Sport Baseball No. of teams 4 TV partner(s) Claro
RCN | Founded 1948 Country Colombia | |
Most recent
champion(s) Caimanes de Barranquilla | ||
The Colombian Professional Baseball League, also known as the Colombian Winter League, is a professional baseball league based in Colombia. It is a winter league that plays during three months during the Major League Baseball offseason.
Contents
History
Colombian Professional Baseball League is commonly divided into three eras: from 1948 to 1958, from 1979 to 1988, and from 1993 to the present. In the middle of 2004 the Colombian Professional Baseball League was accepted in the Caribbean Confederation of Professional Baseball, although for the moment they will not be allowed to participate in the Caribbean Series until the level of play and the quality of baseball facilities have been deemed to have improved.[1] The Colombian League reportedly intends to continue pursuing participation in the Caribbean Series in 2012.
The league added two teams for the 2010–11 season: the Potros de Medellín (Medellín Colts), based in Medellín, Colombia, and the Águilas de Bogotá (Bogotá Eagles), based in Bogotá, Colombia. Additionally, the Toros (Bulls) moved from Sincelejo to Cali for economic reasons.
Partnerships
The league is televised by Cultiva Entertainment. The league had an affiliation with the Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League for the 2009 season.
Ownership
It is sponsored in large part by Major League Baseball players as it is owned by the Renteria Foundation, a charity run by former Major League Baseball shortstop Edgar Rentería. In addition, players such as former Major League Baseball shortstop Orlando Cabrera have owned teams.
Format
The league has six teams around the country. The season is played from October to January. The top four teams at the end of the regular season, a first round robin phase of 50 games per team, advance to another round-robin (12 games for every team) with the two best teams contesting a best-of-seven final series to determine the league champion.