Baseball Champions League Americas
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Organising body | WBSC Americas |
| Region | North America and the Caribbean |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (1st title) |
| Related competitions | Caribbean Series |
The Baseball Champions League Americas, or BCL Americas, is an annual international baseball tournament organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It is contested by the champion teams of various leagues in North America and the Caribbean, similar to the Caribbean Series (which is not WBSC-sanctioned).
It is played as a single round-robin tournament, with the first and second-place teams playing against each other in a final championship game.[1] The tournament began as a four-team invitational, but is expected to expand to an eight-team league format by 2028.[2]
The inaugural tournament was held in 2023 in Mérida, Mexico.[3] It was won by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association.[4]
History
[edit]The first edition of the tournament was held from was held from 28 September to 1 October 2023 in the Parque Kukulcán Alamo, in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, organized by WBSC Americas. The competition was sanctioned by WBSC and the Mexican League and featured four teams from Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and the United States.[5][6]
The 2024 championship was cancelled. The second edition of the tournament was supposed to be held in the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán in Puebla, Mexico, home of the Pericos de Puebla, the 2023 Mexican League monarchs.[7]
On 10 December 2024, it was announced that the tournament would resume in 2025 with the 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas being held from 8 to 13 April in the Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City, home of the Diablos Rojos del México. The competition will feature the Diablos Rojos, winners of the 2024 Mexican League season, plus the 2024 champions of Cuba, Curaçao, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United States. After debuting in 2023, Colombia will not return for the 2025 tournament, while Curaçao, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico will make their debut in the Baseball Champions League Americas.[8]
Participants
[edit]While the Caribbean Series is generally limited to Latin American winter league teams, BCL Americas includes the champions of the top-level independent (i.e. not affiliated with Major League Baseball) summer leagues in Mexico and the United States.[a]
| Country | League | First edition | Last edition |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cuba
|
Cuban National Series | 2023 | 2025 |
 Curaçao
|
Curaçao National Championship AA | 2025 | |
 Colombia
|
Colombian Professional Baseball League | 2023 | |
 Mexico
|
Mexican League | 2023 | 2025 |
 Nicaragua
|
Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League | 2025 | |
 Puerto Rico
|
Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente | 2025 | |
| United States
|
American Association of Professional Baseball | 2023 | 2025 |
Cuba and Colombia had previously participated in the Caribbean Series, but both were dropped after the 2023 edition of the tournament.[9][10]
Winners
[edit]| Year | Venue | Champion | Result | Runner-up | Winning manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mérida |
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks |
8–0 | Caimanes de Barranquilla |
Chris Coste
|
| 2025 | Mexico City |
To be determined | |||
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ The Mexican League was previously part of MLB-affiliated "organized baseball", but lost this designation in 2021.
References
[edit]- ^ "2023 Baseball Champions League Info". American Association of Professional Baseball. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ "Inaugural Baseball Champions League Americas Tournament To Kick Off In September". Baseball America. 24 August 2023.
- ^ Clair, Michael. "Baseball Champions League beginning in Mexico". milb.com. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ Peterson, Eric (2 October 2023). "F-M RedHawks earn 'redeem team' championship at 1st Baseball Champions League event". In Forum. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ "Baseball Champions League launched; First-ever professional and world-level competition for clubs". World Baseball Softball Confederation. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "Se presentó la Baseball Champions League (América)". MiLB.com (in Spanish). 10 July 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ Jhonnathan, Alland (13 September 2024). "Vivirán Pericos de Puebla un largo invierno sin beisbol de la Liga Invernal Mexicana y BCL". El Sol de Puebla (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "Second Baseball Champions League Americas to be played in April 2025". wbsc.org. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "¡Nuevo torneo! Anuncian la creación de la Baseball Champions League" (in Spanish). Mediotiempo. 10 June 2023.
- ^ Enrique Rojas (24 July 2023). "¿Por qué Colombia se quedó fuera de Serie Caribe 2024?". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish).
International club baseball competitions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Americas |  | |
| Europe | ||
| Defunct | ||
| Exhibitions | ||
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