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Caribbean Series: A Look At The Final Day Of Round Robin Play And What’s Ahead

 Leif Skodnick - World Baseball Network  |    Feb 4th, 2025 12:59pm EST

MEXICALI, Mexico – Today is the final day of round robin play at the 2025 Caribbean Series, and there are two games on the schedule.

At 5 p.m. EST, Puerto Rico’s Indios de Mayaguez (1-2) will play the Dominican Republic’s Leones del Escogido (2-1), and then at 10 p.m. EST, Venezuela’s Cardenales de Lara (1-2) will face the Japan Breeze (0-3). None of the four teams has announced a starting pitcher.

Who’ll Play Who? – Having won all four of its round robin games, Mexico will have the top seed for Wednesday’s semifinals. The big remaining question for Mexico is who their opponent will be.

It almost certainly won’t be the Japan Breeze, unless they beat the Cardenales de Lara by at least 15 runs today. Should they accomplish that, and the Leones del Escogido win by a large margin over the Indios de Mayaguez, they’ll have a chance at getting to the semifinals. You’ll also see someone eating a hat in the press box, which will be streamed live on World Baseball Network’s instagram page.

If Venezuela beats Japan and the Dominican Republic beats Puerto Rico, Mexico will play Puerto Rico and Venezuela will play the Dominican Republic.

If Puerto Rico beats the Dominican Republic and Venezuela beats the Japan Breeze, there will be three teams at tied 2-2, and semifinal seeding will be decided by the Total Quality Balance tiebreaker, the formula for which is the sum of runs scored divided by the number of innings played on offense, minus the number of runs allowed, divided by the number of innings played on defense. The only games used in the calculation are games involving the tied teams, so games involving Mexico and Japan would not be concluded. Should this scenario happen, there’s an incentive for teams to win big.

Was Japan Breeze’s Preparation Enough? – The Japan Breeze didn’t play a league season or playoffs prior to coming to the Caribbean Series. They’re only prep for the event was the 2024-25 LVBP All-Star Game in Caracas.

Asked if the Japan Breeze had enough preparation following the 7-2 loss to Mexico, manager Alex Ramirez said, “Well, look, I think the practices we had were very good there in Japan. Also when we got here, we practiced and all that. Of course, like all, the batters need to face the pitchers, the pitchers need to face the batters. It’s not the same to get here to the Caribbean Series and face the teams when the teams have been playing for three months. But well, that’s a matter of record. The other thing is, of course, we would like to have a more competitive team… you know, these games are not easy. And well, I think that’s part of the preparation.”

Mexico’s Starters For The Next Two Games – Following the 7-2 win against Japan on Monday, Charros de Jalisco manager Benji Gil announced David Reyes as his starter for the semifinals. Reyes pitched against Puerto Rico, throwing seven innings and allowing one run on four hits, walking one and striking out four.

Hernan Perez Is Mr. Venezuela – Third baseman Hernan Perez is becoming a figure in Venezuelan baseball akin to what center Ryan Smyth was to Team Canada in ice hockey. Smyth, who played for four National Hockey League teams, was Canada’s first call when assembling senior national teams, appearing in a U-20 World Championship, eight World Championships, two Olympics, and a World Cup of Hockey. He served as captain at five World Championships, won Olympic gold in 2002 and silver in 2006, and appeared in 89 games, earning the nickname “Captain Canada.”

Perez has appeared in two World Baseball Classics with Venezuela, was a leader of the team that finished third at the 2024 WBSC Premier12, and is making his third Caribbean Series appearance.

Asked about his experiences playing for Venezuela, he said, “It’s an honor. I think… I love to represent my country. Every time I put Venezuela on my chest, I enjoy it. I like to win. I think when we come to this tournament, we want to win to give happiness to Venezuela.”

Photo: Mexico manager Benji Gil announced his starter for the Caribbean Series semifinals on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of CBPC)

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Leif Skodnick - World Baseball Network