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2024-25 LBPRC Preview: Rockies No. 16 Ranked Prospect Joins Leones de Ponce

 Conor Liguori - World Baseball Network  |    Oct 17th, 2024 2:00pm EDT

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The Leones de Ponce were one win shy of advancing to the LBPRC championship round in 2023-24, losing their semifinal matchup with the Gigantes de Carolina four games to three.

The Leones snuck into the postseason last year, finishing the regular season 21-19, the same record as the eventual champion, the Criollos de Caguas. The goal this season for the Leones will be not only to return to the postseason but to advance past the semifinals in search of their first title since 2008-09.

Manager – Andy González

2023-24 Record – 21-19

2023-24 Playoff Results – Lost in seven games to Gigantes de Carolina in Semifinal B

Manager Andy González began last season as the Ponce hitting coach before former Florida Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez decided to hand over the managerial responsibilities to him. When González took the helm, the team was 10-12 but went 11-7 in the final 18 games of the season to squeak into the playoffs.

González, an assistant hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies in Major League Baseball, played 91 MLB games from 2007-09 with the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, and Florida Marlins. He made his last professional baseball appearance as a player with the Criollos de Caguas during the 2014-15 LBPRC season.

Notable Offseason Additions (2024 Stats/MLB Organization or Team(s)/League)

• RHP Matt Swilley (15 G, 8.78 ERA, 8.8 K/9, Windy City Thunderbolts/Frontier League, Lake Country DockHounds, Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks/American Association of Professional Baseball)
• LHP Erik Rivera (10 G, 3.31 ERA, 9.9 K/9, High-A Tri-City/Los Angeles Angels)
• 2B Aaron Hill (121 G, .231/.344/.447, .791 OPS, Southern Maryland Blue Crabs/Atlantic League of Professional Baseball)
• OF Eli Serrano (17 G, .238/.333/.444, .778 OPS, Single-A St. Lucie/New York Mets, 4th Overall Pick in 2024-25 LBPRC Draft)
• CF Benny Montgomery (11 G, .283/.313/.500, .813 OPS, Double-A Hartford/Colorado Rockies)

Championship History

The Leones de Ponce won four straight LBPRC championships from the 1941-42 season to 1944-45 and added a fifth title in 1946-47, all under manager George Scales, a star infielder in the Negro Leagues from 1921-46.

The organization raised the championship trophy again when it won back-to-back championships in 1968-69 and 1969-70. The Leones de Ponce are 11-time LBPRC champions, most recently in 2008-09.

In 2024, the Leones de Ponce aim to win their first Caribbean Series title since 1972, finishing 5-1 in that year’s edition of the tournament.

First Game

The Leones de Ponce will play their first game of the 2024-25 LBPRC season on the road against the Gigantes de Carolina at Estadio Roberto Clemente in Carolina, Puerto Rico, on Friday, November 8 at 7 p.m. EST.

Photo Credit: Benny Montgomery #44 of the Salt River Rafters bats during the game between the Glendale Desert Dogs and the Salt River Rafters at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Monday, October 2, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images)