That same year the pro baseball would take on a new schedule of a winter series while amateur ball would now be played in the summer. The winter league winners of the Caribbean Islands have met in the Serie del Caribe since 1949 to determine the champs of the Caribbean. Between 1949 and 1960 the countries of Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela had played in early February to determine the champion of the Caribbean. The series was discontinued after 1960 because of the Cuban revolution, but in 1970 it resumed with the Dominican Republic and Mexico replacing Cuba and Panama. It was not uncommon to see many of the minor league players of the major league teams from the United States play in these games but by the mid 1980 fewer return to the islands to play due to risk of injury and the demand of the regular season.
Today there are six teams, which play in the pro baseball league in the Dominican Republic.
The original four -Licey, Escognido, Anguilas and the Estrelles plus the Azucareros del Este from La Romana and the Pollos Nacionales from San Francisco de Macor s. It is our passion. Today more than one in six players in the American league is from Latin America, the majority of them coming from the towns located on the southeastern coast Dominican Republic. The history of baseball in these towns can be traced back as far as the Cuban immigration to the Dominican Republic. Dominican and American Mill owners approved of the sport and encourage their workers to participate in the sport.