The Nicaragua Winter League announced that Cuban Lorenzo Quintana and Dominican Luis Ramirez are the league’s players of the week for the past week of the tournament. Quintana and Ramirez have vast experience playing professionally across many leagues and countries.
Quintana was declared the hitter of the week for the league after a week that saw him hit 6 for 13, with 4 of those hits being for extra bases, 2 HR, and two doubles. Quintana had 14 total bases for the week, resulting in a robust 1.077 slugging percentage for the infielder. Quintana’s performance this past week allowed his team, Tigres de Chinandega, to secure two wins in three games. Quintana’s career began in his native Cuba, playing for Pinar del Rio in the Cuban National Series at 19. He played in the Cuban National Series for seven seasons, amassing a slash line of .310/.377/.438 for an OPS of .816 in 424 games. Quintana has also played in the Winter League in Puerto Rico for Cangrejeros de Santurce, Mexico with Los Mochis, and the Dominican Republic with Tigres del Licey. In MiLB, Quintana played in parts of 4 minor league seasons with the Astros and Marlins organizations. Overall, Quintana played in 302 MiLB games, hitting .276/.333/.490 for a very competitive .823 OPS in 1,181 plate appearances. Throughout his Winter League career across all leagues, Quintana is credited with 494 hits and over 1,623 at-bats throughout all winter leagues, with 39 HR and 223 RBI in 474 Winter League games across all leagues.
Ramirez won pitcher of the week in the Nicaragua league after a week that saw him go six innings in his only outing this week, during which he only faced 20 batters. This performance allowed him and his team, Tren del Norte, to secure their first win. Just like Quintana, Ramirez is a very well-traveled player across all the Caribbean Winter Leagues, as he has experience playing in his native Dominican Republic with Tigres del Licey and his current team in Nicaragua. This is his second season in the Nicaragua Winter League. Ramirez has played for the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Independent league for the past two years, with an 18-14 record and a 4.63 ERA in 245 innings pitched. In MiLB, Ramirez played for six combined seasons for the Diamondbacks and Rockies organizations. Ramirez has MiLB numbers of 13-6, 2.86 ERA, and a 1.174 WHIP over 179 MiLB innings.
The tournament winner in Nicaragua will join the champions of the other Caribbean leagues in the Caribbean Series on February 1 in Miami as the representative from the Nicaragua Winter League will be making their Caribbean Series debut. Well-traveled veterans in Nicaraguan winter league teams will be imperative for whatever team makes the trek to Miami as a source of leadership for their teams to rely upon.
Photo by: lbpn.com.ni
