Independent and Junior Leagues
As well as the Liga Segunda - in which all Liga Nacional teams field a "B" team made up of their backup and younger players - a number of smaller, independent professional leagues have been established around the island with the blessing of El Presidente. Meanwhile, the annual tournaments for young players have been given even more prominence as the training ground for future stars.
Established as the national Development League of the island, the Liga de Desarollo allows younger ballplayers to take their first steps in the professional game, while at the same time giving more experienced players the chance to work their way back into La Liga. Starting play in 1933, four teams from some of Escondida's smaller towns currently compete for the honours over the course of a 54 game season.
Battling for honours are the Estollo Tiburones, the Navalesa Navegantes, the Sierra Alta Sombras and the Zuya Elefantes.
Past champions and record holders can be found on the Independent Leagues history page, and you can read a little more about the Liga de Desarollo towns by following the links below.
Copa de los Pueblos (coming soon!)
Baseball on Escondida has never been confined to the big towns - virtually every village and hamlet has fielded a team at some point since the game's arrival in the late 1800s. Informal challenges between neighbouring communities are often big occasions with locals young and old lining the outfields of dusty, improvised ball fields to cheer their men on.
With the advent of professional baseball on the island, some of the smaller villages have taken advantage of government baseball subsidies to formalise the competition, and so, starting in the summer of 1937, the Copa now takes place each year. Competed among 12 teams, split into North, Central and East groups, the villages play the other three teams in their group eight times a piece in a 24-game season. The three group winners, and the best second place team then take part in a mini knockout tournament to decide the destination of the Copa.
The village clubs fighting for the win are: (Zona Norte) the Batey Birán Soles, the Fuente Dueno Gallos, the Poutomillos Verracos and the Santa Madrona Isleños; (Zona Centro) the Hita Flamencos, the Panda Astros, the Pedrezuela Limeros and the Santa Fe Rebeldes; (Zona Este) the Kayamo Cuchillas, the La Tabla Colirrojos, the Riofrio Molineros and the San Blas Cimas.
Past league champions and record holders for the Copa are available on the Independent Leagues history page.
NORTE
CENTRO
ESTE
Torneo Desafío Juventud
Originally a competition for school teams, the Youth Challenge Tournament was heavily reformed as part of the sweeping changes to baseball competition on the island. Under El Presidente's guidance, the Torneo has been established as the training ground for young players looking to make their way into the professional game.
Beginning in the Spring of 1932, the Torneo is now played between eight 'Sporting Clubs', representative teams made up of the most talented 15-18 year olds on the island. Though players are drawn from around the nation, all the contests of each 28 game season take place in Centenera over 9 weekends in April and May.
The teams taking to the diamond are: Adelante, Centrale, Costero, El Camino, Intermedio, La Isla, Meridional and República.
You can view a list of past league champions and record holders on the Junior Leagues history page.
Torneo de las Cinco Provincias (coming soon!)
Interest in baseball among youngsters across the island has quickly grown along with the island's professional leagues. With the Torneo Desafío Juventud going from strength to strength, it was agreed that a second official youth tournament should be established on the island. Rather than being played between a selection of sporting clubs, this time regional pride would be at stake as Escondida's five provinces took to the field in competition with each other.
With the first season of play taking place in 1937, the Torneo de las Cinco Provincias is played between five teams made up of 16-18 year olds from each of the provinces. The sides compete over a 24 game season in April and May that culminates in a knock-out tournament to determine the season champions.
For the record, the five provincial youth teams are: Aguarda, Betancuria, Cosuenda, Santa Agnes and Yugueros.
You can view a list of past league champions and record holders on the Junior Leagues history page.
