With the 2025 Caribbean Series just one week away, there are many historic angles. Since its start in 1949, the tournament has paved the way for Major League Baseball and International greats.
The Caribbean Series has featured many Hall of Fame players in its tournaments’ history since its first year in 1949, such as the late Wilie Mays, who played for the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Puerto Rico Winter League in 1955 and was inducted into the Caribbean Series Hall of Fame in 2005. That was the same year Rod Carew from Panama and Minnie Minoso from Cuba got in. Tony Perez also played in the Caribbean Series and is in the midst of the great hall of Cooperstown after being inducted into the tournaments’ Hall of Fame in 1998.
The other Hall of Famers that tie into playing in the historic annual Caribbean Series and are inducted into the tournament Hall of Fame are Edgar Martinez in 2007, Roberto Alomar in 2011, Roberto Clemente in 2015, and David Ortiz in 2022.
The number of countries with players who have participated in the Caribbean Series and are in the tournaments’ HOF alongside team executives is as follows: Mexico, with 27; Venezuela, with 25; Puerto Rico, with 24; the Dominican Republic, with 17; Cuba, with 12; the United States, with 9; and Panama, with three inductees.
Former International and Major League Baseball player Karim Garcia and former Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, Tomateros de Culiacán front office executive Álvaro Ley López will be inducted in 2025.
Lopez was a big part of helping the MLBPA and all 30 team owners negotiate an agreement in 2001 between MLB, the winter leagues, and the Caribbean Series to form the Winter League Agreement.
The Winter League Agreement is part of Major League Baseball and the embodying angle of all 30 clubs that have an option to let players play in the winter league seasons in the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol, the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente in Puerto Rico and the Liga Profesional de la República Dominicana.
