Karim Garcia and Álvaro Ley López will be inducted into the Caribbean Series Hall of Fame in the 2025 class, as announced by the Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe (CBPC) on December 12.
This February, the CBPC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will occur at the 67th Caribbean Series in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
The 2025 Caribbean Series will be from January 31 until February 7 at the Estadio Nido de Los Águilas, home of the Águilas de Mexicali in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico.
“I never imagined belonging to the Hall of Fame of the Caribbean Series,” Garcia said in a CBPC press release. “For me, the Series is something very special, and I always longed to go there to meet the players of the other teams.”
Garcia was a Mexican outfielder and designated hitter in the Major Leagues from 1995-2004 and spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians. Garica made the postseason in 2003 for the only time in the big leagues with the New York Yankees. He had three RBI and eight hits while batting .267 in 30 at-bats during the 2003 postseason.
His best season came in 2002 when he was traded from the Indians to the Yankees at the trade deadline. His combined numbers with both teams were 16 home runs, 52 RBI, and a slash line of .297/.314/.574 in 202 at-bats. The left-handed hitting Garcia’s career MLB numbers are 66 home runs, 212 RBI, and a slash line of .241/.279/.424 in 1,463 at-bats.
Garcia’s international career in Mexico was outstanding, and he was named to the Caribbean Series All-Tournament Team with Águilas de Mexicali in 1999. Garcia had two home runs, a .500 batting average, and a slugging percentage of 1.070 in the 1999 Caribbean Series.
Garcia participated in an astounding six Caribbean Series for Mexico and won two in 2011 and 2013 with Yaquis de Obregón. He hit six home runs and had 15 RBI in his Caribbean Series career.
He played 22 winter league seasons in Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for Tomateros de Culiacán, the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, the Yaquis de Obregón, and the Mayos de Navojoa from 1992-2014.
He also played seven seasons in Liga Mexicana de Bèisbol and debuted with the Sultanes de Monterrey in 2007.
Garcia didn’t return to the LMB until 2011 and stayed with Sultanes de Monterrey through the 2012 season. In 2013, he played 27 games with them until he later joined Tigres de Quintana Roo. Garcia played with them in 2014 and part of the 2015 season. He finished the 2015 season with the Olmecas de Tabasco and split his final season in 2016 with the Saraperos de Saltillo and the Diablos Rojos del México.
Garcia suited up for Team Mexico three times in the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2013.
In the 2006 WBC, he had three hits and one RBI in seven at-bats, which resulted in a .428 batting average. He had his best WBC in 2009 with three home runs, five RBI, and eight hits in 19 at-bats for a .421 batting average. In 2013, he had two hits in 10-at bats for a .200 batting average with Mexico at the WBC. He also played for Mexico internationally in the 2007 Pan American Games.
Álvaro Ley López
López was the President of the Board of Directors of the Tomateros de Culiacán and won six Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico championships with them. He also won two Caribbean Series in 1996 and 2002 with Tomateros de Culiacán representing Mexico.
López also helped MLB negotiate an agreement in 2001 between MLB, the winter leagues, and the Caribbean Series to form the Winter League Agreement.
He was also part of the Organizing Committee of the 2001 Caribbean Series at the former stadium of the Tomateros de Culiacán, Estadio Ángel Flores Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, which was opened from 1965 until 2015.
He will join his brother Juan Manuel Ley López in the Caribbean Series Hall of Fame. They are the first two brothers to be inducted. Manuel was the CBPC director for over 50 years.
Photo Credit of Kareem Garcia: Wiki Commons
