Panamanian Professional Baseball League
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 |
| No. of teams | Four |
| Country(ies) | Panama |
| Most recent champion(s) | Caballos de Coclé |
| Official website | Probeis (Spanish) |
The Panamanian Professional Baseball League (Spanish: Liga Profesional de Béisbol de Panamá), or Probeis, by its acronym in Spanish, is a winter professional baseball league consisting of four teams which is based in Panama.
Contents |
History [edit]
Originally founded in 1946, the PPBL joined Organized Baseball in 1948 and operated continuously until 1972.[1]
A new Panamanian baseball league started the 2001–2002 season as Probeis (Liga Profesional de Béisbol de Panamá), but it lasted that season only. Then in 2010, Los Angeles Dodgers related businessmen restarted the league as LPB (Professional Baseball League), but had poor logistics and operations lasted only one season. In 2011 Probeis made its second run since 2001.
Carta Vieja Yankees [edit]
The league's champion team played in the Caribbean Series in its first stage from 1949 through 1960, before Fidel Castro dismantled the Cuban Winter League and replaced it with a new amateur circuit.
The Carta Vieja Yankees, one of the most distinguished clubs in the circuit, won five titles spanning 1950–1958 and also captured the 1950 Caribbean Series, to become the only Panamanian team to a win a Series championship in the 20th Century.[2][3]
Throughout its 12-year history, the team featured players as Wayne Blackburn, Chet Brewer, Webbo Clarke, Jim Cronin, Jerry Davie, Carl Duser, Marion Fricano, Milt Graff, Bill Harris, Spook Jacobs, Connie Johnson, Spider Jorgensen, Héctor López, Bobby Prescott, Humberto Robinson, Jean-Pierre Roy, Pat Scantlebury, Billy_Shantz, Joe Tuminelli and Jim Umbricht, among others.[3]
1948–1960 years [edit]
| Seasons | Clubs |
|---|---|
| 1948–1949 through 1952–1953 |
Carta Vieja Yankees Cerveceria Nacional Chesterfield Smokers Spur Cola Colonites |
| 1953–1954 through 1955–1956 |
Carta Vieja Yankees Chesterfield Smokers Spur Cola Colonites |
| 1956–1957 through 1957–1958 |
Carta Vieja Yankees Cerveza Balboa Chesterfield Smokers |
| 1958–1959 | Coclé Azucareros Carta Vieja Yankees Cerveza Balboa Marlboro Smokers |
| 1959–1960 | Carta Vieja Yankees Cerveza Balboa Comercios Dodgers Marlboro Smokers |
Champion teams [edit]
- 1948–1949: Spur Cola
- 1949–1950: Carta Vieja
- 1950–1951: Spur Cola (2)
- 1951–1952: Carta Vieja (2)
- 1952–1953: Chesterfield
- 1953–1954: Carta Vieja (3)
- 1954–1955: Carta Vieja (4)
- 1955–1956: Chesterfield (2)
- 1956–1957: Balboa
- 1957–1958: Carta Vieja (5)
- 1958–1959: Coclé
- 1959–1960: Marlboro
Notes [edit]
- The Carta Vieja, Chesterfield, Comercios and Marlboro teams represented Panama City, while Spur Cola was based in Colon.
- The Azucareros and Cerveza Balboa teams were sponsored from the cities of Aguadulce and Balboa, respectively.
- More of the games were played at Estadio Olímpico de Panamá in Panama City.
2001–2002 [edit]
Four teams participated during the 2001–2002 season: Canaleros de Panamá, Macheteros de Azuero, Roneros de Carta Vieja and Tiburones Atlas de Panamá Oeste. Carta Vieja was the champion team, while Olmedo Sáenz won the batting title (.331) and Miguel Gómez was the best pitcher (5-0).[4][5]
2011–present teams [edit]
- Caballos de Coclé (2011-12 – 2012-13)
- Diablicos de Azuero (2011-12)
- Diablos Rojos de Panamá (2011-12 – 2012-13)
- Industriales de Herrera (2011-12 – 2012-13)
- Roneros de Chiriquí (2011-12 – 2012-13)
Champion teams [edit]
| Season |
|
| 2001–2002 | Roneros de Carta Vieja |
| 2011–2012 | Roneros de Chiriquí |
| 2012–2013 | Caballos de Coclé |
References [edit]
- ^ The Rise of the Latin American Baseball Leagues, 1947–1961 - Lou Hernandez. Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2011. Format: Softcover, 412 pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-0-7864-6384-8
- ^ Carta Vieja, Rey del Caribe (Spanish)
- ^ a b c d e The Rise of the Latin American Baseball Leagues
- ^ a b "Sports&Healt Magazine – La llama del béisbol profesional en Panamá vuelve a brillar con el torneo PROBEIS". (Spanish)
- ^ Diamonds around the Globe: The Encyclopedia of International Baseball – Peter C. Bjarkman. Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. Format: Hardcover, 656 pp. Language: English. ISBN 978-0-3133-2268-6
External links [edit]
- Liga Profesional de Béisbol de Panamá (Probeis) – Official site (Spanish)
- Probeis Panama on Twitter
- Baseball Reference – Pacific Northwest League Encyclopedia and History
- Baseball Reference Bullpen – Panama Professional League
- Mop-Up Duty – Baseball in Panama
