The
Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League
(Spanish:
Liga de Beisbol 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.
History
[
edit
]
Inaugurated on March 30, 1956 at the Estadio Nacional Anastasio Somoza (the modern
Estadio Nacional Soberania
), the first game was between San Fernando and
Indios del Boer
. 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 Boer and Leon 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, Boer has led the league in championships with six, their most recent victory coming in the 2022?23 season.
Current teams
[
edit
]
Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League team locations
Defunct teams
[
edit
]
Defunct stadiums
[
edit
]
- Estadio Roberto Clemente, Masaya
- Estadio Roque Tadeo Zavala, Granada
Champions
[
edit
]
Team
|
Titles
|
Indios del Boer
|
9
|
Leones de Leon
|
7
|
Tigres de Chinandega
|
4
|
Gigantes de Rivas
|
3
|
Cinco Estrellas
|
2
|
Oriental
|
1
|
Marlboro
|
1
|
International competition
[
edit
]
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
.
[1]
This tournament, won by
Leones de Leon
, was a success; Nicaraguan organizers hoped it would allow them to join the
Caribbean Series
, but such an invitation was not forthcoming.
[2]
The LPBN did participate in the
Interamerican Series
three times
[a]
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.
[3]
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.
[4]
[5]
Interamerican Series champions
[
edit
]
Latin American Series champions
[
edit
]
Season
|
Winner
|
2016
|
Gigantes de Rivas
|
2017
|
Tigres de Chinandega
|
2018
|
Tigres de Chinandega
|
2019
|
Leones de Leon
|
Individual leaders by year
[
edit
]
Hitting
[
edit
]
Pitching
[
edit
]
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 Perez
|
Leon
|
99
|
2005?06
|
Wilton Lopez
|
Leon
|
1.34
|
Julio Raudez
|
Chinandega
|
10?0
|
Devern Hansack
|
Leon
|
89
|
2006?07
|
Jose Luis Saenz
|
San Fernando
|
1.96
|
Wilton Lopez
|
Leon
|
8?2
|
Willy Lebron
|
San Fernando/
Leon
|
89
|
2007?08
|
Wilton Lopez
|
Leon
|
1.45
|
Diego Sandino
|
San Fernando
|
10?0
|
Juan Figueroa
|
Boer
|
60
|
2009?10
|
Wilfredo Amador
|
Leon
|
1.95
|
Wilder Rayo
|
Leon
|
7?2
|
Melvin Cuevas
|
Granada
|
57
|
2010?11
|
Carlos Estrella
|
Granada
|
1.19
|
Rodney Rodriguez
|
Granada
|
8?5
|
Rodney Rodriguez
|
Granada
|
93
|
2011?12
|
Eric Blackwell
|
Leon
|
2.75
|
Wilder Rayo
|
Leon
|
8?3
|
Juan Figueroa
|
Granada
|
74
|
2012?13
|
Wilder Rayo
|
Leon
|
2.06
|
Juan Figueroa
|
Granada
|
7?1
|
Juan Figueroa
|
Granada
|
79
|
2013?14
|
Carlos Estrella
|
Rivas
|
1.62
|
Carlos Teller
|
Boer
|
7?0
|
Santos Hernandez
|
Granada
|
71
|
2014?15
|
Rodney Rodriguez
|
Boer
|
2.29
|
Paul Estrada
|
Chinandega
|
8?1
|
Rodney Rodriguez
|
Boer
|
58
|
2015?16
|
Austin Davis
|
Boer
|
1.12
|
Roger Luque
|
Granada
|
5?2
|
Paul Estrada
|
Rivas
|
52
|
Abraham Elvira
|
Chinandega
|
52
|
2016?17
|
Gustavo Martinez
|
Granada
|
1.95
|
Jose Rosario
|
Rivas
|
7?1
|
Frankie de la Cruz
|
Granada
|
58
|
2017?18
|
Jorge Bucardo
|
Boer
|
1.56
|
Manauris Baez
|
Boer
|
5?0
|
Paul Estrada
|
Boer
|
49
|
2018?19
|
Luis Angel Mateo
|
Leon
|
3.29
|
Jorge Bucardo
|
Leon
|
3?0
|
Luis Angel Mateo
|
Leon
|
35
|
2019?20
|
Isaac Silva
|
Leon
|
2.59
|
Carlos Sano
|
Chinandega
|
4?0
|
Carlos Sano
|
Chinandega
|
37
|
2020?21
|
Leonardo Crawford
|
Rivas
|
2.65
|
Willy Paredes
|
Leon
|
6-1
|
Alexander Santana
|
Chinandega
|
47
|
2021?22
|
Bryan Torres
|
Rivas
|
0.81
|
Ronald Medrano
|
Rivas
|
5-0
|
Pedro Fernandez
|
Chinandega
|
71
|
2022?23
|
Edgard Martinez
|
Tren
|
2.22
|
Yeudy Garcia
|
Boer
|
5-0
|
Ronald Medrano
|
Rivas
|
57
|
2023?24
|
Yeris Gonzalez
|
Chinandega
|
1.69
|
Luis Ramirez
|
Tren
|
6-2
|
Joanner Negrin Perez
|
Leon
|
42
|
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
The champion of the merged 1961?62 Nicaragua-Panama league was invited to the 1962 tournament in Puerto Rico; the league was technically represented by Marlboro, a
Panama-based
team.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
National teams
| |
---|
Competitions
| |
---|
Hosted events
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
Americas
| |
---|
Asia
| |
---|
Europe
| |
---|
Oceania
| |
---|
|
---|
Americas
| Major
| |
---|
Minor
| |
---|
Independent
| MLB Partner Leagues
| |
---|
Non-partnered leagues
| |
---|
|
---|
Off-season
| MLB-affiliated
| |
---|
Independent
| |
---|
|
---|
Defunct
| MLB-recognized
| |
---|
Other major
| |
---|
Minor
| |
---|
|
---|
|
Asia
| China
| |
---|
Israel
| |
---|
Japan
| Major
| |
---|
Minor
| |
---|
Off-season
| |
---|
Independent
| |
---|
Women's
| |
---|
|
---|
South Korea
| |
---|
Taiwan
| Major
| |
---|
Minor
| |
---|
Defunct major
| |
---|
|
---|
|
Europe
| Italy and San Marino
| |
---|
Netherlands
| |
---|
|
|
|