TOKYO, Japan — The Caribbean Series, which has been at the forefront of international baseball competitions since 1949, will welcome a new participant in 2025: Japan Breeze. On July 31, Japan Breeze and the Caribbean Series officially announced their partnership for the upcoming tournament.
Japan will be joined by Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, the defending champions. Former participants Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, and Curacao will unfortunately be absent from the 67th edition of the Caribbean Series, which will take place from January 31 to February 7, 2025.
The 2024 Caribbean Series, held in Miami for the first time in 31 years, set a new attendance record with over 36,000 fans in the Championship Game between Tiburones de La Guaira (Venezuela) and Tigres del Licey (Dominican Republic). Mexicali, Mexico, which last hosted the 2009 Caribbean Series, will be home to the next tournament.
Typically, winners of various national winter leagues are invited as representatives for their country at the event, but Japan’s representative has already been determined to be Japan Breeze, a new organization founded by Venezuelan Alex Ramirez and experienced GM Tomo Irokawa.
Ramirez, 49, played with the Yakult Swallows, Yomiuri Giants, and DeNA BayStars from 2001 to 2013, collecting over 2,000 hits and 380 home runs en route to the NPB Hall of Fame. From 2016 to 2020, he served as manager of the BayStars, leading the team to a Japan Series appearance in 2017. With his Japanese family making regular appearances on television and social media, Ramirez is well-regarded as a likable cultural liaison in Japan. “It’s an honor to be named manager,” Ramirez said. “I saw this as a great opportunity to give back to the community and to be able to help some of these young players get exposure around the world.”
Irokawa, 34, has played baseball in five countries and has coached various up-and-coming Asian national teams, including Iran, Pakistan, and Hong Kong. In 2019, he founded “Asian Breeze,” helping Japanese free agents showcase their abilities against MLB, KBO, and Mexican League competition in Arizona. In 2024, Asian Breeze pitcher Raisei Nakamura, formerly of the Hiroshima Carp, inked a minor-league deal with the Miami Marlins. He is currently the GM of the Ibaraki Astro Planets of the Baseball Challenge League and continues to help lesser-known talent get discovered by NPB and MLB teams.
Other internationally prominent voices, such as Keito Honma – a former athletic trainer in MLB and Latin America – and Kenji Sato – a Japanese-Cuban entrepreneur and martial arts instructor – are on the board of the Japan Breeze project. The organization also announced a crowdfunding campaign on September 8, which has generated over $7,600 through merchandise and signed goods so far.
The baseball team will primarily be composed of players from Japanese independent and corporate league clubs. However, Ramirez has also announced his intention to invite overseas players like Tomo Otosaka and Takeru Ohashi. Japan Breeze is scheduled to play several exhibition games in Venezuela in October before entering the Caribbean Series next year. They will play four games between February 1-4, with a chance to play two more depending on their results against the Latin powerhouses.
Photo Credit: Fireworks are seen over the Simon Bolivar Monumental stadium during the opening ceremony of the Baseball Caribbean Series in Caracas on February 2, 2023. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)
