page_title: Baseball in Puerto Rico
section_title: Rivalry with LBPRD and "Dream Team"
hierarchical_section_title: Baseball in Puerto Rico / Re-emergence in the Caribbean Series / Rivalry with LBPRD and "Dream Team"
caption_attribution_description: Rubén Gotay
context_page_description: Baseball is the most popular sport in Puerto Rico. In terms of spectators and active participants, it is the premier sport on the island.
  The baseball game was introduced to the island in the late 19th century and the first two baseball clubs were founded in 1897, before the American invasion of 1898 known as the Spanish–American War. The sport was initially ridiculed as an effete, unmanly exhibition. However, when local Puerto Rican teams regularly defeated and embarrassed the more "experienced" American teams, the sport began to catch on.
  As of 2016, over 100 Major League Baseball players were active in the Puerto Rico Baseball League, in addition to the many hundreds who participated in the past.
  Some of the most famous baseball players from Puerto Rico include Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, Iván Rodríguez and Edgar Martinez; as well as Jose "Cheo" Cruz; Juan González; Victor Pellot; Yadier Molina; and Bernie Williams.
context_section_description: San Juan won the championship in the 1989–90 season. The season featured the debut of Juan González, who under the initiative of that season's Manager of the Year, Ramón Avilés, played every game with Caguas, finishing second in home runs with 9 and RBIs with 34.  He was traded for Roberto Alomar during the off-season. González also reinforced San Juan, recording two home runs in the Caribbean Series.
  Carlos Baerga and Edgar Martínez were the co-MVP players of the 1989-90 season.
  Martínez became the first player in 41 seasons to win the batting crown with an average above.400, registering .424.
  Santurce won the title the following year, which featured the debut of Wil Cordero, who was named Rookie of the Year.
  In the 1991–1992 season, the Criollos de Caguas franchise was moved to Bayamón, but experienced low attendance in that municipality. Due to this their star players, Juan González and Iván Rodríguez, were drafted by Santurce and Mayagüez respectively.
  The Indios won that season's championship and the Caribbean Series held in Mexico, with Chad Kreuter winning the series’ MVP award.
  Roberto Hernandez won a tie-breaker with Venezuela to secure the series, and Cordero was recognized as the league MVP.
  The 1992-93 season featured the return of Dickie Thon to the league, who led Santurce to a championship over San Juan in the finals as well as the debut of José "Cheo" Cruz as a manager. The finals series featured both Thon and Juan González, which attracted 90,369 fans throughout six games, including a record of 23,701 in the last game.
  González had won consecutive batting titles in Major League Baseball and was selected the MVP after recording an average of .333 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs. Other MLB players, including Iván Rodríguez, Sandy Alomar, Jr. and Omar Olivares returned to the league during that season.
  The Cangrejeros went on to win their fourth Caribbean Series’ title. Cordero won the league's batting championship.
  Until 1993, all of the ballparks featured natural grass, with Ponce being the first to install artificial turn during that year.
  The Senadores de San Juan defeated the Cuban national baseball team on December 1, 1993, with a walk-off home run by Javier López.
  The 1993–94 championship was won by San Juan, led by Carmelo Martínez in his second MVP season.
  The Criollos rejoined the league for the 1994-95 season and González returned to the team. The Cangrejeros won that year's championship, repeating Puerto Rico's title in the Caribbean Series.
  The 1994-95 season however, is most famous for the once-in-a-lifetime Dream Team, that has been compared to the Murderer's Row of the New York Yankees during the Babe Ruth era.
  That year, the Senadores de San Juan managed by Luis "Torito" Meléndez won the title, subsequently assembling one of the strongest teams in the history of the Caribbean Series. 
   
  The group was dubbed the "Dream Team" and featured Major League Baseball players in most positions, including  Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Bernie Williams, Juan González, Edgar Martínez, Carlos Delgado, Rubén Sierra, Rey Sánchez and Carmelo Martínez.
  Puerto Rico's offensive dominated the tournament, eventually winning the Caribbean Series championship with an undefeated record of 6–0.
  The team won against Pedro Martínez and José Rijo in the third and sixth games respectively.
  Roberto Alomar, who had been traded to the team from Ponce for Javier López during the off-season, was named the series’ Most Valuable Player after batting 560 with two home runs. 
   Later in 2011, Alomar was inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.
caption: Rubén Gotay
exif: {}