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27-729: Cocodrilos de Matanzas ('Matanzas Crocodiles') are a baseball team in the Cuban National Series . Based in Matanzas Province , the Cocodrilos were formed after the dissolution of Henequeneros and Citricultores , two teams from Matanzas. The Cocodrilos have struggled to enjoy the success of their predecessors. Long before the Yumurine players wore the Gothic M of Matanzas on their flannels in that year of 1967,

54-492: A round-robin tournament , it changed to a bracket tournament in January 1990. In January 1998, the postseason was expanded to eight teams. Instances where a team has won the championship more than once are numbered in parentheses. In seasons that spanned two calendar years, the "Year" column is when the season ended. Cuban Elite League The Cuban Elite League ( Spanish : Liga Élite del Beisbol Cubano , or LEB ),

81-458: A round-robin tournament , with each team playing the other three teams twice each—this was used through the 1988–89 season. In 1989–90 (only), the two division winners faced off in a best-of-seven series to determine a league champion, while the two division runners-up met in a best-of-five series to determine third place. In 1990–91, the postseason format was changed to a bracket tournament , with two semifinal series (each best-of-three) followed by

108-506: A winter league for most of its history, generally playing a regular season stretching from early August until late January. As of 2023 , the regular season spans late March to early July. An all-star game is held yearly at midseason. In Havana, most of the top tier players take the field for Industriales , traditionally the strongest team in the league. Other typically strong teams include those from Santiago de Cuba Province , Pinar del Río Province and Villa Clara Province . In March 1982,

135-409: A best-of-seven final series. In 1997–98, the postseason was expanded to eight teams, as division winners plus the next four teams with the best winning percentage advanced to the postseason. A quarterfinal stage was added, contested as best-of-five series. In 2008–2009, the league was reorganized into two eight-team divisions, East and West, with the top four teams from each division qualifying for

162-448: A championship. The Cuban Elite League was initiated to maintain active competition during the winter months. Source: Before the 1985–86 season, champions were decided by final regular-season standings. The 1962–63 and 1971–72 seasons saw two teams finish tied for first, so three-game tie-breaker series were played to determine a champion. A postseason was first played in January 1986, contested by four teams. Initially staged as

189-562: A final series (best-of-seven). In 1991–92, the semifinals were changed to best-of-five to match the MLB's Divisional Series format. In 1992–93, league size reduced from 18 to 16 teams, as Pinar del Río Province and Matanzas Province , each of which had been fielding two teams each, began fielding a single team each. The 16 teams were divided into four groups (divisions) with the top team from each group advancing to postseason play. The postseason consisted of best-of-seven semifinal series followed by

216-453: A single table of standings, with the top teams at the end of the regular season advancing to the postseason, thereby ending divisional play. To accommodate the 2013 World Baseball Classic , contested in March, the league took a six-week break after the all-star game of February 3. The league played a shortened 45-game season, with all 16 teams competing in a single table format (doing away with

243-445: A year following the end of the 2020–21 season in January 2021, play resumed with a 75-game schedule, all contested within a single calendar year for the first time, as the 2022 season spanned January to June. The change to a summer league schedule was made official, and starting with the 2023 season, the league runs from March to July with a schedule of 75 games per team in the regular season, followed by three playoff rounds culminating in

270-647: Is a winter baseball league in Cuba . It debuted in 2022 as the highest level of the Cuban baseball league system . Beginning with the 2023-24 season, the Elite League comprised the top six teams from the summer-time Cuban National Series . The league was formed in an effort to increase the quality of Cuban baseball, to bring it closer to the other professional winter leagues of the Caribbean. Professional baseball

297-556: The Cuban national team 's appearance at the 2023 World Baseball Classic , the 2023-24 league champion was not invited to the 2024 Caribbean Series in Miami. The 2023-24 LEB champion was invited to the prospective Intercontinental Series , to be held in Barranquilla in 2024, but the league declined the invitation, in part due to the inclusion of FEPCUBE , a team composed of Cuban expatriate and defected players . Pressure from

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324-523: The National League and American League of Major League Baseball before 1969. In the event of a tie at the end of the season, a best-of-three tiebreaker series was played. Source: The 1977–78 season followed the nation's administrative restructuring of the provinces of Cuba , announced in December 1976, resulting in changes to multiple teams within the league. Through the 1991–92 season,

351-755: The World Baseball Classic and baseball at the Summer Olympics , when contested. Traditionally, the national team, known as Preseleccion , is selected from the Cuban National Series and practices in Havana. Sometimes more than one team can be asked to supply players for international duty as part of the national team, from Cuban National Series teams and recently from the Cuban Elite League . From 2016 to 2019,

378-518: The Cuban government eventually saw that tournament cancelled. Instead, LEB announced that it would take part a tournament labeled the "Copa Antillana" in Puerto Rico; however that tournament never materialized. Six clubs competed in the 2023–24 season. These six occupied the top spots in the 2023 Cuban National Series . In the Elite League's third season, out of the 16 teams that form part of

405-526: The National Series in 2023 . Nevertheless, it qualified to the Cuban Elite League in the first year of its new format, promoting the top six teams from the National Series. Matanzas defeated Cazadores de Artemisa in six games to win its first the Elite League and its second championship after 2020. Infielders Outfielders Coaches Roster updated on 27 June 2023 Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series

432-461: The brothers Félix and Reinaldo Isasi, could they unify their forces in a single gang to defend the walls of the Athens of Cuba. And while Matanzas stoically endured his permanence at the bottom of the pond until his total disappearance towards the mid-1970s, Henequeneros, the other squad of the land of crocodiles, adorned his souvenir closet with a trophy in the 1969 campaign -70. In the early 1990s,

459-455: The first time, with the league split into an upper-half "first division" and lower-half "second division" at the mid-point of the regular season. Division champions were based on end-of-season standings with no postseason. This format was only used for two seasons. In 1985–86, the league created Eastern and Western divisions, each with nine teams, and had the top two teams of each division advance to postseason play. The postseason first consisted of

486-737: The league champion advanced directly to the Caribbean Series as the Cuban delegate. Representation in the Caribbean Series was transferred to the Cuban Elite League, which plays a winter schedule, following its 2022–23 premiere season. From 1961–62, the inaugural season, through 1976–77, league size increased from just four charter teams to 14 teams, while the length of schedule grew from 27 to 99 games, but then reduced to 39 per team. Champions were decided based on end-of-season standings with no postseason, comparable to

513-461: The league had 18 teams, as 11 provinces fielded a single team each, three provinces fielded two teams each, and the special administrative area of Isla de la Juventud (originally named Isla de Pinos ) fielded a team. Also, aluminum bats similar to those used in American college baseball debuted, and use of the designated hitter was initiated. In 1983–84, the league divided into divisions for

540-487: The league was marred by a gambling-related corruption scandal, which saw at least 17 players and coaches suspended and arrested. As of early 2019, baseball players in Cuba received $ 40 per month. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in no 2021–22 season being played. The league serves as the first stage in the selection of players for the Cuba national baseball team for participation in international competitions and for both

567-602: The name of such an illustrious city had already adorned the official history of winter tournaments in the mythical campaign of 1878–79. Like that modest combined at the beginning of the circuit in the nineteenth century, the Matanzas of the 60s and 70s, was not the most competitive. Never, stars of the mood of Wilfredo Sánchez, his brother Fernando, Rigoberto Rosique, Tomás Soto, Evelio Hernández, Edwin Walters, Alfredo García, Gaspar Pérez, Luis Fernández, Ernesto William Alfonso or

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594-604: The postseason, and all playoff series contested as best-of-seven. In 2011–2012, there were 17 competing teams, as the then-La Habana Province was split into Artemisa Province and Mayabeque Province . Thus, the West division had nine teams, including the two new clubs. The league returned to 16 teams beginning with the 2012–13 season when the Metropolitanos (long seen as a farm club of the powerhouse Industriales) were disbanded after nearly four decades of play. In 2012–13,

621-401: The regular two division format). The bottom eight seeded teams then played amongst themselves in the consolation round, while the top eight did the same for the championship. In 2014, the consolation round format for the midseason was officially adopted, effectively making it a de facto wild card game with the winners having a chance to make it to the postseason. After no games were played for

648-447: The winter series competition system was reorganized for the eighth time. After 19 years of absence, a team reappeared with the name of Matanzas. Although, this second version of the squad in the amateur era was also not very prolific in terms of collective results. Matanzas won the Cuban National Series championship pennant in 2020, defeating Camagüey in the finals, clinching 4-2 overall in 6 games out of seven. Matanzas finished sixth in

675-437: The zone qualification format was dropped in favor of a phase qualification system. All teams played 45 games in a "classification phase". The top eight ranked teams from this phase moved on to the "qualification phase" to determine playoff participants. In 2016–17, the number of teams in the qualification phase was dropped to six. In 2020–21, the phase format was removed from the league, and the league determined qualifiers based on

702-502: Was abolished in Cuba in 1961. A desire to bring together the best players from the National Series, as well as address the drain of Cuban talent from the island to more competitive foreign leagues, contributed to the change of format in the league's second season (2023-24). In 2023, the winner of the 2022-23 Elite League ( Agricultores ) represented Cuba at the 2023 Caribbean Series in Venezuela . However, in part due to fallout from

729-459: Was instituted in replacement of the Cuban League , which had operated since 1878, as in March 1961 the Cuban government abolished professional baseball . The Cuban League typically consisted of four teams; the Cuban National Series has played with more than four teams since its 1965–66 season, peaking at 18 teams from the late 1970s into the early 1990s. The Cuban National Series operated as

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