Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League

The Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League (Spanish: Liga de Béisbol Profesional Nacional or LBPN), known as the Campeonato Claro for sponsorship purposes, is the professional baseball league of Nicaragua. The league consists of five teams with a 30-game regular season schedule that runs from November to December, followed by a four team playoff round robin; the two best teams advance to a best of seven championship series.

Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League

Sport	Baseball
Founded	1956
No. of teams	5
Country	Nicaragua
Most recent champion(s)	Gigantes de Rivas (5th title)
Most titles	Indios del Bóer (9 titles)
Official website	http://lbpn.com.ni/

Bóer

Chinandega

Rivas

León

Tren

Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League team locations

History

See also: Baseball in Nicaragua

Before the formation of the professional league, Nicaraguan baseball had long been played at the amateur level. However, the first club to sign a player to a professional baseball was San Fernando, signing several Cuban players for the 1955. The following year, the entire league embraced professionalism.^[1] The Nicaraguan professional league was formed in 1956, with five teams: Indios del Bóer, Cinco Estrellas, San Fernando, León, and Flor de Caña.^[2] Inaugurated on March 30, 1956 at the Estadio Nacional Anastasio Somoza (the site of the modern Estadio Nacional Soberanía), the first game was between San Fernando and Bóer. The first season was suspended in September 1956 due to the assassination of Anastasio Somoza García, but the tournament resumed in March 1957.^[3][4][5][6]

The league initially operated on a summer schedule, but was converted to a winter league when it agreed to join organized baseball in 1957. This agreement was facilitated by President Luis Somoza Debayle as part of a resolution between the Nicaraguan league and organized baseball, which accused the league of "raiding" players from Mexican League clubs.^[7][8]

The Nicaraguan public's excitement for baseball grew as foreign professional teams and foreign players came to play in their country's winter league circuit. The teams from Bóer and León were the most successful teams in those years with three championships each. Due to economic difficulties, the league had to shut down in 1967, though baseball continued to be played in an amateur format.

Professional baseball was re-established in Nicaragua in 2004. Since then, Bóer has led the league in championships with six, their most recent victory coming in the 2022–23 season.

Current teams

Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Founded
Indios del Bóer	Managua	Estadio Nacional Soberanía	20,000	1905
Tigres de Chinandega	Chinandega	Estadio Efraín Tijerino	8,000	1956
Gigantes de Rivas	Rivas	Estadio Yamil Ríos Ugarte	6,000	2013
Leones de León	León	Estadio Héroes y Mártires	8,000	1939
Tren del Norte	Estelí	Estadio Rufo Marín	1,200	1961

Defunct teams

• Cinco Estrellas
• Orientales de Granada
• Fieras del San Fernando

Defunct stadiums

• Estadio Roberto Clemente, Masaya
• Estadio Roque Tadeo Zavala, Granada

Champions

Key

†	Champions also won the Latin American Series that season
†	Champions also won the Interamerican Series that season

Season	Champion	Final Series	Runners Up	Manager
1956	Season suspended due to the assassination of Anastasio Somoza García
1957	Leones de León
1957–58	Leones de León (2)	4–2	Cinco Estrellas	Wilfredo Calviño
1958–59	Oriental	4–3	Indios del Bóer	Roberto Fernandez Tapanes
1959–60	Leones de León (3)	4–1	Cinco Estrellas	Julio Moreno
1960–61	Season canceled due to extreme weather[9]
1961–62	Cigarilleros del Marlboro[lower-alpha 1]	4–2	Indios del Bóer	Stanford Graham
1962–63	Indios del Bóer	2–1	Leones de León	Tony Castaño
1963–64	Cinco Estrellas †	4–2	Oriental	Wilfredo Calviño
1964–65	Indios del Bóer (2)	4–2	Round robin[lower-alpha 2]	Calvin Byron
1965–66	Indios del Bóer (3)	4–1	Leones de León	Calvin Byron
1966–67	Cinco Estrellas (2)	4–3	Indios del Bóer	Julio Moreno
No professional baseball from 1967 to 2004
2004–05	Leones de León (4)	4–3	Tigres de Chinandega	Noel Areas
2005–06	Tigres de Chinandega	4–2	Fieras de San Fernando	Jorge Fuentes
2006–07	Indios del Bóer (4)	4–0	Leones de León	Noel Areas
2007–08	Indios del Bóer (5)	4–2	Fieras de San Fernando	Lourdes Gourriel
2008–09	Season suspended
2009–10	Leones de León (5)	4–1	Oriental de Granada	Roger Guillén
2010–11	Indios del Bóer (6)	4–1	Tigres de Chinandega	Noel Areas
2011–12	Indios del Bóer (7)	4–2	Tigres de Chinandega	Julio César Sanchez
2012–13	Tigres de Chinandega (2)	4–2	Oriental de Granada	Germán Mesa
2013–14	Gigantes de Rivas	4–1	Indios del Bóer	Manny Collado
2014–15	Indios del Bóer (8)	4–2	Gigantes de Rivas	Javier Colina
2015–16	Gigantes de Rivas (2) †	4–3	Oriental de Granada	Germán Mesa
2016–17	Tigres de Chinandega (3) †	4–1	Gigantes de Rivas	Len Picota
2017–18	Tigres de Chinandega (4) †	4–1	Gigantes de Rivas	Len Picota
2018–19	Leones de León (6) †	4–1	Tigres de Chinandega	Sandor Guido
2019–20	Leones de León (7)	4–1	Tigres de Chinandega	Sandor Guido
2020–21	Gigantes de Rivas (2)	4–2	Tigres de Chinandega	Joel Fuentes
2021–22	Leones de León (8)	4–3	Gigantes de Rivas	Sandor Guido
2022–23	Indios del Bóer (9)	4–2	Gigantes de Rivas	Joel Fuentes
2023–24	Gigantes de Rivas (3)	4–2	Tren del Norte	Germán Mesa

Championships by team

Rank	Team	Wins	Years
1	Indios del Bóer	9	1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2022–23
2	Leones de León	8	1957, 1957–58, 1959–60, 2004–05, 2009–10, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22
3	Tigres de Chinandega	4	2005–06, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18
4	Gigantes de Rivas	3	2013–14, 2020–21, 2023–24
5	Cinco Estrellas	2	1963–64, 1966–67
6	Oriental	1	1958–59
	Cigarilleros del Marlboro[lower-alpha 1]		1961–62

International competition

From its inception, the Nicaraguan professional league sought to participate in international club competition. It hosted a tournament billed as the Serie Panamericana, or Pan-American Series, in 1958, inviting the champions of the Colombian and Mexican Pacific Leagues.^[11] This tournament, won by Leones de León, was a success; Nicaraguan organizers hoped it would allow them to join the Caribbean Series, but such an invitation was not forthcoming.^[12]

The LPBN did participate in the Interamerican Series three times^{[lower-alpha 1]} in the 1960s, while the Caribbean Series was suspended. It hosted the 1964 edition, which was won by Cinco Estrellas.

Nicaragua was an inaugural member of the Latin American Series, winning the tournament four times in the 2010s.

The LPBN would not participate in the Caribbean Series until 2024, when it was invited to participate in the tournament in Miami.^[13] Their entry was controversial, because it was alleged that the regime of Daniel Ortega offered $1 million to the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation to secure the participation in the tournament.^[14][15]

Interamerican Series champions

Season	Winner
1964	Cinco Estrellas

Latin American Series champions

Season	Winner
2016	Gigantes de Rivas
2017	Tigres de Chinandega
2018	Tigres de Chinandega
2019	Leones de León

Individual leaders by year

Hitting

Season		Player	Team			Player	Team			Player	Team
		Batting average				Home Runs				RBI
2004–05		Adolfo Matamoros	Chinandega	.378		Luis Iglesias	Chinandega	4		Marlon Abea	San Fernando	33
						Marlon Abea	San Fernando	4
2005–06		Bárbaro Cañizares	Bóer	.352		Michel Abreu	Bóer	14		Wilson Batista	Chinandega	42
2006–07		Justo Rivas	León	.377		Clyde Williams	Bóer	16		Clyde Williams	Bóer	40
2007–08		Ofilio Castro	San Fernando	.351		Luke Gorsett	Chinandega	6		Danilo Sotelo	San Fernando	32
						Jimmy Hurts	San Fernando	6
						Marcos Sánchez	San Fernando	6
2009–10		Jimmy González	Granada	.363		Lenín Aragón	Bóer	6		Lenín Aragón	Bóer	38
										Edgard López	León	38
2010–11		José Campusano	Bóer	.363		Brian Nichols	León	10		Manuel Mejía	Bóer	37
2011–12		Renato Morales	Granada	.387		Esteban Ramírez	Chinandega	12		Wuillians Vasquez	Bóer	51
2012–13		Yurendell DeCaster	Chinandega	.416		Yurendell DeCaster	Chinandega	13		Yurendell DeCaster	Chinandega	56
						Ramón Flores	Chinandega	13
2013–14		Wuillians Vasquez	Chinandega	.351		Ronald Garth	Granada	8		Esteban Ramírez	Chinandega	35
2014–15		Yurendell DeCaster	Rivas	.368		Rudy Van Heydoorm	Rivas	6		Ramón Flores	Rivas	38
2015–16		Jonel Pacheco	Chinandega	.427		Juan C. Torres	Granada	6		Ronald Garth	Chinandega	30
2016–17		Wuillians Vasquez	Rivas	.407		Wuillians Vasquez	Rivas	11		Wuillians Vasquez	Rivas	55
2017–18		Javier Robles	Bóer	.354		Curt Smith	Chinandega	6		Elmer Reyes	Rivas	34
2018–19		Elmer Reyes	Bóer	.360		Juan Silverio	Bóer	6		Juan Silverio	Bóer	19
2019–20		Ofilio Castro	León	.409		Alvaro Gonzalez	Chinandega	10		Elian Miranda	Chinandega	31
										Alvaro Gonzalez	Chinandega	31
2020–21		Ronald Garth	León	.400		Cheslor Cuthbert	Rivas	9		Héctor Gómez	Tren	41
						Willy García	Tren	9
2021–22		Alay Largo	Tren	.424		Willy García	Tren	11		Alay Largo	Tren	45
2022–23		Manuel Geraldo	Bóer	.355		Manuel Geraldo	Bóer	7		Manuel Geraldo	Bóer	31
2023–24		Omar Mendoza	Chinandega	.358		Jesus Lopez	Chinandega	8		Omar Mendoza	Chinandega	29

Pitching

Season		Player	Team			Player	Team			Player	Team
		ERA				Win–loss record				Strikeouts
2004–05		Julio Raudez	San Fernando	1.46		Julio Raudez	San Fernando	10–3		Miguel Pérez	León	99
2005–06		Wilton López	León	1.34		Julio Raudez	Chinandega	10–0		Devern Hansack	León	89
2006–07		José Luis Sáenz	San Fernando	1.96		Wilton López	León	8–2		Willy Lebrón	San Fernando/León	89
2007–08		Wilton López	León	1.45		Diego Sandino	San Fernando	10–0		Juan Figueroa	Bóer	60
2009–10		Wilfredo Amador	León	1.95		Wilder Rayo	León	7–2		Melvin Cuevas	Granada	57
2010–11		Carlos Estrella	Granada	1.19		Rodney Rodríguez	Granada	8–5		Rodney Rodríguez	Granada	93
2011–12		Eric Blackwell	León	2.75		Wilder Rayo	León	8–3		Juan Figueroa	Granada	74
2012–13		Wilder Rayo	León	2.06		Juan Figueroa	Granada	7–1		Juan Figueroa	Granada	79
2013–14		Carlos Estrella	Rivas	1.62		Carlos Téller	Bóer	7–0		Santos Hernandez	Granada	71
2014–15		Rodney Rodríguez	Bóer	2.29		Paul Estrada	Chinandega	8–1		Rodney Rodríguez	Bóer	58
2015–16		Austin Davis	Bóer	1.12		Roger Luque	Granada	5–2		Paul Estrada	Rivas	52
										Abraham Elvira	Chinandega	52
2016–17		Gustavo Martínez	Granada	1.95		José Rosario	Rivas	7–1		Frankie de la Cruz	Granada	58
2017–18		Jorge Bucardo	Bóer	1.56		Manauris Baez	Bóer	5–0		Paul Estrada	Bóer	49
2018–19		Luis Angel Mateo	León	3.29		Jorge Bucardo	León	3–0		Luis Angel Mateo	León	35
2019–20		Isaac Silva	León	2.59		Carlos Sano	Chinandega	4–0		Carlos Sano	Chinandega	37
2020–21		Leónardo Crawford	Rivas	2.65		Willy Paredes	León	6-1		Alexander Santana	Chinandega	47
2021–22		Bryan Torres	Rivas	0.81		Ronald Medrano	Rivas	5-0		Pedro Fernández	Chinandega	71
2022–23		Edgard Martinez	Tren	2.22		Yeudy García	Bóer	5-0		Ronald Medrano	Rivas	57
2023–24		Yeris Gonzalez	Chinandega	1.69		Luis Ramirez	Tren	6-2		Joanner Negrin Perez	León	42

See also

• Baseball awards#Nicaragua

Notes

1. The Nicaraguan league merged with the Panamanian Professional Baseball League for the 1961–62 season. That year, the champion was Marlboro, a Panama-based team.
2. The 1964–65 playoffs were held in a round-robin format, as all four clubs finished the regular season with an identical record. Leon and Cinco Estrellas both tied for second, going 3–3 in the round-robin playoffs^[10]

References

1. "Nicaraguan fans riding clouds over feats of American players". The Sporting News. 15 January 1958.
2. "EL SABADO SE INICIA EN NICARAGUA EL CAMPEONATO PROFESIONAL DE BEISBOL" (in Spanish). La Prensa Libre. 1 March 1956. p. 5. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
3. "DECLARADO DESIERTO CAMPEONATO DE BEISBOL PROFESIONAL EN NICARAGUA" (in Spanish). Diario de Costa Rica. 30 September 1956. p. 15. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
4. "EL DOS DE MARZO SE INAUGURA EL CAMPEONATO PROFESIONAL DE BEISBOL NICARAGÜENSE" (in Spanish). La República. 27 February 1957. p. 19. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
5. "El Beisbol Profesional de Nicaragua". 1800beisbol.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 October 2024.
6. Layton Revel; Luis Munoz. "Forgotten Heroes: Silvio Garcia" (PDF). Center for Negro League Baseball Research: 22.
7. "Peace Pact Putting Nicaragua in O.B." The Sporting News. 12 June 1957.
8. "Relación de los Rasgos de personalidad y el bajo rendimiento en jugadores de béisbol de la Liga Juvenil en el Reparto Antenor Sandino de León, febrero-julio" (PDF) (in Spanish). p. 10. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
9. "Floods, Weak Economy Chill Nicaraguan League Hopes". The Sporting News. 16 November 1960. p. 32.
10. "Grant Jackson's No Hitter Helps Boer Grab Title". The Sporting News. 13 February 1965. p. 25.
11. "Colombia, Mexico sending champs to Managua series". The Sporting News. February 12, 1958. p. 25. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
12. "Pan-American title captured by Nicaragua". The Sporting News. February 26, 1958. p. 26. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
13. Enrique Rojas (July 24, 2023). "¿Por qué Colombia se quedó fuera de Serie Caribe 2024?". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish).
14. "Colombia no va a la Serie del Caribe por diferencias en pago" (in Spanish). Diario Libre. 25 April 2023.
15. "El régimen garantiza un millón de dólares para que Nicaragua participe en Serie del Caribe 2024". Despacho 505. 24 April 2023.

External links

• Liga de Beisbol Profesional Nacional official website