Little League World Series in Latin America

The Latin America Region has competed in the Little League World Series since its creation in 1958.[1] Until 2001, the Latin America Region included Mexico and the Caribbean. In 2001 – when the Little League World Series expanded to sixteen teams – Mexico and the Caribbean were given their own regions. The region is open to all countries on the Latin American mainland, but is typically contested by the teams from Panama and Venezuela. Since the 2001 split, the region has been represented by either Venezuela (11 appearances) or Panama (seven appearances) at the Little League World Series, as of 2019.

Latin America Little League Championship
Most recent season or competition:
2019 Little League World Series qualification
SportBaseball
Founded1958 (1958)
Most recent
champion(s)		 Cacique Mara Little League, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Most titles Coquivacoa Little League, Maracaibo, Venezuela (10)

Following the 2021 LLWS, Panama and the Caribbean Region countries of Cuba and Puerto Rico will take up two berths in the LLWS. Two of the three will send champions to the LLWS each year, while the third will compete in its normal region; the automatic berths will rotate annually. This scheme is part of a planned expansion of the LLWS from 16 to 20 teams that was originally scheduled to occur for 2021, but was delayed to 2022 due to COVID-19.[2]

Teams from Latin America have won the LLWS title five times, but only four were as the Latin America Region champion. The Industrial Little League of Monterrey, Mexico, won back-to-back titles in 1957 and 1958, but the first title was as the champion of the South Region.[1] The other three LLWS championships were won by Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico, in 1997, and Maracaibo, Venezuela, in 1994 and 2000.

Latin America Region Countries

Region champions
YearHostChampionCityResult
1957Industrial MonterreyChampions[1]
1958Industrial MonterreyChampions[1]
1959San Juan San JuanQuarterfinals
1960Industrial Monterrey4th Place
1961Industrial Monterrey3rd Place
1962Del Norte Monterrey4th Place
1963Obispado Monterrey5th Place
1964Obispado MonterreyRunners-up
1965Zulia Maracaibo7th Place
1966Cuauhtémoc Monterrey6th Place
1967Linares Linares4th Place
1968Chinandega Chinandega7th Place
1969Jorge Rosas Mayagüez6th Place
1970Chinandega Chinandega3rd Place
1971Caguas Gillette Caguas5th Place
1972Admiral Gallery San Juan4th Place
1973Mitras Monterrey6th Place
1974Coquivacoa Maracaibo4th Place
1975International teams were banned by Little League
1976Puerto Nuevo San Juan3rd Place
1977Coquivacoa Maracaibo4th Place
1978La Javilla Santo Domingo4th Place
1979Luis Llorens Torres Santurce5th Place
1980Pabao Willemstad5th Place
1981Unidad Modelo Monterrey7th Place
1982Coquivacoa Maracaibo5th Place
1983Liquito Hernández BarahonaRunners-up
1984Willys R. Cook Bethania5th Place
1985Coquivacoa Maracaibo5th Place
1986Coquivacoa Maracaibo4th Place
1987Rolando Paulino Moca3rd Place
1988Curundú Curundú7th Place
1989Coquivacoa Maracaibo3rd Place
1990Matamoros Matamoros5th Place
1991Luis Montas San Cristobal3rd Place
1992Epy Guerrero Santo DomingoT-3rd Place
1993David Doleguita DavidRunner Up
1994Coquivacoa MaracaiboChampions
1995Eduardo Sosa Santo DomingoT-3rd Place
1996Matías Ramón Mella San Isidro Air BaseT-3rd Place
1997Linda Vista GuadalupeChampions
1998 BayamónLinda Vista GuadalupeGroup Stage
1999 MonterreyJuan A. Bibiloni YabucoaT-3rd Place
2000Sierra Maestra MaracaiboChampions
2001 Panama CitySantiago de Veraguas Santiago de VeraguasGroup Stage
2002 ManaguaLos Leones ValenciaQuarterfinals
2003 MayagüezAltagracia Los PuertosQuarterfinals
2004 Panama CityCurundú Panama CityQuarterfinals
2005 MaracaiboLos Leones ValenciaGroup Stage
2006 Guatemala CityCardenales BarquisimetoQuarterfinals
2007 Panama CityLa Victoria MaracaiboQuarterfinals
2008 MaracaiboCoquivacoa MaracaiboQuarterfinals
2009 BarranquillaCoquivacoa MaracaiboGroup Stage
2010 Guatemala CityChitré ChitréGroup Stage
2011 San JoséGran Maracay MaracayInt'l Semifinal
2012 AguadulceAguadulce Aguadulce4th Place
2013 GuayaquilAguadulce AguadulceInt'l Semifinal
2014 ManaguaCoquivacoa MaracaiboRound 3
2015 BarranquillaCardenales BarquisimetoInt'l Semifinal
2016 Panama CityAguadulce Aguadulce3rd place
2017 BarranquillaLuz Maracaibo MaracaiboRound 3
2018 Panama CityVacamonte ArraijánRound 2
2019 AguadulceCacique Mara MaracaiboRound 2

Summary

As of the 2019 Little League World Series

CountryChampionshipsBest Result in LLWS
Venezuela21Champions (1994, 2000)
Mexico14Champions (1957, 1958, 1997) 
Panama10Runners-up
Puerto Rico73rd Place
Dominican Republic7Runner up
Nicaragua23rd Place
Curaçao15th Place

Italics indicates team no longer competes in Latin America Region. Mexico now has its own region, while Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Curaçao compete in the Caribbean region.

See also

References
  1. In 1957, the Industrial Little League of Monterrey, Mexico, was the first team from outside the U.S. and Canada to compete in the LLWS. It competed in an area tournament in McAllen, Texas, won the South Region tournament, and defeated the West Region in the championship game. (The only other two regions in the LLWS were the East and North regions.) As a result, the next year (1958), three new regions were created: Latin America, Canada, and Pacific. Two years later, in 1960, a fourth international region was created: Europe. Two years after that, in 1962, the Pacific Region was replaced by the newly created Far East Region.
  2. "Little League Baseball and Little League Softball World Series to Expand in 2021". Little League Baseball. Little League International. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.