Officials from the Federación Argentina de Béisbol, the Federashon di Beisbol Korsou, the Panama ProBeis winter league, the Federación Nicaragüense de Béisbol Asociada, the Liga Profesional de Beisbol Colombia, and the Federación Cubana de Béisbol y Softbol held a press conference in Panama City, Panama on September 20, about creating the Asociacion De Beisbol De Las Americas Tournament, which would be an event held for the non-participation countries at the Caribbean Series.
The Asociacion De Beisbol De Las Americas Tournament will be from January 23-31, 2025, and will play in three venues in Nicaragua.
The Asociacion De Beisbol De Las Americas Tournament will be held at the Estadio Nacional Soberania in Managua, the Estadio Roberto Clemente in Masaya, and the Estadio Rigoberto Perez in Leon, Nicaragua.
The Latin American Series, which was held from 2013-19, was the original secondary event for the non-participation countries that did not play in the Caribbean Series during that time frame. It was discontinued in 2020.
The former president of the Panama ProBeis Winter League, David Salayanda, was elected president of the ABAM.
The vice presidents of ABAM are FCB President Juan Reinaldo Perez, FENIBA President Nemesio Porras, FEBEKO President Jedrek Magdalena, ProBeis President and Former Major League Baseball Player Carlos Lee, Pedro Salzedo, President of the LPB in Colombia, and Roberto Braccini, President of the FAB.
The board of directors for ABAM will consist of Alex Delgado as their secretary, Luis Villalaz as their treasurer, and Kodiro Miranda as a physical attorney. The vocal public relations role for ABAM will have Luis Daniel Del Risco and Carlos Van Cauwlaert.
Delgado is the vice president of FENIBA, Miranda is the director of operations and tournaments in the LPBC, and Villaz is a certified public accountant in Panama.
Del Risco is a treasurer for the FCB, and Van Cauwlaert is a part-time advisor for the FAB.
The Division Profesional del Beisbol Colombiano operates the LCB, and the Federacion Panamena de Beisbol does not operate the ProBeis Panama winter league.
The winner of the Curacao Professional Baseball League, which is operated by the FBK, will be represented at the 2025 ABAM event.
The 2024-25 Cuban Elite League regular season winner will be represented at the 2025 ABAM tournament.
All the other leagues in Argentina, Colombia, Panama, and Nicaragua will be in the field of the 2025 ABAM event and will represent the winners of their leagues to play in the tournament during the 2024-25 winter league season.
According to Aurelio Ortiz Gonzalez of COS Panama on September 20, Porras stated during the ABAM press conference that a competition of this size entails costs of over $150,000 for the host country, plus the expenses incurred by each participating league.
Curacao, Nicaragua, and Panama all participated in the 2024 Caribbean Series in Miami at loanDepot Park. With the three countries not being invited to Mexicali for the 2025 Caribbean Series, this event will give these three nations a chance to show how great their competition is throughout the Caribbean.
The ABAM committee has also stated that they aim to hold the tournament during the winter league seasons of 2025-26 and 2026-27.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Estadio Nacional Soberanía on X
