Leones Del Escogido
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Leones del Escogido (English: ''Chosen One Lions'' or ''Lions of Chosen One'' or ''Picked Lions'') is a 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 ...
team in
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
,
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 ...
. Established in , Leones are the third most successful team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League, behind Tigres del Licey and Aguilas Cibaeñas, having won 17 national championships and 5 Caribbean Series. Of the championships, 17 are of the Liga Dominicana de Béisbol (LIDOM) Winter League.


History

The ''Leones record book is dominated by the Alou brothers: Matty, Felipe, and Jesús. The brothers hold the first, second, and third spots in the team's record book for the following: games played, runs, at bats, hits,
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s and RBIs. Matty and Felipe are one-two in several more categories, including walks and stolen bases. Felipe Alou is also the most successful manager, winning four championships.


2009–10 season

The Leones enjoyed a very successful first year with new ownership. They won their third straight "City Championship Trophy" over Tigres del Licey, their rivals who share Estadio Quisqueya in
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...
, after winning six of their ten regular season games against Licey. They followed this by winning the regular season with a 30-19 record, and won their thirteenth Winter League Championship, ending their 18-year National Championship drought. Leones represented the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Series, and won their third title with a 5-1 record.


2010–11 season

On 20 March 2010,
General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Moisés Alou announced that Ken Oberkfell will return to manage Leones del Escogido for the 2010–2011 season. The team won their fourth straight City Championship Trophy this season, securing the season series with their win over Licey on 9 December. Leones made it to the postseason, but failed to reach the finals, which were eventually won by Toros del Este.


2011–12 season

After struggling in the regular season, Leones clinched a spot in the Round Robin. They finished the Round Robin in first place, setting up a 9-game Finals against Aguilas. Despite blowing a commanding 3-0 series lead, Leones won their fourteenth championship in dramatic fashion with a come from behind win in game 9. Leones also won the Caribbean Series hosted by Dominican Republic.


2012–13 season

Leones again struggled in the regular season, but won their final three games to force a one-game playoff against Gigantes del Cibao. Leones won the game 5-2, and joined Águilas Cibaeñas, Toros del Este, and Estrellas Orientales in the Round Robin. Águilas and Leones advanced to the Final, ending the Round Robin in 17 games. Leones swept Águilas in 5 games to win their third crown in four years and their fifteenth overall. Leones cruised in the Caribbean Series group stage, winning 5 out of 6 games, but lost the final to Mexico in 18 innings 4-3.


2013–14 season

On 1 December 2013, Leones beat Tigres del Licey 1-0 and secured the City Championship Trophy. Leones won the regular season with 31-19, qualifying for the Round Robin. On 14 January 2014, Jon Leicester, Ramon Garcia, Fernando Rodney, and Armando Rodriguez threw a combined no-hitter to Licey, clinching the Round Robin and home field advantage in the Finals. It was just the 8th no-hitter in the history of Dominican Winter League. They faced Tigres del Licey in the Finals, losing the series 5-3.


2014–15 season

Leones had a disappointing season, finishing in last place. Licey also failed to reach the playoffs, making it the first time in the league's history that both teams from Santo Domingo missed the postseason.


2015–16 season

Leones finished the season with a 25-25 record, enough for third place in the standings and qualifying to the semifinal round. After 18 games in the semifinals, Leones and Toros del Este were tied with a 9-9 record, and had to play a decisive extra game, which Leones won 7-2. This sent the team to the finals against archrivals Tigres del Licey, just one year after they both failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time in history. In the best-of-nine finals, Leones jumped to a commanding 4-0 lead, before losing game 5 in the 9th inning. The team won their 16th Championship in game 6, when they defeated the Tigres del Licey 8-3. In the 2016 Caribbean Series celebrated in Estadio Quisqueya, Leones finished in last place with a 0-4 record.


Championship history

Leones del Escogido won the first championship in 1922 of a short-lived professional baseball era from 1922 to 1937, but only the current Winter League format established in 1951 is widely accepted.


Caribbean Series Championships

Leones del Escogido have won six Caribbean Series in their history.


Notable players

* Julio Rodríguez * Felipe Alou *
Jesús Alou Jesús María Rojas Alou (, March 24, 1942 – March 10, 2023) was a Dominican professional baseball outfielder. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the San Francisco Giants (1963–68), the Houston Astros (1969 ...
* Matty Alou * Rafael Bautista * Wilson Betemit * Mario Brito * Junior Caminero * Starlin Castro * Francisco Cordero * José DeLeón * Octavio Dotel * Juan Encarnación * Julio Franco * Wander Franco *
Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis, h ...
* Pedro Guerrero * Vladimir Guerrero Jr. * Wilton Guerrero * Rufino Linares * Francisco Liriano * Pepe Lucas * Juan Marichal * Starling Marte * Quinton McCracken * Raúl Mondesí * José "Makey" Moreno * Junior Noboa * David Ortiz * Neifi Pérez * Albert Pujols * Luis Pujols * Steve Ratzer * Tim Raines *
Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...
* Juan Samuel * Sammy Sosa * Mario Soto * Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh * Juan Uribe *
Tim Wallach Timothy Charles Wallach (born September 14, 1957), nicknamed "Eli", is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, most notably for the Montreal Expos ...
* Enrique Wilson


See also

* Professional baseball in the Dominican Republic * Tigres del Licey * Caribbean World Series


External links


Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leones Del Escogido Dominican Professional Baseball League teams Sport in Santo Domingo Baseball teams established in 1921 1921 establishments in North America