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:
2024 Little League World Series qualification
SportBaseball
Founded1958; 66 years ago (1958)
Most recent
champion(s)
Venezuela Cardenales Little League, Barquisimeto, Venezuela
Most titlesVenezuela 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

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Region champions

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Year Host Champion City Result
1957 Industrial   Monterrey Champions[1]
1958 Industrial   Monterrey Champions[1]
1959 San Juan   San Juan Quarterfinals
1960 Industrial   Monterrey 4th Place
1961 Industrial   Monterrey 3rd Place
1962 Del Norte   Monterrey 4th Place
1963 Obispado   Monterrey 5th Place
1964 Obispado   Monterrey Runners-up
1965 Zulia   Maracaibo 7th Place
1966 Cuauhtémoc   Monterrey 6th Place
1967 Linares   Linares 4th Place
1968 Chinandega   Chinandega 7th Place
1969 Jorge Rosas   Mayagüez 6th Place
1970 Chinandega   Chinandega 3rd Place
1971 Caguas Gillette   Caguas 5th Place
1972 Admiral Gallery   San Juan 4th Place
1973 Mitras   Monterrey 6th Place
1974 Coquivacoa   Maracaibo 4th Place
1975 International teams were banned by Little League
1976 Puerto Nuevo   San Juan 3rd Place
1977 Coquivacoa   Maracaibo 4th Place
1978 La Javilla   Santo Domingo 4th Place
1979 Luis Llorens Torres   Santurce 5th Place
1980 Pabao   Willemstad 5th Place
1981 Unidad Modelo   Monterrey 7th Place
1982 Coquivacoa   Maracaibo 5th Place
1983 Liquito Hernández   Barahona Runners-up
1984 Willys R. Cook   Bethania 5th Place
1985 Coquivacoa   Maracaibo 5th Place
1986 Coquivacoa   Maracaibo 4th Place
1987 Rolando Paulino   Moca 3rd Place
1988 Curundú   Curundú 7th Place
1989 Coquivacoa   Maracaibo 3rd Place
1990 Matamoros   Matamoros 5th Place
1991 Luis Montas   San Cristobal 3rd Place
1992 Epy Guerrero   Santo Domingo T-3rd Place
1993 David Doleguita   David Runner Up
1994 Coquivacoa   Maracaibo Champions
1995 Eduardo Sosa   Santo Domingo T-3rd Place
1996 Matías Ramón Mella   San Isidro Air Base T-3rd Place
1997 Linda Vista   Guadalupe Champions
1998   Bayamón Linda Vista   Guadalupe Group Stage
1999   Monterrey Juan A. Bibiloni   Yabucoa T-3rd Place
2000 Sierra Maestra   Maracaibo Champions
2001   Panama City Santiago de Veraguas   Santiago de Veraguas Group Stage
2002   Managua Los Leones   Valencia Quarterfinals
2003   Mayagüez Altagracia   Los Puertos Quarterfinals
2004   Panama City Curundú   Panama City Quarterfinals
2005   Maracaibo Los Leones   Valencia Group Stage
2006   Guatemala City Cardenales   Barquisimeto Quarterfinals
2007   Panama City La Victoria   Maracaibo Quarterfinals
2008   Maracaibo Coquivacoa   Maracaibo Quarterfinals
2009   Barranquilla Coquivacoa   Maracaibo Group Stage
2010   Guatemala City Chitré   Chitré Group Stage
2011   San José Gran Maracay   Maracay Int'l Semifinal
2012   Aguadulce Aguadulce   Aguadulce 4th Place
2013   Guayaquil Aguadulce   Aguadulce Int'l Semifinal
2014   Managua Coquivacoa   Maracaibo Round 3
2015   Barranquilla Cardenales   Barquisimeto Int'l Semifinal
2016   Panama City Aguadulce   Aguadulce 3rd place
2017   Barranquilla Luz Maracaibo   Maracaibo Round 3
2018   Panama City Vacamonte   Arraiján Round 2
2019   Aguadulce Cacique Mara   Maracaibo Round 2
2022   Managua 14 de Septiembre   Managua Round 4
2023   Maracaibo San Francisco   Maracaibo Round 3
2024   Panama City Cardenales   Barquisimeto 3rd place

Summary

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As of the 2024 Little League World Series

Country Championships Best Result in LLWS
  Venezuela 22 Champions (1994, 2000)
  Mexico 14 Champions (1957, 1958, 1997) 
  Panama 10 Runners-up
  Puerto Rico 7 3rd Place
  Dominican Republic 7 Runner up
  Nicaragua 3 3rd Place
  Curaçao 1 5th 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

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d 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.
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