It was a week of stability in the Caribbean Winter Leagues standings as teams began to sort themselves as contenders to their respective league championships. This stable environment was a change of pace for the leagues, as they have shown a lot of volatility in their standings. As the calendar progressed to December, the standings in the leagues were more stable than they had been in the beginning weeks of the season.
In Mexico, the team for the second half of the season was the defending champions Naranjeros de Hermosillo. After a fourth-place finish in the first half of the season, once the calendar in Mexico turned to the second half of the season, the champions have been roaring to a record of 14-5, taking entirely over the lead in the overall standings with an overall record of 33-22. However, a new team has positioned itself in the overall playoff picture: Charros de Jalisco. Despite Charros finishing their first half of the season with a pedestrian record of 17-18, they have had a superb second half, positioning themselves in fourth place and a playoff spot. Jalisco has played for a 13-6 record in the second half, which has propelled them to a playoff spot. A team trending in the opposite direction, Tomateros de Culiacan, currently is in second place. However, Tomateros have not played to the level they did in the first half, falling to a second-half record of 7-12, although overall, they are well cemented in a playoff spot with an overall record of 32-22, trailing the defending champions Naranjeros by one game. The only team that has remained constant in the league has been Cañeros de Mochis, who has played consistently on both halves of the season and currently sits in third place after a similar first half. As they are colloquially known, Los Mochis has been supported on offense by MLB veteran Yasmany Tomás, who leads the league with 11 Home Runs.
Stability has also been the case in the Venezuelan league, as for the first time since the league started, the standings have shown the same leader for consecutive weeks as Cardenales de Lara, who has played for an overall record of 29-21 have established themselves as the leader of the league, two games above Aguilas de Zulia. Pitching output from Jimmy Endersby and Max Castillo, who are in second and third place in the league in ERA with marks of 2.86 and 3.50, respectively, has been the key for Cardenales’ surge as the league leader. Castillo is also second in the league in strikeouts. Although the league has been more stable at the top of the standings, the playoff picture is yet to be conclusively decided as there are two teams currently outside playoff contention who still have a chance, Tiburones de la Guaira and Tigres de Aragua, who are currently only 1.5 games from a playoff spot.
Although the league in the Dominican Republic has shown stability for a few weeks in the standings, it has been anything but a stable season for rookie manager and future MLB Hall of Famer Albert Pujols and Leones del Escogido. After Leones got off to one of the best starts in franchise history in the league’s opening weeks, the team played for a record of 1-9 in their last ten games, and they now hold the 4th position in the standings. Although they are in a playoff position, their level of play has dropped, allowing Estrellas Orientales to claim a solid first place in the league with a record of 26-17. “I think it is a bad streak, and as long as we keep playing our game to remain in the playoff picture, anything can happen,” asserted Pujols. Aguilas Cibaeñas have been a team that has found their stride, with a record of 8-2 in their last ten games. Manager Yadier Molina, though, is not resting on this, asserting that “anything can still happen, and there is still a lot of baseballs to be played.” The final stretch of LIDOM promises to be a wild one, with all teams in playoff positions playing one another constantly until the end of the season.
The return of Senadores de San Juan to the Puerto Rican League has been thriving since they hold first place in the standings of the Clemente League. The returning team is leading the standings by two games over Indios de Mayaguez, who have held a steady playoff position throughout the season. Senadores have depended on solid pitching to pad their lead, as stellar performances from Brady Tedesco, Miguel Martinez, and Julian Garcia have been enough to hold their opponents at bay. On the other hand, Mayaguez has depended on offensive output from veterans Danny Ortiz and Anthony Garcia, who figure among the league leaders in Home Runs.
Although the last month of the season has seen the standings in all leagues show more stability, the final push for the postseason in each league promises to be competitive. A competitive regular season can be a preamble to what could be very competitive playoffs in each league. The league champions will be meeting in the Caribbean Series in Mexicali from January 31 through February 6. It promises to be a festival of Caribbean baseball as the champions from the Caribbean will receive and compete with the champion from the Japanese Winter League, who will be playing as a guest to showcase their talent among the Caribbean Winter Leagues.
