| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Ceased | 2019 |
| Countries |  Argentina Colombia Curaçao Mexico Nicaragua Panama |
| Last champions | Leones de León (1st title) |
| Most titles | Tigres de Chinandega (2 titles) |
| Related competitions | Intercontinental Series |
TheLatin American Series (Spanish: Serie Latinoamericana) was an annual baseball competition contested by the champions of theprofessional baseballwinter leagues in Latin America and the Caribbean. The tournament was organized by the Latin American Professional Baseball Association (ALBP) as an alternative to theCaribbean Series.
The first winner of the series was Mexico'sBrujos de Los Tuxtlas, who beat theTigres de Chinandega of Nicaragua in 2013. The last winner was Nicaragua'sLeones de León, which defeated Mexico'sTobis de Acayucan in 2019. Tigres de Chinandega were the most successful team, with two titles in three appearances.
On February 10, 2012, the then president of theColombian Professional Baseball League, together with executives ofLiga Invernal Veracruzana, organized the Mexico-Colombia International Baseball Series between the champions of both competitions, where the Colombian champions,Toros de Sincelejo and Veracruz champions,Brujos de Los Tuxtlas, met in a 3-game series atEstadio Once de Noviembre inCartagena, Colombia, with the Colombian outfit winning two games to one.[1]
In the case of Mexico, the representative is the champion of Liga Invernal Veracruzana.[2] Often, teams who qualify for this competition receive loan players from other teams in their respective leagues in order to improve their country's chance of winning.[3]
With the creation of theLatin American Professional Baseball Association in late-2012, the idea of creating a series that would integrate Latin American professional baseball teams materialised. As a result, the first Latin American Series was held from February 1 to 4, 2013 inVeracruz, Mexico. The first five editions of the series only contained teams fromColombia,Nicaragua,Mexico andPanama until the first expansion of the competition in 2018. This expansion includedCuraçao, who had just created a professional league, followed byArgentina in 2019, with the intention of invitingChile once a professional league is set up.[4]
The rules of the competition were based on those of theWorld Baseball Classic. Teams wore their respective national team uniforms, rather than their own professional uniforms.[5]
The impetus for the Latin American Series eventually faded with the expansion of theCaribbean Series to non-members of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CPBC). Panama, which was scheduled to host the 2020 edition, withdrew from the competition after being invited to the2019 and2020 Caribbean Series. On January 12, 2020, the ALBP confirmed the suspension of the 2020 edition. Colombia would also be invited to the 2020 Caribbean Series, as would Curaçao to the2023 edition, thus making the Latin American Series moot.
| Country | League | First edition | Latest edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Argentine Baseball League | 2019 | |
| Colombia | Colombian Professional Baseball League | 2013 | 2019 |
| Curaçao | Curaçao National Championship AA League | 2018 | |
| Mexico | Liga Invernal Veracruzana | 2013 | 2019 |
| Veracruz State League | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Nicaragua | Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League | 2013 | 2019 |
| Panama | Panamanian Professional Baseball League | 2013 | 2019 |
| Team | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Tigres de Chinandega | 2 | 2017, 2018 |
| Brujos de Los Tuxtlas | 1 | 2013 |
| Tigres de Cartagena | 1 | 2014 |
| Leones de Montería | 1 | 2015 |
| Gigantes de Rivas | 1 | 2016 |
| Leones de León | 1 | 2019 |
| Team | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua | 4 | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Colombia | 2 | 2014, 2015 |
| Mexico | 1 | 2013 |
| Pos. | Team | Apps. | P | W | L | % | Last App. | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Leones de León | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | 2019 | Champions (2019) |
| 2. | Tigres de Chinandega | 3 | 11 | 9 | 2 | .818 | 2018 | Champions (2017,2018) |
| 3. | Leones de Montería | 2 | 9 | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2017 | Champions (2015) |
| 4. | Panamá Metro | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 2017 | Group Phase (2017) |
| 5. | Tigres de Cartagena | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2014 | Champions (2014) |
| 6. | Brujos de Los Tuxtlas | 3 | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2015 | Champions (2013) |
| 7. | Gigantes de Rivas | 2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | .500 | 2016 | Champions (2016) |
| 8. | Nacionales de Panamá | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2016 | Third place (2016) |
| 9. | Indios del Bóer | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2015 | Third place (2015) |
| 10. | Tobis de Acayucan | 3 | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 2019 | Runners-up (2018,2019) |
| 11. | Caballos de Coclé | 2 | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 2015 | Runners-up (2015) |
| 12. | Falcons de Córdoba | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2019 | Group Phase (2019) |
| 13. | Indios de Urracá | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2014 | Third place (2014) |
| 14. | Chileros de Xalapa | 2 | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 | 2019 | Semi-finals (2019) |
| 15. | Toros de Herrera | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | 2019 | Semi-finals (2019) |
| 16. | Caimanes de Barranquilla | 3 | 13 | 4 | 9 | .308 | 2019 | Runners-up (2016) |
| 17. | Wildcats KJ74 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 2018 | Third place (2018) |
| 18. | Bravos de Urracá | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2018 | Group Phase (2018) |
| Pos. | Team | Apps. | P | W | L | % | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nicaragua | 7 | 30 | 22 | 8 | .733 | Champions (2016,2017,2018,2019) |
| 2. | Colombia | 6 | 27 | 13 | 14 | .481 | Champions (2014,2015) |
| 3. | Mexico | 7 | 36 | 16 | 20 | .444 | Champions (2013) |
| 4. | Argentina | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Group Phase (2019) |
| 5. | Panama | 7 | 28 | 11 | 17 | .393 | Runners-up (2015) |
| 6. | Curaçao | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Third place (2018) |
| Year | Network(s) |
|---|---|
| 2013 | RTV |
| 2014, 2016 | Claro Sports |
| 2015 | TVMax |
| 2017 |  YouTube[8] |
| 2018 | Viva Nicaragua[9] |
| 2019 | TVMÁS |
International clubbaseball competitions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Americas |  | |
| Europe | ||
| Defunct | ||
| Exhibitions | ||
| ||
