The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

league in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. The league's champion takes part in the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

each year.

History

Background and predecessors

Baseball had been played in Venezuela at the amateur level since the late 19th century, with the first national tournament played in Caracas in October 1917, between eight teams representing

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan Vargas (state), state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port, founded in 1577 as an outlet for nearby Caracas. The city hosts its own professional baseball team i ...

Puerto Cabello Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the count ...

, Macuto, and

Maracay Maracay () is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of Girardot Municipality. The population of Maracay and its ...

. Early clubs included

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

(La Guaira),

and Magallanes (both of Caracas). A national baseball league () was officially formed on June 26, 1927. In the 1930s, the league included Magallanes, Royal Criollo, and Concordia, the latter of which was sponsored by Gonzalo Gomez, brother of dictator

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, politician and '' de facto'' ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He only officially served as president on three occasions d ...

. Concordia attracted talent like Martín Dihigo as well as future Venezuelan stars including Alejandro Carrasquel and Luis Aparicio Sr. The popularity of baseball exploded in Venezuela in 1941, following the

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Ramón Bragaña Ramón "El Profesor" Bragaña Palacios (May 11, 1909 – May 11, 1985) was a Cuban professional baseball catcher, outfielder, third baseman, pitcher, and first baseman in the Negro leagues and the Mexican League. A native of Havana, Cuba, Braga� ...

Cocaína García Manuel García Carranza (December 28, 1905 – April 13, 1995), nicknamed "Cocaína", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher and outfielder in the American Negro leagues in the 1920s and 1930s. A native of Manacas, Cuba, García made hi ...

Oscar Estrada Oscar Estrada (February 15, 1904 – January 2, 1978) was a Cuban professional baseball outfielder, pitcher and first baseman who appeared in one Major League Baseball (MLB) game for the St. Louis Browns in 1929 and in the Negro leagues. The lef ...

Bertrum Hunter Bertrum "Nate" Hunter (October 20, 1910 – April 25, 1948) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played professionally from 1931 to 1936 with several teams. He pitched for the East in the inaugural East-West All-Star Game ...

Roy Campanella Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American professional baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering ...

Sam Jethroe Samuel Jethroe (January 23, 1917 – June 16, 2001), nicknamed "the Jet", was an American center fielder in Negro league and Major League Baseball. With the Cincinnati & Cleveland Buckeyes he won a pair of batting titles, hit .340 over seven se ...

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

, and Roy Welmaker.

Professionalization and early years (1946-64)

On December 27, 1945, the owners of Cervecería Caracas (Caracas Brewery),

Sabios de Vargas The Sabios de Vargas baseball club became a founding member of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League in its inaugural season of 1946. The team represented the city of La Guaira, Vargas and played its home games at the now-extinct Estadio Cerv ...

(Vargas Wisemen),

Navegantes del Magallanes Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (; ''Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators''), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in ...

(Magellan Navigators), and Patriotas de Venezuela (Venezuelan Patriots) created the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The league was formally registered as an institution during January 1946, and in the same month organized its first tournament, starting on January 3, 1946. Sabios de Vargas, led by Daniel 'Chino' Canónico, became the first champion, with a record of 18 wins and 12 losses. During the first tournaments, games were played on Thursdays and Saturdays on the afternoons, and Sundays in the morning. This was the norm until Cervecería Caracas' park — located in the San Agustín del Norte zone of

— was fitted with electric lights, enabling its use during night games. Thus, a game was added on Tuesday nights. Eventually, the tournament was changed to accommodate two rounds, with the top team of each round having a best-of-5 play-off to determine the champion. On August 8, 1952,

Pablo Morales Pedro Pablo Morales Jr. (born December 5, 1964) is an American former competitive swimmer. He set world records in the 100-meter butterfly in 1984 and 1986. He was the 100-meter butterfly gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games, as well as wi ...

and Oscar Prieto Ortiz purchased the Cervecería Caracas team from Martín Tovar Lange, as the Caracas Brewery Co. was unable to continue sponsoring the team and it had the highest payroll of the league. The new owners renamed the team as

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A., better known by its commercial name as the Leones del Caracas, is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVPB). The owner and sole shareholder of the sports club is Ricardo C ...

(Caracas Lions), after the full name of the city, Santiago de Leon de Caracas. On October 17, 1952, the 1952-1953 season of the league started, with the first game of Leones del Caracas vs. Venezuela BBC. Leones del Caracas ended their season as champions for the first time. The next season, alongside the start of limited television coverage of the league, would see the departure of the teams Sabios de Vargas and Venezuela BBC due to economic problems, being replaced by two teams (Gavilanes and Pastora) from the professional league of the

Zulia State Zulia State (, ; Wayuu language, Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the States of Venezuela, 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Vene ...

, from western Venezuela. In 1954 Sabios de Vargas was replaced by

and Patriotas de Venezuela came back both only for that year. In 1955 a new team was added in the place of the departed Venezuela, named Pampero; while the Santa Marta BBC was moved out of Caracas, and renamed to

Industriales de Valencia Industriales is a professional baseball team in the Cuban National Series. Located in Cerro, La Habana, it is known as the only team representing the country’s capital, Havana. Industriales is historically the most successful team in the Nati ...

(Valencia Industrymen). The 1956-1957 tournament would see further changes: the Navegantes del Magallanes team was purchased by advertisers Joe Novas and Joe Cruz and renamed as Oriente, leaving the league made of Leones del Caracas, Oriente, Pampero and Industriales de Valencia. In 1962, Los Tiburones de La Guaira (La Guaira Sharks) were brought into the league to replace Pampero.

Expansion (1965-1989)

In 1965, the league expanded from 4 to 6 teams, with the addition of the teams

Cardenales de Lara The Cardenales de Lara () is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP). Founded in 1942 and based in Barquisimeto, the Cardenales have won seven domestic titles, including back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, 2019, 2020 and ...

and

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua () is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares in Maracay. The team ...

. For the 1968-1969 tournament, the Industrymen left the city of Valencia and relocated to Acarigua with a new name: Los Llaneros. This left Valencia without a team, prompting the move of

from Caracas to Valencia, and their return to their original name for the 1969-1970 tournament. In 1969, Las Águilas del Zulia (Zulia Eagles) joined the VPBL to replace

. The 1970s saw the first successes for Venezuelan teams outside of Venezuela since the amateur championships of the 1940s, with the Navegantes del Magallanes winning two

. It also saw problems for the league, in the form of the strike that prevented the 1973-1974 tournament, and the problems the Leones del Caracas and Tiburones de La Guaira had in 1975–1976 to secure a baseball park to play their home games. This resulted in both teams merged into one, and forced to move to the city of Acarigua. Also in the 1970s, Tigres de Aragua won the first championships for the 1960s expansion teams. The 1980s saw the Leones del Caracas winning five tournaments, consolidating their lead as the most successful team in the league. Leones del Caracas also went on to win three championships in a row starting in the 1979–80 season, and their first

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. The decade also saw success for the Tiburones de La Guaira, with the team winning 3 championships. Also in the 1980s, the Águilas del Zulia won their first two championships, all the way to also winning their first two Caribbean Series in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1990s and 2000s

In 1991, the league expanded from six to eight teams, with the addition of the

Caribes de Oriente Carib may refer to: People and languages *Kalina people, or Caribs, an Indigenous people of South America **Carib language, also known as Kalina, the language of the South American Caribs *Kalinago people, or Island Caribs, an Indigenous people o ...

(Eastern Caribbeans), who are now the

Caribes de Anzoátegui The Caribes de Anzoátegui (; ''Anzoátegui Caribs'') is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League based in Puerto la Cruz, in the eastern state of Anzoátegui. Franchise history In January 1987, a local businessmen group ba ...

(Anzoátegui Caribbeans); and the Petroleros de Cabimas (Cabimas Oilers), who became Pastora de los Llanos (Llanos Shepherds), and from the 2007–08 season on, Bravos de Margarita (Margarita Braves). This led to a change in format, with the eight teams being organized in two divisions: the Eastern Division (División Oriental) with the teams Caracas, Magallanes, La Guaira and Oriente; and the Western Division (División Occidental) with the teams Zulia, Lara, Aragua and Cabimas. The first two teams from each division by the end of the regular season of the tournament would qualify to the round-robin semifinals. The format would change again some years later, with the addition of a wildcard team in the semifinals: the best placed third-place from the two divisions would accompany the other four teams in a round-robin semifinal. For the 2007–08 season, with the move of the Pastora team from the western city of

Acarigua Acarigua (), founded as San Miguel de Acarigua in 1620, is a city in northwestern Venezuela, in the northern part of the state of Portuguesa (state), Portuguesa and its former capital. It encompasses the Páez municipality. It is a major commerc ...

to the eastern city of

Porlamar Porlamar () is the most populated city, major seaport and major center in the state of Nueva Esparta, Venezuela. It is situated on the southern coast of Margarita Island, one of three islands in the Caribbean Sea off the South American mainland wh ...

, the Western Division and the Eastern Division were merged into a single division of eight teams, with the top five teams advancing to the semifinals. The 2015–2016 season saw a new change in format, with a regular season divided in two rounds, which ranked the teams by their record and assigned points depending on their position in the table at the end of each round. The total points from both rounds are added at the end of the regular season, and the teams are then ranked by points. Also part of the format change was the introduction of a sixth team qualified for the semifinals, and the change of the semifinal from a round robin format to two phases of play-offs to the best of 7 games. In recent years,

has become the most dominant team of the league, winning the crown seven times in the last fifteen years, including three times in a row from the 2006-07 season to the 2008-09 season and also winning the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. On August 22, 2019,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

banned its affiliated players from playing in the Venezuelan League to comply with President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

embargo Economic sanctions or embargoes are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of coercion that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior throu ...

on Venezuela. This ban was later limited to only

and

, and has since been lifted for all clubs. As of 2023, the LVBP has a limit of maximum five foreign players (known as imports) per team.

All Star Game

The league has scheduled All Star Games most years, sometime featuring Criollos (Venezuelan) vs Importados (foreigners), Western Division vs Eastern Division or Stars vs "Stars of the Future", and even a Venezuela's League Stars vs. Dominican Republic's League Stars inter-league all star game during the 2007-2008 and 2011-2012 tournaments.

Current teams

Format

The league houses eight teams in two divisions, the Occidental (Western) and the Central divisions. The tournament is divided into a regular season and a postseason consisting of a semi-final and final round.

Regular season

The regular season follows a round robin format where a total of 63 games are disputed by each of the eight teams that made up the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, meaning that each team faces every other team a total of 9 times, 5 times as home club and 4 times as away team; the number of games as home club between any 2 clubs alternates year by year. At the end of the regular season, the teams are ranked from first place to last in their division depending on their win–loss record, and the first 2 teams in each division qualify. In the case of a tie between qualified teams, their position on the table is determined by the following criteria: * The team who won the most games in the head-to-head games between the tied teams. * The difference between runs scored and runs received will be used to break the tie if it persists. * A drawing of lots will be used if the tie persists. In the case of a tie between teams where a position in the postseason needs to be determined, the tie will be solved with extra games.

Postseason

The postseason consists of a semi-final and final round. All the series are

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

series to the best of 7 games. In all of these single elimination series, the team with better standing during the regular season has home advantage, playing the first two games as home club, then two games away, and if necessary, the fifth game is away and the last two games as home club.

Semifinal round

The semifinal round consists of two series in a best-of-seven format. The first team in one division faces the second team in the other division. There are rest days in both series after the second and fifth games.

Final

The play-off final is a series in a best-of-seven-format between the winners of the semifinal-series. The winner of this series goes on to play is the

Past champions

Championships per team

Defunct teams

* Cervecería Caracas *

Estrellas Orientales Estrellas Orientales (English: Eastern Stars), also known as Estrellas de Oriente, is a baseball team in the Dominican Winter League. Based in San Pedro de Macorís, the team has historically struggled, winning championships only in 1936, 1954, ...

Indios de Oriente The Indios de Oriente was a baseball club which played from 1956 through 1964 in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. They played its home games at the Estadio Municipal de Puerto La Cruz in Anzoátegui, Venezuela. History The Indios de O ...

* Gavilanes de Maracaibo *

* Lácteos de Pastora * Licoreros de Pampero * Llaneros de Acarigua * Llaneros de Portuguesa * Pastora de los Llanos *

Rapiños de Occidente The Rapiños de Occidente (Western Raptors) was a Venezuelan baseball club that played from 1957 through 1963 in the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional (Western Professional Baseball League). They played their home games at the old olympic sta ...

* Patriotas de Venezuela *

Petroleros de Cabimas The Petroleros de Cabimas was a baseball club that played from 1991 through 1995 in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The Petroleros joined the league as an expansion team in the Western Division and played its home games at Vic Davalillo ...

* Santa Marta de La Guaira

Venezuelan Caribbean Series champions

The Venezuelan champion moves on to the

to face the champions of the baseball leagues of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Venezuelan teams have won the Caribbean Series eight times, most recently in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

by the

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira () are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP). Though they nominally represent La Guaira (playing at the Estadio Jorge Luis García Carneiro), they also play home games at the Estadio Un ...

, after having won the LVBP title during the 2023–24 season.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Professional Baseball 1945 establishments in Venezuela 1 Sports leagues established in 1945 Winter baseball leagues