This past week was full of surprises and great performances throughout the Caribbean Winter Leagues. In Mexico, the Liga Arco del Pacífico has concluded the first half of their season. Their schedule has reset, allowing teams to regroup and continue their charge into the postseason.
The first half of the Mexico league season was dominated by Tomateros de Culiacan, who had an impressive record of 25-10. This record was five games better than second place, Los Mochis, who played for 20 – 15. During the second half of the season, it has been a resurgence for a familiar team: Naranjeros de Hermosillo. The defending league champions have begun the second half of the season by setting the pace, winning 4 of the first six games and accumulating valuable points that could prove crucial for their classification. Naranjeros finished the first half of the season in third place with a record of 19-16, and they have remained in third place in the general standings.
An early leader began to show signs of weakness in the Dominican Republic as Leones del Escogido has seen their lead in the standings vanish. By losing to Gigantes del Cibao yesterday, Leones is now in second place to a surging Estrellas Orientales, who, by defeating Aguilas Cibaeñas, have now claimed first place in the Dominican league standings. Eguy Rosario was instrumental in giving Estrellas, who now plays for 20-13, their third consecutive win. Rosario connected an HR and 3 RBI yesterday, propelling Estrellas to the top of the standings for the first time this season. Estrellas’ manager, former big leaguer Fernando Tatis Sr, is not taking the accomplishment to the bank yet. “Nobody has won anything yet, and we know they will make their adjustments. We expect the last few weeks of the season to be very competitive”, affirmed Tatis, letting everyone know that despite their late charge, nothing has been decided yet. Nothing has been decided yet in Venezuela or Puerto Rico, as both leagues have had significant rearrangements in their standings in the last few weeks.
In Puerto Rico, led by MLB veteran Emmanuel Rivera, Indios de Mayaguez has led the charge with a record of 10-4. However, they have yet to have an opportunity to enjoy their lead, as an old foe and a surging team are chasing them. Senadores de San Juan, who have recently signed MLB veteran Yoan Moncada, are nested in second place in the standings. Senadores have been led by former American League MVP Jose Abreu, who leads the Puerto Rico circuit in HR, RBI, and total bases, making a bid for league MVP. Another team who has been making noise is Leones de Ponce. Led by offensive performances from Josh Altmann, Benny Montgomery, and Edwin Diaz, they won five consecutive games this past week and have positioned themselves in an excellent spot to contend for the playoffs. Ponce also has received solid pitching performances from veteran Fernando Cabrera and Japanese pitcher Koji Fukutani, both of whom figure among the league leaders in ERA, innings pitched, and wins.
On the other hand, In Venezuela, another week saw another shift in the schedule in what promises to be a tendency in the competitive league. This week, Bravos de Margarita has seen their league lead vanish from last week, and as a new leader, Aguilas de Zulia, the winners of three straight games, have emerged. As has been the case with the league, the top five teams in the standings are still separated by 2.5 games. Zulia’s second baseman, Ali Castillo, has been an offensive catalyst for the team, figuring among the league leaders in batting average, slugging, and on-base percentage. The Winter leagues now head to December, the last month of regular season competition for all of them, as they will move on to the playoffs in January. The movement in the standings is an indicator of the competitiveness of these leagues. It will be interesting to see how teams adjust their rosters for the respective team’s final push to the Caribbean Series in Mexicali, where the champions of all the leagues will square off in the historical series.
