Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe)

What is the Caribbean Series?

The Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) is an annual baseball tournament between the champion clubs of Latin American and Caribbean winter professional leagues, played in early February. The 2026 edition, which MLB.com called the 68th, had five teams: it described a round-robin over five days, followed by two semifinals and a championship game.^[1] Charros de Jalisco won the final on 7 February 2026, beating Tomateros de Culiacán 12–11 in 10 innings at the Estadio Panamericano in Zapopan.^[2] From 2027 the confederation is to stage three competitions under the Serie del Caribe name, adding a Kids tournament (its fourth edition, in the Dominican Republic) and a first Teens tournament in Puerto Rico, according to Meridiano's report of September 2026.^[3]

Who organizes the Caribbean Series?

The Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe (CBPC), the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. MLB.com lists its members as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, each represented by a professional winter league.^[4] Its 2026 preview quoted Juan Francisco Puello Herrera as the confederation's president.^[1] The member leagues include the Dominican Republic's LIDOM, Mexico's Liga Mexicana del Pacífico and Puerto Rico's LBPRC, alongside the Venezuelan league. Meridiano reported that the confederation's Assembly of Presidents set the 2027 venue and dates.^[5] This page could not retrieve the confederation's own website and rests on the reports cited.

When and where is it held?

The series is played over about a week at the start of February, in a host city chosen in advance by the confederation; the editions from 2017 to 2024 were held in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the United States.^[6] The 2024 edition at loanDepot park in Miami was, in MLB.com's words, the first time the winter league champions tournament had been played at a Major League stadium, and in June 2024 the same venue was announced as host for 2028.^[4] The 2026 edition was scheduled for Caracas and was moved to Guadalajara in mid-December 2025 after Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic raised concerns about the Venezuelan venue; MLB.com reported that Venezuela then withdrew and staged an alternative tournament, the Serie de las Américas.^[1] The 2027 edition is set for Hermosillo, at the Estadio Fernando Valenzuela, from 1 to 7 February 2027.^[5]

Champion club and its country, newest first, with the host city. Champions are from Sports Illustrated's list.^[7] Hosts for 2017–2023 rest on Noroeste's list alone.^[6] Hosts for 2024–2026 are from the reports cited in the text.

Since when does it exist?

The series was first played in 1949. According to BR Bullpen, Baseball-Reference's encyclopedia, it was held annually until 1960, stopped after professional baseball in Cuba was dissolved in 1961, and was revived in 1970 without Panama or Cuba.^[8] These dates rest on that single secondary source; the confederation's own history could not be retrieved.

How do clubs qualify?

Each member country is represented by the champion of its winter league. For 2027, Meridiano reports that the field will be the champions of Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, plus one invited country that, at the time of that June 2026 report, was still to be announced.^[5] Invitations vary from year to year. In 2024 the guests were Curaçao, Nicaragua and Panama.^[4] In 2025 the fifth team was Japan Breeze.^[9] In 2026 the field was Leones del Escogido for the Dominican Republic, Cangrejeros de Santurce for Puerto Rico, Federales de Chiriquí for Panama, and two Mexican clubs, Charros de Jalisco and Tomateros de Culiacán, after Venezuela's withdrawal.^[1] An invited club can win: Colombia's Caimanes de Barranquilla took the 2022 title and Panama's Toros de Herrera the 2019 title.^[7]

Why does it matter?

The series brings together the champions of the region's professional winter leagues, and its crowds and venues are measurable. MLB.com reported that the 2024 final in Miami, in which Tiburones de La Guaira beat Tigres del Licey 3–0 on 9 February 2024, drew 36,677 spectators, which it called the largest attendance in Caribbean Series history.^[4][10] The organisers of the 2027 edition also plan to extend the event to youth age groups under the same name.^[3]

Who competes?

Club teams, not national teams: the member countries are represented by the champions of their leagues, alongside invited teams.^[5] The 2025 edition in Mexicali had five teams — Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic), Charros de Jalisco (Mexico), Indios de Mayagüez (Puerto Rico), Cardenales de Lara (Venezuela) and Japan Breeze, which World Baseball Network described as a barnstorming team from Arizona — and Leones del Escogido beat Charros de Jalisco 1–0 in the final.^[9] The 2026 edition also had five teams, with Mexico entering two.^[1] World Baseball Network reported that the 2026 win was the first Caribbean Series title for Charros de Jalisco, at their fourth attempt.^[2] Over the last ten editions the title has gone to clubs from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico.^[7]