Toros Visit President Leonel Fernandez

As is tradition in the United States, the President of the Dominican Republic usually hosts the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) champion.  This was the case this year, as President Leonel Fernandez hosted the Toros de la Romana on Tuesday.

First, President Fernandez congratulated the Toros through the media on Monday.  Then, on Tuesday he welcomed the Toros the Hall of Ambassadors at the Dominican capital in Santo Domingo.  Fernandez was joined by Sports Minister Felipe Payano and MLB Executive in the Dominican Republic Leonardo Matos Berrido.

President Fernandez receives the jersey of the Toros de la Romana

President Fernandez congratulated the Toros and wished them luck in the Caribbean Series.  He received the jersey of the Toros, and also made sure to tell them that the hopes of all Dominicans are on their shoulders and he expects them to win the Caribbean Series.

Kevin Barker: Two Dominican Championships in Two Years

Kevin Barker has been a very successful player in the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) the last two seasons.  He is an anomaly that American fans would not expect to see in winter league action.

Kevin Barker (center-left) celebrates a second LIDOM championship

Barker is a 35 year old first basemen that has seen the major leagues in parts of five seasons, most recently with the Reds in 2009.  Add to that, he has played 12 years at the AAA level.  Yet he still chooses to go and play in Dominican Winter League action.  In fact, Barker says (according to lidom.com), "I played in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, United States, but the passion as you enjoy baseball in the Dominican Republic is unparalleled."

That quote shows a little as to why veterans would choose to play in the LIDOM.  Barker began his professional career in 1996 after being drafted out of Viginia Tech.  He made the big leagues for the first time in 1999 and has basically played at the AAA level ever since, other than short stints with major league clubs.  Last year, he played in the AAA Mexican League, which is an official MLB league, but the teams are not farm teams of big league clubs.

Barker just signed a minor league deal with the Nationals a few weeks ago, so hopefully we will see him in the big leagues again soon.  In the mean time, he has the Caribbean Series next week to worry about.

La Romana Celebrates LIDOM Championship

The Toros de la Romana won their first domestic crown since 1994-95.  There were some big celebrations the night of the game, as the Toros won in their home stadium.

The city of la Romana has been celebrating for two days (see article).  The party will continue as there is a victory parade scheduled for Wednesday the 26th.  The Toros will begin practice later this week, in preparation for the Caribbean Series on February 2nd.

Toros fans Celebrate

Toros de la Romana Sweep Estrellas, Win LIDOM Championship

The Toros de la Romana defeated the Estrellas from San Pedro de Macoris to win the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) championship for the 2010-11 season.  This is the Toros first championship since 1994-95.

The Toros won the 5th game of the 9 game series with an explosion of four runs in the seventh inning.  Martin Maldanado (Brewers), Esteban German (Rangers), Ricardo Nanita, and Eduardo Nunez (Yankees) each had RBI for the Toros in this frame.  The victory went to reliever Jairo Asencio (Braves) and Julio Manon got the save.

For the Estrellas, Eugelio de la Cruz got the loss, even though he gave up no earned runs in six innings.  Andres Rodriguez and Argenis Reyes had RBI in a losing cause for the Estrellas.

The Toros won the title on their home field, and the atmosphere was second to none.  The crowd was standing for most of the contest and it was extremely loud throughout.  The great home fans even rushed the field at the end of the contest, something the Dominican Baseball Guy has never seen at a baseball game.  See the official video from ligadom.com or some youtube clips like this one:


The Toros go on to the Caribbean Series to face the champions of the winter leagues in Mexico, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.  It takes place from February 2-7 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Congratulations La Romana and Toros

Toros de la Romana Win 11-2 Over Estrellas, Take 4-0 Lead in LIDOM Finals

Marlins prospect Adalberto Mendez pitched 5.2 innings, allowing one run, and the Toros de la Romana had 14 hits in scoring 11 runs.  The Toros scored three runs in the first and never trailed.  Eduardo Nunez (Yankees) had a double and three RBI and Jose Constanza (Braves) had three hits for the Toros.  American Brock Peterson (Twins) also had a three run homer for the Toros.

Adalberto Mendez pitches for the Marlins

Former big leaguer Dan Reichert had an ineffective outing for the Estrellas of San Pedro de Macoris, getting pulled in the first inning after giving up three runs.  The lone highlight for the Estrellas came on Buck Coat's solo homerun in the 6th inning.

The Toros lead the series 4-0 and are one game away from a sweep of the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) final series.  They have not won the domestic crown since 1994-95 when they were led by Art Howe.

Toros de La Romana win 2-1, Gain 3-0 Lead in LIDOM Final Series

Fernando Abad (Astros) pitched 6 innings of no-hit ball and the Toros pitched a combined 1 hitter to take a three games to none lead over the Estrellas in the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) finals.  The Toros won 2-1.

Fernando Abad pitches for the Toros

Julio Manon got the save, although he did give up one hit and one run in the ninth, after the Toros shutout the Estrellas through 8 innings.  The Toros first run came on a Ricardo Nanita single in the 3rd inning and American journeyman Kevin Barker added the second run on an RBI single in the 7th.

For the Estrellas, Cuban Alberto Castillo pitched 6 innings and allowed only one run, but that got him the loss.  Michael Martinez (Nationals) had the lone RBI for the Estrellas, when he doubled off Manon in the 9th inning.

Game 4 is Saturday at the Tetelo Vargas Stadium in San Pedro de Macoris.

Toros de La Romana Win Game 2 Over Estrellas, Lead Final Series 2-0

The Toros beat the Estrellas at the Estrellas' home Tetelo Vargas stadium in San Pedro de Macoris.  The final score was Toros 3 and Estrellas 1.  Ricardo Nanita had a 2 RBI single in the 8th inning to put the Toros up for good.  Carlos Perez got the win in relief and Julio Manon took the save for the Toros.

Ricardo Nanita had a 30 game hit streak in the Pioneer Rookie League, he is from Santo Domingo

The Toros scored the first run in the second inning on a Danny Richar sacrifice fly.  The Estrellas then equalized in the seventh on an Edwin Bellorin RBI.  The Estrellas had other chances in the fifth and seventh innings that were squandered by base running blunders.

Game three is Friday in La Romana.  The Toros are threatening to run away with the 9 game series, and a victory would be there first Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) championship since 1996.  The Estrellas have not won the domestic crown since 1968.

Toros de La Romana Take Lead in Sugar Series, Lead LIDOM Finals 1-0

Toros de La Romana took a 1-0 lead  in the first game of the 9 game final series, beating over the Estrellas de San Pedro de Macoris 5-3.  The Dominican press is calling this year's finals the Sugar Series (see the Dominican Baseball Guy's last post).  The game took place in la Romana at the Stadium Francisco Micheli.

Raul Valdes (Cardinals) continued a strong winter campaign and pitched a complete game for the Toros.  See an article about Valdes and his future with the Cardinals here.  Puerto Rican Martin Maldonado had a good game behind the plate catching for Valdes and also had an RBI at the plate.  Jose Constanza (Braves) also had two RBI for the Toros and Danny Richar (Marlins) was 3-4 with two runs.  Constanza hit .319 with the Braves AAA team and made the International League All-Star team, and Richar has been very successful with the Marlins AAA team, so the Dominican Baseball Guy expects to see both in the big leagues soon.

Valdes pitches a complete game

For the Estrellas, former big leaguer and minor league veteran Buck Coats scored a run on an Edward Rogers single, and Edwin Bellorin had two RBI.  Coats was later ejected in the third inning, in an interesting scene that saw Coats (a ten year veteran of the minor leagues) arguing with a fellow American umpire in a Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM) playoff game.  LIDOM has both American and Dominican umpires work most games, because it is thought the American umpires do not have ulterior motives in regards to favoring certain teams.

Coats exits as his manager continues the argument with the home plate umpire

The incident goes to show that these games are very important for everyone involved.  For many of these players these are the biggest games and the most intense atmosphere they have had the chance to play in, and this is true for veteran Americans like Coats and Kevin Barker of the Toros.

Game two is tomorrow night in San Pedro de Macoris.

Dominican Winter Baseball League Final Series Preview 2011

The Estrellas beat the Gigantes last night in the one game playoff to determine second place in the 18 game round robin playoff in the Dominican Winter Baseball League (LIDOM).  The final score was 3-0 and the game was never really close.  The Estrellas pitching dominated and Eulogio de la Cruz (former major leaguer who just signed with the Brewers) got the win.  Eugenio Velez (Dodgers) and  Argenis Reyes (Indians) led the offensive charge for the Estrellas.  See the game recap and some cool photos here.  There was a great atmosphere, with most of the crowd on their feet the whole game.

Estrellas and Fans Celebrate

The Estrellas go on to face the Toros in a 9 game final series.  The Toros had already advanced to the finals after dominating the round robin in finishing 1st.  This sets up what the Dominican press is calling a "Sugar Series."  See the preview from the only English daily in the country, Dominican Today.  Both clubs hail from the southeast coast of the country, the region that is the center of sugarcane production.

Sugarcane has long been the agricultural base of the country, and it is said that the sugarcane plantations are where baseball first became popular on the island.  Workers on the plantations supposedly played baseball after working the fields, and the game then diffused to the rest of the population.

So, this series has special significance for Dominican fans, particularly for those from San Pedro de Macoris and La Romana, the home of the Estrellas and Toros respectively.  Not to mention the town with the most baseball talent in the world (San Pedro de Macoris) is hosting a finals series.  The first game is tomorrow, Wednesday the 19th.

Dominican Winter Baseball League Round Robin Results 2011

The Round Robin portion of the Dominican Winter Baseball League ended yesterday, and there was a tie for second.  After the 4 team, 18 game round robin in which the top four teams in the LIDOM play each other 6 times, the Toros came out on top with a record of 12-6, so they are on to the finals.  The Toros and their fans are preparing to host the championship series.

The Gigantes and the Estrellas ended up tied for second, both with a record of 9-9.  It was a very exciting race, as both teams won on the final day of the round robin to set up a one game sudden death playoff, which takes place tonight in San Pedro de Macoris.  The Gigantes feature Alexi Casilla (who just signed a new deal with the Twins), Wilson Betemit (Royals), and Wilson Valdez (Phillies, who is on fire and hit .400 in the round robin).  The Estrellas feature pitcher Radhames Liz (former Oriole) and Nationals farmhand Alex Valdez.  These are of course among many other players with MLB experience and minor leaguers.

The winner of the Gigantes versus Estrellas will take on the Toros in a 9 game final series.  The winner of the LIDOM championship will go on to face the champion of the winter leagues in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela in the Caribbean Series.  The Caribbean Series takes place in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico this year, from February 2-7, 2011.

Dominican Winter Baseball League Playoffs 2010-11

The Dominican Winter Baseball League Playoffs (LIDOM) are underway.  They have a really cool playoff system.  The Dominican Baseball Guy put up a post about the LIDOM playoff system last year. Briefly, the top 4 of 6 teams make the playoffs and play a 15 game round robin, then the top two teams play a 9 game final series and the winner of that goes to the Caribbean Series.

This year Escogido, Toros, Estrellas, and Gigantes made the round robin.  The two traditional power houses of the league, Licey and Aguilas, missed the playoffs.  This is a major story as Licey and Aguilas are like the Red Sox and Yankees of the LIDOM.  It is a very rare year that both miss the playoffs.

The teams are 5 games into the round robin and all within 1 game of each other (see the standings).  This is a great time to see a game in the Dominican Republic.  The crowds are very big during these playoff series and the atmosphere is great.  Here is the schedule: if you will be in the country try and catch a game.

The economy in the country is not the best right now, so the crowds are not as big as they have been in years past, and the Aguilas and Licey games draw the biggest crowds, but here is an old picture from a Licey vs. Aguilas game, so you get the jest.  The games this year should have a great atmosphere too.

Dominican Winter League Playoffs

The Dominican Baseball Guy has not posted much in the last month because I have returned to the States and am not following the league as closely. But I am following the Dominican Winter League still, and they are currently playing the playoffs.

The league has a very interesting playoff system. The six teams in the league play a 50 game regular season. After this, the top 4 teams go on to a round robin playoff. The round robin is 18 games, so each team plays the other three teams 6 times. This year the Gigantes del Cibao, Licey and Escogido in Santo Domingo, and the Toros from La Romana made the round robin.

The top two teams from this round robin playoff then go on to play a 9 game final series. The Gigantes and Escogido are the two teams that made it through the round robin and are now playing in the finals. The Dominican Baseball Guy was following the Gigantes this season, so it is pretty cool that they are doing well. I have talked to some friends in San Francisco de Macoris and the city is abuzz over the Gigantes. It is a small city, so everyone is talking about the Gigantes. This would also be their first league championship.

The winner of this final, then goes on to play in the Carribean Series against the winners of the Mexican, Venezuelan, and Puerto Rican leagues.

The Dominican Baseball Guy would love to see the MLB adopt a system similar to this. It seems to make a lot more sense then playing 162 regular season games, then 7 game playoff series. But we all know the MLB would never change the system that drastically, and a 16 game round robin playoff is not as TV friendly as the 7 game series are.

The Gigantes have a stacked lineup and are leading the final series 2 games to 1. Go Gigantes!