When the 2025 Caribbean Series lands at El Nido de los Aguilas in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, in February 2025, there will be a new entrant.
Japan will appear as an invitee for the first time at the Caribbean Series alongside teams from each of the four member leagues of the Confederacion de Beisbol Profesional de Caribe, making a field of five teams for next year’s event. The CBPC held a press conference Wednesday at El Nido to announce Japan’s inclusion in next year’s event.
Weather conditions in Mexicali, where daytime highs can reach into the 90s even in January and February, necessitated a smaller field for next year’s event.
The LIDOM, Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, Liga Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente, and Liga Venezolana Beisbol Profesional will each send the respective playoff champions, while Japan’s entry will be the Asian Breeze, an independent barnstorming team that featured 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer last year.
Each of the last two Caribbean Series has set attendance records. The 2023 event featured eight teams and was held in Caracas and La Guaira, Venezuela, at Estadio Forum La Guaira and Estadio Monumental Simon Bolivar in Caracas. The four CBPC member leagues each sent teams to Venezuela, with teams from Colombia, Cuba, Panama, and Curacao playing as invitees.
The 2024 tournament marked the tournament’s return to Miami for the first time in 31 years, with seven teams participating. Played at loanDepot Park, the home of the Miami Marlins, it was the first time the Caribbean Series was played at a Major League Baseball venue. Nicaragua, Curacao, and Panama were invited to play in 2024.
El Nido de los Aguilas, formally named Estadio Farmacias Sta. Mónica, through a naming rights deal with a Mexican pharmacy chain, is the home of the Aguilas de Mexicali of the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico. The ballpark, built in 1976, can seat 20,000 fans. It previously hosted the 2009 Caribbean Series, won by the LVBP’s Tigres de Aragua.
