(Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Matthew Tallarini
Recently retired Venezuelan Major League Baseball player Miguel Cabrera will participate in the 21st Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Professional Home Run Derby at Estadio Monumental Simón Bolívar de Caracas on December 11 at 4 p.m. AST. The event is sponsored by Pepsi Venezuela.
The 21st LVBP Home Run Derby event will be streamed for free on https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pepsi+venezuela and https://www.youtube.com/@BeisbolPlay.
Current and former MLB players will participate in the event such as Ronald Acuna Jr., Eduardo Escobar, Francisco Alvarez, Eugenio Suarez, Wilson Garcia, Orlando Arcia, Jose Rondon, Jackson Chourio, Anthony Santander, and Gleyber Torres.
Acuna won the 2022 LVBP Home Run Derby with 32 total home runs at Estadio Universitario in Caracas. Jose Altuve, Eduardo Escobar, William Contreras, Eugenio Suarez, Juan Yepez, Diego Rincones, Gleyber Torres, Willson Contreras, and Balbino Fuenmayor are participated in the 2022 LVBP Home Run Derby last season.
Acuna beat Rincones during the final of last year’s Home Run Derby event.
The Liga Venezolana Béisbol Profesional All-Star Game will be held on December 18 at Estadio Monumental Simón Bolívar de Caracas, which is the new home of the Leones del Caracas.
The leagues All-Star Game will be a celebration for the Leones’ new home after playing at Estadio Universitario, which opened in 1951.
Asdrubal Cabrera will play in his final professional game in LVBP on Saturday against Cardenales de Lara as he announced his retirement from the sport on Friday.
Asdrubal Cabrera, 38, was born in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela and has played in 11 seasons in LVBP and 15 seasons in MLB.
He began his professional career when he signed with the Seattle Mariners as an amateur free agent in 2002. He played up to Triple-A Tacoma with the Mariners organization before he was traded on June 30, 2006 to the Cleveland Indians for Eduardo Pérez and spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Buffalo.
Asdrubal Cabrera was a two-time All-Star in his career, won the American League Silver Slugger Award in 2011, and was a World Series Champion with the Washington Nationals in 2019.
Asdrubal Cabrera has a lifetime average in LVBP at .248 playing in 181 games with 740 plate appearances recording 155 hits, 29 doubles, 12 home runs, 83 RBI, 87 walks, 119 strikeouts, and a .699 OPS.
Asdrubal Cabrera has played with Cardenales de Lara from 2006–09, Leones del Caracas from 2010-13 and 2015-2017, and Caribes de Anzoátegui from 2021-24 during his LVBP career. Cabrera will not play in the round robin for LVBP in January.
Asdrubal Cabrera last played in MLB with the Cincinnati Reds during the 2021 regular season. Cabrera has played with the Cleveland Indians from 2007–14, Washington Nationals in 2014 and from 2019-20, the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015, the New York Mets from 2016–18, the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018, Texas Rangers in 2019 and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021 during his career in MLB.
In his 15 seasons in MLB, Asdrubal Cabrera has a lifetime average at .266 with 7,401 plate appearances playing in 1,822 games recording 1,763 hits, 401 doubles, 28 triples, 195 home runs, 869 RBI, 91 stolen bases, 589 walks, 1,330 strikeouts, and a .752 OPS.
Former MLB outfielder Venezuelan Gregor Blanco will play in LVBP for one game with the Tiburones de La Guaira on December 21 against Lara de Cardenales at Estadio Universitario at 6 p.m. EST.
Blanco, 39, was born in Caracas, Venezuela and has played in MLB with the Atlanta Braves from 2008–10, the Kansas City Royals in 2010, the San Francisco Giants from 2012–16, the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017, and the San Francisco Giants in 2018 during his career.
In his 10 seasons in the majors, Blanco has won two World Series titles with the Giants in 2012 and 2014 while playing in 1,060 games batting .255 with 3,348 plate appearances recording 746 hits, 118 doubles, 39 triples, 26 home runs, 235 RBI, 122 stolen bases, 363 walks, 661 strikeouts, and a .687 OPS.
Blanco has only played with Tiburones de La Guaira during his career in LVBP in eight seasons starting in his winter league debut year in 2006-07.
Blanco has been with Tiburones de La Guaira from 2006-13 and the 2018-19 winter league season. Blanco has a lifetime average in LVBP at .320 playing in 351 games with 1,555 plate appearances smacking 398 hits, 65 doubles, 25 triples, 15 home runs, 122 RBI, 58 stolen bases, 267 walks, 263 strikeouts, and a .892 OPS.
All LVBP games will be televised on https://www.beisbolplay.com/ with a paid subscription until the final out of the league’s best-of-seven championship series in late January prior to the start of the 2024 Caribbean Series at loanDepot Park in Miami from February 1-9.
