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Dominican Professional Baseball League


Dominican Professional Baseball League
Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana.jpg
No. of teams6
Country Dominican Republic
Most recent
Estrellas Orientales
Most titlesTigres del Licey (22 title)


The current champion of LIDOM are the Estrellas Orientales, who won the National Championship nine-game Series 5-1 versus theirs opponents Toros del Este.



Team City Stadium Capacity
Águilas Cibaeñas Santiago Estadio Cibao 18,077
Estrellas Orientales San Pedro de Macorís Estadio Tetelo Vargas 8,000
Gigantes del Cibao San Francisco de Macorís Estadio Julián Javier 12,000
Leones del Escogido Santo Domingo Estadio Quisqueya 14,469
Tigres del Licey Santo Domingo Estadio Quisqueya 14,469
Toros del Este La Romana Estadio Francisco Micheli 10,000

Former teamsEdit

  • Caimanes del Sur (San Cristóbal) 1983-1989





Founding teamsEdit


Cultural impactEdit

Brought to the country by fleeing cubans that were escaping the Ten Years' War that started on 1868 and ended on 1878, thus giving it the named ten years' war. The game of few, was slow to gain popularity, but when it started getting played by locals the game had a leap in popularity. And this same popularity led to the creation of LIDOM. The league that helped Latino players avoid the ethnocentrism and exclusion of the major leagues of the United States, and developed their own teams, sort of like African Americans with the Negro American League. They were their own Major League, young kids and adults lined up to see their people play, to see fellow Dominicans just like them take the mound and swing the bat. It gave a poor country a sense of pride, a sense of belonging. Even today many people depend feel tightly connected to the sport. In 2017, from the start of the season in mid October until its end in December, it feels like the 2000 World Series in New York City. its like if every person in the country is constantly thinking, talking, or watching something about the sport 24/7.

Community-level impactEdit


The Dominican Republic is a developing country, struggling with poverty. In a 2016 CIA estimate, it was shown that 30.5 percent of Dominicans live below the poverty line. In addition, the CIA estimated in 2016 that unemployment of the Dominican Republic was 5.5 percent.[6] With poverty costing many Dominicans a chance to get a higher education, many look up to the great success of those who make it to the MLB, KBO, and NPB. Causing many young Dominicans to see the sport of Baseball as a way to leave the poverty behind, and find a new meaning. Because of this, children begin playing organized baseball as early as six years old,[5] and compete with others in leagues with the hopes of being recognized by baseball scouts.


American hegemony inside Dominican baseballEdit

After Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba and the subsequent U.S. blockade, scouts of the majors turned their sights towards the Dominican Republic.[3] Posed with the opportunity to acquire quality talent at a reasonable price, major league teams established "working relationships" with Dominican professional teams.[7] Since the 1950s, all 30 MLB franchises have established baseball training academies in the Dominican Republic[6] that are tasked by their respective teams to condition and prepare young Dominican prospects for a chance at further developing in the United States. Having produced many successful athletes from these academies, these academies undercut the reliance of U.S. teams on Dominican baseball organizations. [7]

Championship historyEdit

Season Champion Manager Runner-up
1922 Leones del Escogido Luis Alfau Tigres del Licey
1923 Incomplete season
1924 Tigres del Licey Charles A. Dore Leones del Escogido
1929 Tigres del Licey Charles A. Dore Leones del Escogido
1936 Estrellas Orientales Enrique Mejía Tigres del Licey
1937 Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo Lázaro Salazar Aguilas Cibaeñas
Season Champion Manager Runner-up
1951 Tigres del Licey Félix Delgado Leones del Escogido
1952 Águilas Cibaeñas Rodolfo Fernández Tigres del Licey
1953 Tigres del Licey Oscar Rodríguez Águilas Cibaeñas
1954 Estrellas Orientales Ramón Bragaña Tigres del Licey
1955–56 Leones del Escogido Frank Genovese Águilas Cibaeñas
1956–57 Leones del Escogido Red Davis Tigres del Licey
1957–58 Leones del Escogido Salty Parker Estrellas Orientales
1958–59 Tigres del Licey Joe Schultz Leones del Escogido
1959–60 Leones del Escogido Pete Reiser Estrellas Orientales
1960–61 Leones del Escogido Pepe Lucas Águilas Cibaeñas
1961–62 Incomplete season
1962–63 No season
1963–64 Tigres del Licey Vernon Benson Águilas Cibaeñas
1964–65 Águilas Cibaeñas Al Widmar Leones del Escogido
1965–66 No season
1966–67 Águilas Cibaeñas Pete Peterson Leones del Escogido
1967–68 Estrellas Orientales Tony Pacheco Leones del Escogido
1968–69 Leones del Escogido Andy Gilbert Estrellas Orientales
1969–70 Tigres del Licey Billy Muffett Águilas Cibaeñas
1970–71 Tigres del Licey Fred Hatfield Leones del Escogido
1971–72 Águilas Cibaeñas Ozzie Virgil Tigres del Licey
1972–73 Tigres del Licey Tom Lasorda Estrellas Orientales
1973–74 Tigres del Licey Tom Lasorda Águilas Cibaeñas
1974–75 Águilas Cibaeñas Al Widmar Estrellas Orientales
1975–76 Águilas Cibaeñas Tim Murtaugh Tigres del Licey
1976–77 Tigres del Licey Buck Rodgers Águilas Cibaeñas
1977–78 Águilas Cibaeñas Johnny Lipon Tigres del Licey
1978–79 Águilas Cibaeñas Johnny Lipon Leones del Escogido
1979–80 Tigres del Licey Del Crandall Estrellas Orientales
1980–81 Leones del Escogido Felipe Rojas Alou Águilas Cibaeñas
1981–82 Leones del Escogido Felipe Rojas Alou Estrellas Orientales
1982–83 Tigres del Licey Manny Mota Águilas Cibaeñas
1983–84 Tigres del Licey Manny Mota Águilas Cibaeñas
1984–85 Tigres del Licey Terry Collins Azucareros del Este
1985–86 Águilas Cibaeñas Winston Llenas Tigres del Licey
1986–87 Águilas Cibaeñas Winston Llenas Estrellas Orientales
1987–88 Leones del Escogido Phil Regan Estrellas Orientales
1988–89 Leones del Escogido Phil Regan Tigres del Licey
1989–90 Leones del Escogido Felipe Rojas Alou Águilas Cibaeñas
1990–91 Tigres del Licey John Roseboro Leones del Escogido
1991–92 Leones del Escogido Felipe Rojas Alou Estrellas Orientales
1992–93 Águilas Cibaeñas Miguel Diloné Azucareros del Este
1993–94 Tigres del Licey Casey Parsons Águilas Cibaeñas
1994–95 Azucareros del Este Art Howe Águilas Cibaeñas
1995–96 Águilas Cibaeñas Terry Francona Estrellas Orientales
1996–97 Águilas Cibaeñas Mike Quade Leones del Escogido
1997–98 Águilas Cibaeñas Tony Peña Tigres del Licey
1998–99 Tigres del Licey Dave Jauss Leones del Escogido
1999–2000 Águilas Cibaeñas Tony Peña Estrellas Orientales
2000–01 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín Leones del Escogido
2001–02 Tigres del Licey Bob Geren Águilas Cibaeñas
2002–03 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín Leones del Escogido
2003–04 Tigres del Licey Manny Acta Gigantes del Cibao
2004–05 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín Tigres del Licey
2005–06 Tigres del Licey Rafael Landestoy Águilas Cibaeñas
2006–07 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín Tigres del Licey
2007–08 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín Tigres del Licey*
2008–09 Tigres del Licey José Offerman Gigantes del Cibao
2009–10 Leones del Escogido Ken Oberkfell Gigantes del Cibao
2010–11 Toros del Este Dean Treanor Estrellas Orientales
2011–12 Leones del Escogido Ken Oberkfell Águilas Cibaeñas
2012–13 Leones del Escogido Audo Vicente Águilas Cibaeñas
2013–14 Tigres del Licey Jose Offerman Leones del Escogido
2014–15 Gigantes del Cibao Audo Vicente Estrellas Orientales
2015–16 Leones del Escogido Luis Rojas Tigres del Licey
2016–17 Tigres del Licey Lino Rivera Águilas Cibaeñas
2017–18 Águilas Cibaeñas Lino Rivera Tigres del Licey
2018-19 Estrellas Orientales Fernando Tatis Toros del Este
       Won Caribbean Series

*Two Dominican teams participated in the Serie del Caribe in 2008

Team Championships
Tigres del Licey 22 (2)*
Águilas Cibaeñas 21
Leones del Escogido 16 (1)*
Estrellas Orientales 3 (1)*
Toros del Este 2
Gigantes del Cibao 1
Caimanes del Sur 0
Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo 0 (1)*

*Championships won before LIDOM (1951)

See alsoEdit


  1. ^ HISTORIA DE LA SERIE DEL CARIBE Archived February 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on 2011-01-12.
  3. ^ a b c d Klein, Alan. "Baseball as Underdevelopment: The Political-Economy of Sport in the Dominican Republic". Northwestern University, 1989
  5. ^ a b c Klein, Alan. "American Hegemony, Dominican Resistance, and Baseball". Dialectical Anthropology, 1988
  6. ^ a b Jessop, Alicia (March 19, 2013). "The Secrets Behind The Dominican Republic's Success In The World Baseball Classic And Major League Baseball". Forbes. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Klein, Alan. "Culture, Politics, and Baseball in the Dominican Republic". Latin American Perspectives, 1995

External linksEdit