Spring training is still two weeks away but meaningful baseball was played in front of passionate fans Monday night. Leones del Escogido bested Tigres del Licey in a thrilling Game 7 of the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) Championship Series. Escogido won their 17th LIDOM championship and snapped a nine-year title drought.
Escogido’s first-year manager? Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.
The Game 7 pitching matchup featured longtime big leaguer Johnny Cueto and former Orioles prospect Radhames Liz, who has carved out a long career in Asia and the Mexican League. Emilio Bonifácio, Harold Ramírez, Jean Segura, and Jose Siri were among the recognizable names in the two lineups. Ditto Rays wunderkind Junior Caminero, who provided the decisive blow for Escogido.
With the score tied 5-5 in the top of the ninth, Caminero launched a towering 454-foot go-ahead solo home run to give Escogido the lead. Look at the passion and the energy. I clock this home run trot at 56 seconds:
“I have no words,” Caminero said after the game. “We clinched the 17th! I owe to my family and the Leones. I’m grateful for their trust.”
Caminero went 4 for 5 with two doubles and a homer in Game 7, and 9 for 26 (.346) with 6 RBI in the series. That earned him series MVP honors. Caminero was also named MVP of the previous postseason round.
Although Escogido went on to a 6-5 win in Game 7 (box score), the bottom of the ninth inning did not come easy. Longtime big leaguer Rafael Montero, who blew the save in Game 6 on Sunday, put runners on second and third, and was bailed out by Sócrates Brito’s game-ending sliding catch in right field. This was the final out of the LIDOM Championship Series:
Escogido’s Game 7 win came after a Game 6 thriller on Sunday. Licey infielder Gustavo Nunez, a veteran of 11 minor-league seasons without a single big-league cup of coffee, launched a game-tying two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Montero. Licey went on to win the game 7-4 in 14 innings to force Game 7.
Nunez, 36, has 43 home runs in over 1,600 professional games, which prompted Pujols to have his bat examined. The bat was inspected and found to be legal.
“It was a tough first year as a manager. I’m learning how to come to terms with criticism,” Pujols said after Game 7. “It was a great season and a good final series. You don’t have to credit me. Credit my players. I tried to do my best.”
LIDOM is a six-team winter league and each team plays approximately 49 games during the regular season. Four of the six teams qualify for the postseason, and those four teams get to draft six players apiece from the two non-postseason teams to help them the rest of the way. Nunez was one of Licey’s six selections.
The Caribbean Series is an annual tournament featuring winter league teams from various Latin American countries. This year’s tournament begins Friday and will include teams from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and, for the first time, Japan. This year’s Caribbean Series will be broadcast in English on MLB Network.
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