Series debut in Mexicali in 2025.
