Fans of both clubs in the 2025 LIDOM championship series won’t have to travel far – or at all, really, unless they live outside Santo Domingo.
With a win on Saturday night, the Leones del Escogido advanced to the title series, where they will face their capital city rival and co-tenant of Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal, the Tigres del Licey, for a chance to advance to the Caribbean Series, which is being hosted by the LAMP’s Aguilas de Mexicali from January 31 to February 7.
For the Tigres del Licey, nicknamed “El Glorioso,” it’s their third consecutive trip to the LIDOM championship series, and a chance for Caribbean winter baseball’s most famous team to make a third straight trip to the Caribbean Series, which they won in 2023 in Caracas, Venezuela, and reached the final last year in Miami, falling to the Tiburones de La Guaira of Venezuela in the championship game.
Home field advantage in the series goes to the Tigres, who won the 16-game round robin with a record of 11-4, while the Leones finished 10-5. The remaining games in the round robin are cancelled when two teams have clinched spots in the final.
In Sunday’s import draft, the Leones selected pitcher Spencer Patton, who has appeared in MLB with the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and the Oakland Athletics, and Wilfredo Tovar, the Venezuelan shortstop who has played for the New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels. The Tigres took Panamanian pitcher Andy Otero, who joined the club as a reinforcement for the Caribbean Series last year, and outfielder Harold Ramirez, who has six seasons of MLB experience.
This is the 10th time the two teams have met for the LIDOM title, with the Tigres holding a 6-3 advantage. They last faced off for the championship in 2015-16, when the Leones beat the Tigres five games to one in a best-of-nine title series. The format switched to a best-of-seven series for 2020-21.
Junior Caminero has powered the Leones through the playoffs, posting a batting line of .448/.492/.793 with a 1.285 OPS, three homers and 14 RBIs, and teammates Zoilo Almonte (seven RBIs) and Socrates Brito (two homers, nine RBIs) have also keyed the Escogido offense. Longtime MLB starter Johnny Cueto has been stellar for the Leones in the playoffs, throwing 15 innings with a 1.80 ERA.
Licey has a balanced lineup that features MLB regulars in Miguel Andujar and Emilio Bonifacio, and 12 different players have driven in at least two runs each for the Tigres. Cesar Valdez, the MLB and winter ball veteran, made three starts in the playoffs, but hasn’t been as effective as in years past, posting a 5.84 ERA in 12 1/3 innings.
The LIDOM championship series begins Monday, January 20 at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in Santo Domingo.
LIDOM Championship Series Schedule
All times Eastern Standard Time
All games streamed live on MLB.tv with a subscription
January 20
6:30 p.m. – Game 1 – Leones del Escogido at Tigres del Licey
January 21
6:15 p.m. – Game 2 – Tigres del Licey at Leones del Escogido
January 22
6:30 p.m. – Game 3 – Leones del Escogido at Tigres del Licey
January 24
6:15 p.m. – Game 4 – Tigres del Licey at Leones del Escogido
January 25
6:30 p.m. – Game 5 – Leones del Escogido at Tigres del Licey (If Necessary)
January 26
4 p.m. – Game 6 – Tigres del Licey at Leones del Escogido (If Necessary)
January 27
6:30 p.m. – Game 7 – Leones del Escogido at Tigres del Licey (If Necessary)
WBN Dominican Republic: https://worldbaseball.com/league/dominican-republic/
