Baseball Champions League Americas
| File:Baseball Champions League Americas logo.svg | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Organising body | WBSC Americas |
| Region | North America and the Caribbean |
| Most recent champions | Mexico Diablos Rojos del México (1st title) |
| Related competitions | Caribbean Series |
The Baseball Champions League Americas, or BCL Americas, is an annual international baseball tournament organized by the WBSC Americas, part of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It is contested by the champion teams of various leagues in North America and the Caribbean, similar to the Caribbean Series (which is not WBSC-sanctioned).
It is played as a single round-robin tournament, with the first and second-place teams playing against each other in a final championship game.[1] The tournament began as a four-team invitational, but is expected to expand to an eight-team league format by 2028.[2]
The inaugural tournament was held in 2023 in Mérida, Mexico.[3] It was won by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association.[4]
History
[edit | edit source]The first edition of the tournament was held from was held from 28 September to 1 October 2023 in the Parque Kukulcán Alamo, in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, organized by WBSC Americas. The competition was sanctioned by WBSC and the Mexican League and featured four teams from Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and the United States.[5][6]
The 2024 championship was cancelled. The second edition of the tournament was supposed to be held in the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán in Puebla, Mexico, home of the Pericos de Puebla, the 2023 Mexican League Champion.[7]
On 10 December 2024, it was announced that the tournament would resume in 2025 with the 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas being held from 8 to 13 April in the Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City, home of the Diablos Rojos del México. The competition will feature the Diablos Rojos, winners of the 2024 Mexican League season, plus the 2024 champions of Cuba, Curaçao, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United States. After debuting in 2023, Colombia will not return for the 2025 tournament, while Curaçao, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico will make their debut in the Baseball Champions League Americas.[8]
Participants
[edit | edit source]While the Caribbean Series is generally limited to Latin American winter league teams, BCL Americas includes the champions of the top-level independent (i.e. not affiliated with Major League Baseball) summer leagues in Mexico and the United States.[a]
Cuba and Colombia had previously participated in the Caribbean Series, but both were dropped after the 2023 edition of the tournament.[9][10]
Winners
[edit | edit source]| Year | Venue | Champion | Result | Runner-up | Winning manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mexico Mérida | United States Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks | 8–0 | Colombia Caimanes de Barranquilla | United States Chris Coste |
| 2025 | Mexico Mexico City | Mexico Diablos Rojos del México | 6–1 | Cuba Leñadores de Las Tunas | United States Lorenzo Bundy |
See also
[edit | edit source]Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ The Mexican League was previously part of MLB-affiliated "organized baseball", but lost this designation in 2021.
References
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